Crash Course in Romance (2023)

More than a classical romance this is about the elite education hype, Gangnam mothers & scandals

"Crash Course in Romance" ... well.
Starting with the title, makes me jump right into my criticism. Don´t get me wrong. It doesn't concern the KDrama itself. On the contrary! Yet, this international title business... again I don't know why... (well, I'll probably never understand it...) Why does the international title have to suggest a completely different story? Why does (in this case) Netflix for the international audience want to present something completely different than the tvN (co-)production? Why can't the story announce its story for what it is in the first place? In this case: A KDrama about the one shot scandal involving Gangnam's one shot math teacher. A story about Gangnam rivalries between students, between mothers, between teachers. A story about Gangnam scandals that can easily destroy lives... There is also a love story (or two) on the side, but if you tune in specifically for the romance, you have to see how you´ll deal with what is actually offered. (I would guess that might be a bit disappointing.)

Surely, a romance is brewing, but in fact it's the characters, the story and the context around it that create a substantial with plenty of life of its own – apart from the amorous relationship dynamics. There is something like a criminal case, too. It get´s more and more dramatic. Gripping, even. Overall, as a dramaturgical leitmotif, with a socially critical wink it nonchalantly pokes fun at the recent education hype. At the same time condemns, too. So, in fact, this is something completely different than the title suggests.

I last saw, experienced and appreciated actress Jeon Do-yeon almost 5 years ago in the KMovie "A Man and a Woman". She is not an international superstar, but a nationally respected and recognized actress in film and television. Besides her mostly profound and meaningful play, here she also shows a clownesque, quirky, yet adorable side. She is actually 50 by now. However, here she plays a woman in her 30s. Imagine that. Here (as well as most recently in 2022 in the KDrama "Twenty Five Twenty One", where the main actress, as a 31-year-old, slips into the role of a senior high school student,) it is working. In fact, this gives the characters more lifelike substance, apart from just being 'young and pretty'. At least that's my opinion. Some may be more critical about this casting-philosophy. However, in South Korea it probably bothers less. The number of viewers has exploded over the course of the 16 episodes: from almost 1 million to more than 4 million.

The competitive advantage here, that generally carries this KDrama and sets it apart from the Rom+/-Com of many a style, is substance and grounding that comes with life – a life which is hard enough, for the protagonist at least. She may run light-footedly down the streets and take life's challenges in a sporty manner, but she has also lost some feathers along the way and made severe sacrifices. She´s past her youth by now. But she stands in the middle of a sound and solid life.
The male protagonist, too, has already experienced a lot in his vita, including some unpleasant encounters with life – despite everything he seems to be living in the fast lane at the moment. Among other things, with his stress-related eating disorder, he brings in a topic of the time that is comparatively rarely addressed in series - if only marginally, and certainly not among men. Here the eating disorder is even the hook for the encounter between the two protagonists...
Nevertheless, "Crash Course in Romance" has a upbeat side to it. ...It´s the clown's job to bring some jokes and fun into bitter seriousness – some say that you should be able to laugh about your own life, otherwise you are probably not taking it seriously enough... Others say, you should be more serious about bringing wit and humor to your life… Whichever you prefer, this KDrama here and there contributes to that, while the background against which the plot unfolds is actually peppered with serious jabs at the normal madness of South Korean everyday life in Seoul, south of the river - in Gangnam: The educational stress and pressure to perform among the students, among their mothers, among teaching staff, as well as in tutoring academies. It´s serious stuff. There is stalking vs. MeToo, social media terror, escape tendencies up to suicide, you name it. Bitter seriousness here becomes the hook for plenty of drama. And these dramaturgical stumbling blocks (or rather metal balls in this case) keep getting in the way of two hearts that want to beat faster. Nothing compares to a scandal in Gangnam. That keeps the characters within the story on their toes, and the KDrama audience superbly entertained.

Re.: Romance... yes, there is.
The two of protagonists sort of stumbled into it. That wasn't on the agenda for either of them. Besides they aren't the youngest any more... (Don't worry: for the younger generation among the viewers, the KDrama also offers a touch of amorous teenage vibes in the subplot with the 'daughter' of the protagonist and her two admirers...) In any case, the love story of the protagonists is told with delicacy, sensitively, but humorously, maturely and at the same time chastely. Given the circumstances under which the two protagonists led their lives, this is quite authentic. In general, unnecessary cotton candy is avoided.

As so often, I initially had no idea what to expect from this KDrama – at least there was none of the totally hip superstars and no incredibly new or exciting story. I almost overlooked the KDrama because it's rather inconspicuous. I didn't have high hopes at all. And yet, just because everything seemed so banal about it, it made me curious. It's fascinating how this story was able to wrap me up with its idiosyncratic dramaturgical narrative style. Once again one of those productions that are becoming spectacular in their unspectacular way...

Well, if only it weren't for the title...
…but I already mentioned that at the beginning...

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A CRASH COURSE IN LIFE

DISCLAIMER: These are just my thoughts; we don’t have to agree and I’m not looking to argue with anyone.

This show should be called Crash Course in Life, not Crash Course in Romance. Overall it had more comedy, slice of life and drama / thriller than romance aspects.

First off I wanna say that I really enjoyed this show and before it was finished I was excited to rate it super high like a 9/10 but now my feelings have changed and I give this show an 8-8.5/10. Studio dragon definitely doesn’t really miss with the shows they produce… for the most part, they seem well put together, thought out, and executed. You can feel all the actors efforts no matter the script and I think that’s what makes their productions truly worth watching / amazing.

For episodes 1-8 I was super invested and loved the direction the show was going in even with the annoying controlling moms but then after that, the show took a different turn and idk… it became very predictable, and I found myself not as invested as the first time. Maybe because I watched this drama weekly instead of binging it in one go is the reason, I feel this way but idk… the show ended up missing the mark in some ways. Don’t get me wrong the comedy and light-heartedness of the show was really touching and I even found myself tearing up a few times. At its core, you can really see that love and family relationships is an ongoing theme throughout and that these people will always fight for and protect the ones they care about.

In my humble opinion, since Haeng-seon and Chi-yeol got together I felt myself losing interest… there weren’t as many obstacles in their relationship prior to dating and it seemed like their romance got overshadowed with trying to find out more about the murders and who exactly was targeting Haeng-seon and her family. It was predictable because Dong-hui seemed suspicious from the get-go. Honestly, I was not satisfied by his suicide because he got the easy way out instead of having to rot in prison and pay for his crimes. I keep saying this, but I hate when female leads are always so carefree and nice to persons who clearly don’t mean them well… same goes for Su Ah’s mom. I literally did not care or feel sorry that her husband cheated on her. If anything, it was karma and it served her right. She was always praying on the downfall of other moms and their kids so that her child could remain on top and well… what goes around comes around.

Hae-e’s mom coming back the moment she got into a coma was your stereo-typical drama moment. I’m sure everyone could see that coming. I really felt bad for Hae-e because you could tell she didn’t see that woman as her mother after so many years and felt obligated/forced to be nice to her and tolerate her bullsh*t. It was painful watching her pretend to care for and be interested in Hae-e when you knew the real reason she was here was to try and pimp Haeng-seon and Chi Yeol (him specifically) out of money. She literally had no scruples or shame about doing it either and I’m sure at that moment Hae-e realized she was nothing like her mom at all… and she didn’t even want to be. Her bio mother was a nuisance and to me, she added nothing to the plot other than tension and unnecessary drama. She was only a plot device trying to create strife and break their little family apart.

In the end, I’m glad she realized that Hae-e grew up fine without her and she was just intruding on her life by sticking around. She was a sh*tty mom and I’m glad she realized that and packed her bags to allow Hae-e to be happy with the family who raised her.

This show really got me in my feelings, especially the last episode. Scratch a lot of the bad things I said before I absolutely loved this – THE LAST EPISODE CAME THROUGH!!

Chi Yeol and Haeng-seon both deciding to buy each other rings and proposing to each other was golden. They really are made for each other and I love that their feelings have never wavered. Even if this show is frustrating keep watching because the love between the characters will really get you. It’s about the pure love between a mom and her daughter. That scene when Hae-e ran into Haeng-seon’s arms just like in the flashback had me crying!!! Even Sun-jae's mom making amends with both her sons and accepting Hui-jae as he was touched me so deeply. Su-A's mom becoming a mentor/coach at the pride and helping other parents to get their kids on the path to seeking higher education was a good turn of the tables aswell. It seemed like everyone really changed for the better. A big surprise for me was Geon Hu and Su A liking each other, Hae-e actually giving Sun-Jae a chance and Jae Woo getting Young Joo pregnant. I mean they added it all at the end/epilogue but I still ate it up.

All in all, this drama was good. It gave what needed to be given and tackled a lot of situations while still maintaining the funny, lightheartedness of it all.

I give this drama a solid 8.5/10 and some brownie points for being able to tug on my heartstrings ❤️ I would 100% recommend it to others and I would rewatch it in a heartbeat.

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