Crash Course in Romance (Review)
Crash Course in Romance is one of the hit K-Dramas of 2023 (apparently 10th on the list of the highest-rated shows on cable TV in Korea). It is a romcom with a secondary crime plot (a version of whodunit arc). The premise centers on a romance between a side-dish store owner (Jeon Do-yeon as Nam Haeng-seon) and a celebrity teacher from a Korean cram-school (Jung Kyung-ho as Choi Chi-yeol).
This pairing is quite specific for modern Korean culture; however, the series does a good job introducing viewers to the cultural context, especially cram-schools (hagwon). These institutions are focused on supplementary education, especially test preparation, like Korean CSATs (standardized tests for university admissions in Korea, a very competitive process there). There are a lot of controversies around cram-schools and the whole educational system in Korea: the criticism mostly focuses on pressure and stress that teenagers suffer from because of competitively driven education. This, in turn, often results in mental health problems which can lead to suicides. The series introduces all those issues, and characters in the show struggle with many of those problems.
The main plot focuses on an unlikely romance between Nam Haeng-seon and Choi Chi-yeol: Chi-yeol is well-educated and wealthy celebrity teacher, while Haeng-seon had to forgo her education since she was responsible for bringing up her niece, Nam Hae-yi (Roh Yoon-seo), and decided to start her own side-dish store. Nevertheless, the whole plot is the least original part of the show, since it follows all typical K-Drama tropes. As usual, the pair met in the past, and fate brings them together again in the present day; obviously, it takes them a while to realize that, etc. There is a secondary romance arc (or romantic triangle) between Nam Hae-yi and her two male school friends, which mostly serves as a device to focus on their struggle in the school and learning for test preparation (as outlined above).
For some reason, the series has a secondary plot focused on a crime investigation: there is a sort of serial killer/stalker villain in the show, responsible for killing some supporting characters, but also for animal abuse, etc. For most of the show we don’t know who that person is and why they do it, so there is an element of whodunit. While the crimes this person committed are particularly despicable, in a somewhat cringeworthy resolution the show tries to justify or explain why they committed all those atrocities, and even Chi-yeol is sort of mourning/remembering that person. I would say, the whole crime plot is unnecessary in the show, and is not well thought out.
We also have secondary (or maybe primary, depending how you look at it) antagonists in the show: a group of student mothers who stop at nothing to provide the best education for their children, and at the same time exert extreme pressure on their teenagers leading them to mental breakdowns and such. The mothers resort to corruption, slander, and intrigue to secure spots for the children in the elite cram-school, or even influence their grades. They are often portrayed in a sort of comedic way, which undermines the seriousness of the whole situation, but it might be somewhat justifiable in a comedy. While this is not entirely new in K-Dramas (e.g., 18 Again has a sort of similar school corruption arc), this arc is well in-line with the main message of the show, sensitizing viewers to the controversies connected with the Korean education and college admissions. In my opinion, this arc could’ve been expanded to highlight the issue even better.
There were some controversies with casting the main leads in the drama. In short, both leading characters first met in 2010, when they were supposed to be in high school. So, when the show takes place, they should be around 30. However, both lead actors are much older than that, Jeon Do-yeon is 50, Jung Kyung-ho is 40, and they indeed, don’t look like 30-year-olds. There are dialogues in the show which indicate that Nam Haeng-seon looks too young for heaving a teenage daughter (i.e., her niece she is raising), but the actress, Jeon Do-yeon, doesn’t look that young. The whole situation could’ve been easily fixed with minor changes in the screenplay, so I have no idea why it wasn’t done.
In general, the main value of the show is focusing on the problem of extreme pressure and stress in Korean education, and mental health problems resulting from that. While I don’t expect the show will result with any meaningful changes for Korean students, at least it raises awareness of the issue. The main romance plot, while entertaining, is not particularly original, and the crime arc is rather pointless.
Crash Course in Romance on Wikipedia and MyDramaList
