Netflix is starting 2023 strong with a few new K-dramas that has fans buzzing with excitement. The latest K-drama is Crash Course in Romance starring Hospital Playlist actor Jung Kyung-ho and actor Jeon Do-yeon. Its romance storyline mixes the drama of parents and students fighting for the most elite after-school program, ‘Slice of Life’ story, and family. Airing weekly, Crash Course in Romance has quickly become a must-watch Netflix K-drama.
A banchan restaurant owner clashes with one of the leading hagwon instructors in the K-drama
There are a few things to know to help understand the K-drama’s storyline and its lesson on South Korean society. While many K-dramas deal with the dark side of the country’s vicious bullying cycle, there is also a lesson about its education system. South Korea has a nail-biting battle among students and parents to get the best education and grades at any cost.
Most students attend school during the day and spend hours after school at a hagwon. A hagwon are private schools, academies, and cram schools that helps accelerate a student’s learning. But even hagwon’s have a popularity ranking with parents fighting to get their child a spot at the best of the best.
Crash Course in Romance shines a spotlight on this aspect of society mixed with comedy, life lessons, and more. Actor Jeon stars as Nam Haeng-sun, a former handball athlete who had to give up her dreams to support her family after a tragedy. She grows up taking over her mother’s banchan (Korean side dishes) business while raising her niece as her daughter and taking care of her brother with autism.
She joins the cutthroat war of Korea’s college entrance exams to help her niece succeed in a bright future. At the same time, she meets Choi Chi-yeol, played by Jung. He is the leading hagwon instructor. Behind his fame and charm, he battles his own demons but finds some hope when tasting Haeng-sun’s food.
The Netflix K-drama ‘Crash Course in Romance’ has already seen rating success
Like most Netflix K-dramas, Crash Course in Romance is also produced by tvN. Its grand premiere on Jan.14 showed a more than promising start for the future of the K-drama. Airing every Saturday and Sunday, the K-drama has received high ratings. According to Soompi, it achieved “an average nationwide rating of 4.0 percent” but took the top spot compared to its competitors. Its second episode saw a rise of 5.8 percent.
So far, Crash Course in Romance is a K-drama to keep watching on Netflix. Fans will find themselves hooked on the lighthearted antics between the main characters as they develop relationships with one another. But the K-drama is doing an excellent job of spotlighting the high-strung demands on students to succeed and live by academic means.
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The K-drama depicts different aspects of how parents and families deal with the situation. Haeng-sun has never pressured her niece but trusts her to do what is right. When her niece asks to take Chi-yeol’s class, she drops everything to fulfill her wish. At the same time, fans will see a darker take on the subject when her niece’s friend is ridiculed by his mother for failing a mock exam. But the family also has trouble as the parents fight, and one of their sons spends every waking moment studying.
The Netflix K-drama Crash Course in Romance also portrays how despite Chi-yeol’s wealth, having fulfilled his later father’s dream, he is lonely. Fans will also feel a breath of fresh air as he and Haeng-su develop a romance. The K-drama is a refreshing romantic comedy with underlying lessons about life.
Where have fans seen the cast before?
Actor Jung is easily recognizable thanks to his outstanding role as Kim Jun-wan in the medical K-drama Hospital Playlist. He also starred in Shin Won-ho’s other K-drama, Prison Playbook. In 2019, he played the lead role in the fantasy drama When the Devil Calls Your Name.
Jeon is a powerhouse in the industry as one of the few Korean actors to win Best Actress at the 60th Cannes Film Festival. She is not widely recognized like other South Korean actors due to her on-screen roles. The actor has made her career in movies and has a handful of TV roles. In 2008, she starred in On Air before taking a hiatus until 2016 in the remake of the American series The Good Wife.
Four years later, she starred in Lost. In the role of Haeng-su’s niece is Roh Yoon-seo as Nam Hae-yi. Roh has gained recent fame for her role in the Netflix movie 20th Century Girl and Our Blues K-drama.
