One Shot Scandal (2023)

It crashed as a romance

I expected more from this drama because of the hype it had while airing but sadly, it did not satisfy me. It couldn't seem to decide its genre and tried to include so many subplots that were mostly resolved haphazardly. The drama tried to match up almost everybody but did not really show any buildup so they all felt unrealistic and I just couldn't root for any of the couples. Honestly, even with the two leads, the chemistry was nonexistent despite the use of typical romance tropes. Then they just had to include a thriller arc which I think was not that necessary and felt like a filler to stretch out the drama into 16 episodes. The only saving grace of this drama is the relationship between the FL and her daughter/niece which made this somewhat bearable to watch

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Crash Course in Romance

A well written and directed episode 15. I know that many of people hated it, but I am not among that number.

This may be one of the better kdramas made this year.

I now believe that the English language titling was done on purpose to mislead, in order to get as wide a viewing audience as possible for a story they deemed extremely important to tell; but, feared if titled more accurately, then the audience for a show about education/parent abuse would not get a very wide audience. Many of us were "tricked "into watching a painful show - that we might have otherwise avoided!

Now for the rest of the story....

My contrarian opinion has always been, since episode # 2 that the show was never a romance in the conventional sense; it was always a drama about the Korean for-profit educational system and the deadly lengths that parent will go to, pushing their children to test well.

That the show was about the educational system was obvious from the first few scenes of EP 1.

The romance was always a parallel plot playing out against the backdrop of students, schooling, testing and the for-profit education business. Why else would one of the main lead be high profile "for-profit" teacher and the other main lead be a "non-traditional" mother who is not a maniac about test scores, who is "introduced" to the schooling mania as the show proceed - so we can see that sickness .

She is intended to contrast to all of the other mothers [even the dead one killed by her son]. It's by her simple goodness that we can see the full depravity of the other mothers. Why is Choi called the "million won man", if not to point up the outrageous predatory behavior of the education-businessmen who only care about profits?

The romance is both fostered and hindered by the events that are going on in the main, education focused plot line; without that, this romance would make no sense. This unlikely romance only makes sense against this background.

The murders are also a necessary plot element that point up the most extreme damage that can result from this mother-forced testing score mania. Why start the show with the death of a young student? Why keep referencing in the main plot Su-hyeon’s suicide [the first death in this story] and Ji Dong-hee's resulting madness. [Episode 15 makes this so clear- that his love for his sister and his hatred of his abusive mother made him into an insane, murderous person. All the fruits of his mothers testing score madness!

The adults have failed them and are untrustworthy. This refrain is repeated multiple times and ways in this story. Even in this last episode.

There is not a single "birth mother" in this show that is a truly good person. The only real mother is an "aunt" who becomes a role model of a mother. Hae-yi's birth mother abandoned her twice; once when she was 2-3 yrs old and again, in the hospital when she left and allowed the murder to enter the room. Who saved Hae-yi from strangulation by Ji Dong-hee - the "aunt-mother"! The writers and directors again hammering home who the real mother is in the story.

The two most "mature" characters in the story are Hae-yi and Haeng-seon. When we first see Choi he is still in many ways, still a child; he only later grows into a full person as the story progresses.

If you still don't think that the main plot is about educational mania, then go back to EP 1 and watch the opening scenes and at minute 5:06 see the foreshadowing of death and murder.

Episode One is filed with foreshadowing, symbolism and the establishment of contrasting sets of characters and worlds - all in the service of pointing out the deficiencies in these two "universes". What's the tile of the first episode? Check it out and think on it.

Contrast and comparison are the two major narrative techniques used in telling this story and as viewers/participants we need to be aware of that and what that is showing us. Stories have meanings; that's why people have been telling them forever!

Take the murder plot and the educational testing plots away and all that is left is a vapid, not so believable love story between two very dissimilar characters - who live in two different worlds.

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Captivating show - well done.

I've went into this show with little expectations since I haven't really found any good shows with middle aged leads. I was clearly wrong since this show quickly became one that I would recommend to many. It was well written, quite funny, enjoyable and not boring at all.

Whenever you see MANY side stories in a drama it is really easy to get bored. However it wasn't the case. We had VARIETY with both the adult leads, all 4 teenagers, the suspense regarding the murderer and so on. It was captivating and easy to catch on.

We had all kind of moments you would want... beautiful, sad, funny and so on. We've seen great CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT and the bond between Hae-yi and Haeng-seon was really beautiful.

So yes, this is drama is pretty enjoyable. And TMI it is quite FAMILY friendly I'd say, ofc except some kiss scenes.

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A BLOSSOMING LOVE STORY, WITH A DOZENS OF ANNOYING CHARACTERS

Crash Course in Romance is a drama like many others which started really good but the latter part fell, and continue to dip till the end. I personally didn't enjoy this drama as much others might have. Like it's nothing new, but then what do expect from a rom com. It's not the best drama I've watched nor the worst. So here's I've listed out some good and bad aspects of the drama below.

THE GOOD PART
• The MAIN CAST is probably the reason I continued watching this drama, the sense of warmth and love surrounds them. And them being the only characters with positive traits
• THE FIRST HALF OF THE SHOW, the emotions in the earlier part where the main leads were getting to know each other were really naturally done with good dialogues.
• The ROMANCE is surely one will look forward to when watching this drama. An adult middle age romance which is gradual and not toxic at all.

THE BAD PART
• WRITER failing at executing the thriller plot and writing characters with either positive or negative shades. UNNECESSARY addition of plots
and characters which caused them to show UNREALISTIC character development/awakening, which was more filmy and felt UNFINISHED.
• The drama gets DRAGGED at the latter with the addition of plots and charcters which added nothing to story.
• The drama also becomes quite PREDICTABLE and doesn't leaves anys curiosity, what it leads impatience and annoyance in the watcher's mind
• The drama is full on NEGATIVE CHARCTERS
which is intolerable at times. There is a clear divison between good and bad characters and make the charcters really shallow with having only one major trait showed. This divison lasts till the last minutes of this drama.
• The OST's were not that great either. The album is mostly dominated with male solos and acoording a romcom must have atleast one cute duet!


Okay so that's all I have to say about Crash Course in Romance, my emotions changed from initially blushing over the interactions between the leads to me cursing the mothers cause it was too much. Last but not the least, don't watch this drama because you liked it's trailer, THE DRAMA ADVERTISED AS A ROMCOM ONLY CONSTITUTES THE FIRST 7-8 EPS, LATTER IT BECOMES A BORING THRILLER SHOW WITH SPRINKLES OF ROMANCE.

( sorry if there are grammatical mistakes, im not proficient in expressing my thoughts in words and worst in typing stuff)

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Short and sweet, I really liked this drama. It was one that has been on my list ever since I saw the trailer pop up on Netflix, and I would say it exceeded my expectations far beyond what I thought.

I thought this was going to be a cute romance between a mother and her daughter's tutor, but instead ended up being about finding first and true love in your mid to late 30's (I assumed that is their age), about the high expectations that society and parents put on students to be the top of the class, and about chosen family (one of the only times I have seen a non-traditional family in a korean drama).

We need to normalize/have more dramas with mature adults who have their shit figured out (even if they don't have everything figured out, they are confident in the basics). There have been so many instances where I have watched a drama about two 20-somethings, and they make dumb decisions because of dumber reasons. Whereas in this drama, the ML and FL have a set of personal morals and stick with them throughout. Their morals are challenged, but as the characters evolve and begin to understand what is most important to them in life and what they want to fight out, only then do their morals change, for the better.

I was also surprised that this drama hit me as much as it did - me being a single female with no kids, but still trying to put myself in our FL's shoes, trying to understand what it would be like if I had a child and they were going through everything her daughter was. How frustrated I would get whenever the "mom squad" would show up on screen and gossip and plot how to get their child to the top, even if it meant starting scandals about their child's classmates/friends.

This drama definitely hit the feels.

I would say the only thing that made me not give this a perfect 10, was because of the whole serial killer side plot. They did a good job of blending it into the main storyline and plot, but I feel like it didn't hold any weight. The only person who seemed to be stressing about it was the lawyer because she had to deal with it directly, but even when her part in the murders is "resolved" she moves on to her next controversy. I felt like everyone and their mom was fine with this serial killer going around and murdering students and teachers who were linked to Pride Academy like it was a normal Tuesday. And the way the serial killer was ultimately caught and how that whole side plot was "solved" was so anticlimactic... that it was never mentioned again and everyone moved on like there wasn't some person going around murdering people and was in the middle of kidnapping one of the mains. There was only one person who seemed to grieve, but even that was a short minute or two until a whole different subplot was introduced.

The last episode was super random as well, with the introduction of a separate last-minute plot. I would have rather watched an episode or two of the main characters grieving and healing from this serial killer who targeted them and kidnapped one of them, with the intent of killing them. Instead, we get a random subplot that made the daughter act super out of character and was honestly not needed. I understand it was a way to introduce what the FL wanted to do after her daughter got into college, but that could have been introduced in a completely different way.

Other than that, I liked it. Everything else was great and I binged watched the whole thing in 2 days.

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A good romantic series, making a sharp criticism of the Korean education system

A very good series but the title and the poster are misleading viewers: they announce a romance, funny and cute. The drama isn't about that at all. There is a romance, even several, but the series is above all a violent denunciation of the Korean education system and its excesses: family pressure/obsession over grades and school results, over-involvement of mothers, multiple support classes (especially in final years), severe competition between students & between parents, corruption, suicide, influence games, even doping, etc.
It also deals with eating disorders (anorexia in a man), with a student recluse after too much pressure,... which are rarely discussed topics :).

The tone is more gray than rosy, despite some humorous passages to lighten the atmosphere.

PROS:
+ well-written, intelligent story and production without downtime. The clues are given at the right time, just enough to maintain the suspense.
+ The drama is carried by two great veteran leads, endearing, moving, strong and fragile... They establish a mature relationship, made of trust and understanding. Perfect!
+ a brother on the spectrum (a really great performance from Oh Eui Shik )
+ Good OSTs, conveying the emotions/vibes of each scene well.

CONS:
- the lead actress looks a little too old (50) for the role (30-35 years old max), particularly with her hairstyle in the last episode.
- inappropriate title and poster.

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Très bonne série mais le titre et l'affiche sont trompeurs : ils annoncent une romance, drôle, mignonne. Le drama ne traite pas du tout de cela. Il y a bien une romance, même plusieurs, mais la série est surtout, une violente dénonciation du système éducatif coréen et de ses dérives : pression-obsession familiale sur les notes et résultats scolaires, sur-implication des mères, multiples cours de soutien -surtout en terminale, sévère compétition entre élèves & entre parents, corruption, suicide, jeux d'influence, dopage, etc..
Elle traite aussi des troubles alimentaires (anorexie chez un homme, ce qui est un sujet rarement évoqué :).
Le ton est plus gris que rose, malgré quelques passages d'humour pour alléger l'atmosphère.

PROS:
+ histoire bien écrite, intelligente et réalisation sans temps mort. Les indices sont donnés au bon moment, juste ce qu'il faut pour maintenir le suspense.
+ Le drama est porté par deux super leads, attachants, émouvants, forts et fragiles... Ils établissent une relation mature, faite de confiance et de compréhension. Parfaits !
+ un frère handicapé (super bien joué par Oh Eui Shik)
+ un reclus (trop de pression)
+ Bons OST, bien adaptés.

CONS:
- l'actrice lead fait un peu trop âgée (50) pour le rôle (30-35 ans maxi), particulièrement avec sa coiffure dans le dernier épisode.
- titre et affiche inadéquats.

=> Bonne série romantique, qui fait une critique acerbe d'un système.

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From Promise to Disappointment

"Crash Course in Romance" is a drama that effectively portrays the struggles of students and the dynamics between them, their school, and their private institute teachers. The first eight episodes were well-executed, highlighting the immense pressure parents face regarding their children's education, the students' struggle to maintain their grades, and the magnitude of the private education industry. I was deeply invested in the drama until it took a downturn.

The female lead's character was a disappointment. She attempted to portray a saint-like figure, which didn't resonate with me. Her wardrobe was another aspect of the drama that I found lacking. I understand that her character worked in a small restaurant and wouldn't necessarily dress up for work, but her attire, even during her time off, was reminiscent of a grandmother's. Even for formal events, her outfits were less than appealing. While I understand her character is portrayed as poor, it's reasonable to assume that everyone has at least one decent outfit for formal occasions.

The casting of the actress for this role was a misstep. She wasn't suitable for a character in her mid-30s as she appeared too old. The narrative continually emphasized that she was too young to have a child, yet she looked older than the other mothers. Furthermore, there was no chemistry between her and the male lead.

The thriller/murder subplot felt unnecessary and didn't add any value to the main storyline.

Overall, despite its flaws, "Crash Course in Romance" was a good drama.

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I fast forwarded through this one a lot. Jung Kyung Ho is one of my favorite Korean actors but this drama is a mess. Is it a commentary about Korea’s class divides and rich parents and their precious children, with their associated pressures and competitiveness? a star teacher’s journey back from a stressful and isolated existence? a murder mystery? I wouldn’t have a problem with it being all of the above, if the writer had done a better job of pulling it all together or making many of the side characters more than one-note caricatures. I assume it’s also supposed to be a romance because, well, the word “Romance” is in the title, after all. But there is little romantic spark. Nam Haeng-seon comes across more like Chi-Yeol’s older sister than a possible object of his desire. Plus I really really hate how she treats her brother. Finally, why do many Korean romcoms have serial killers lurking in them? Is it an attempt to add dramatic tension to poorly written fluff?

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Comecei a ver pelo Jung Kyung Ho, fiquei pela história da protagonista.

Haeng-Seon é um mulher que abandonou os seus sonhos para cuidar do tio autista e da sobrinha após a morte da sua mãe. Ela, que era uma promessa para o handebol coreano, precisou deixar o esporte de lado para cuidar e sustentar a sua família nada convencional.

Agora, mais madura e bem estabelecida na vida, seu sonho se tornou o sucesso da sua filha/sobrinha, que está para terminar o ensino médio e ir para a faculdade. Haeng-Seon deseja que ela tenha todas as oportunidades que ela mesma não teve no passado, mesmo que isso signifique precisar aturar um professor egocêntrico e viciado no trabalho.

Choi Chi-Yeol é um professor “estrela” de matemática. Rico, bonito e popular, ele parece ter tudo o que deseja ao seu alcance, mas essa fachada bem-sucedida esconde muitos segredos, traumas e solidão.

A partir de uma premissa mais leve e divertida, a obra consegue equilibrar muito bem entre o drama e a comédia, chegando a abordar vários tópicos mais densos e complexos, como abandono, o que define uma família, a pressão colocada nos estudantes e a percepção da mídia sobre as pessoas. Tudo enquanto apresenta um romance divertido e personagens encantadores.

Foi uma surpresa muito boa, comecei esse dorama após ver um reels no instagram e descobrir que o protagonista masculino seria interpretado pelo Jung Kyung Ho, mas o que realmente me conquistou foi a história de Nam Haeng Sun com a sobrinha e sua dinâmica familiar nada convencional, mas muito especial.

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BEST ROM-COM WITH A TWIST OF MYSTERY. MUST WATCH.

I don't write reviews that much however, for this drama I feel like it's better to drop a review so that more people can watch this drama. Many people might say that the FL casting was bad or there were too many unnecessary sub-plots. But I will say that all those things added to the charm of the drama. Though it could pass it as only rom-com as well but I liked those small plots as well. They added seriousness to the issues that this drama wanted to address.
About the FL, I think she portrayed her role very well. She looked perfect as someone who had gone through so much in life and became older earlier. If you go through so much at a young age, your beauty bound to fade away and her casting was perfect for the show. Though I wish they could have dress up prettily at special ocassions but I still feel that the kind of style was her character.
She and Kyungho complimented each other so well and complete the drama. From bickering with each other to falling in love with each other, this couple gave us all kinds of butterfly emotions in stomach.
I also loved how the drama came to a perfect ending with all the characters falling in it's place. The best part was how mothers came to an understanding about their kids and how su-a, who was the most stressed one found a friend in Geon Wu. I am so happy that Hae Yi and Sun Jae was together as well. Our babies grew up so well.
For now I will say that this was the best rom-com of 2023 yet. I am sure we will get more rom-coms this year but for now, this will be on my top list. If you're wondering to watch or not, I will say go ahead and give it a try. After 2 episodes, you will be addicted to the drama yourself.

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