This is a slow burn romance drama featuring older characters which is refreshing from the high school romances I tend to watch. I really dislike this industry’s way of adding serial killers/thriller elements that is unnecessary in an otherwise cute story. That plot here resulted in episodes 13-14 being totally depressing and what I’d describe as the saddest scenes I’ve ever witnessed in a Kdrama. The finale ends cutely (as expected of the genre convention) but we warned about the latter half of the season becoming unusually depressing - that definitely knocked it down a rating for me even though I found the ending extremely satisfying.

I really really love this one, they were so great in this. It's the type of drama you can rewatch. She's such a great and versatile actress from this to kill boksan which was amazing and over the top which is great.

This series really surprised me. I thought it would be a cutesy, light romance, but it flipped the script, and it took me a couple of episodes to acclimatize to the shift. It does follow several developing love stories, but there is also a mystery, murders, life lessons, and for me, a westerner, insights into some elements in the east, like the fierce academic pressure on young people, from both their families and their educations systems, that are the core plot engine of the series. The humour is endearing but seldom silly. The drama can be quite profound. The casting is amazing, especially the female cast. The male lead character was a little hard to warm up to but there was a good redemption arc. I give this series a high 8 (really fascinating) out of 10. [Dramedy, Mystery, Crime, Romance]

This series is about the cutthroat industry of private for-profit schools in Korea. A thriving industry that has parents overly involved and controlling of their children’s lives, and leaves their kids struggling with stress, pressure and all the hardship that comes with it. The story follows former national athlete Nam Haeng-Seon (Jeon Do-yeon) who quit her dream to raise her niece, Nam Hae-yi (Roh Yoon-seo) and has a banchan shop. She is the primary caregiver for her brother - who has autism - and is hardworking, cheerful but not that good at studying. Hae-yi is incredibly bright, but understanding that her family doesn’t have much money, has managed to get by on her own. Things begin to change as she approaches her University entrance exam and she realises she needs to get into a cram school to keep up with her peers. Choi Chi-yeon (Jung Kyung-ho is a star private school teacher. Brilliant at maths, and sought out by mothers of students across Seoul, he is deeply unhappy. His assistant Ji Dong-hee (Shin Jae-ha) being his sole friend and confidant. Fate intervenes bringing Haeng-Seon into Chi-yeon’s life. Full disclosure, it is a Noona romance - meaning the male lead is younger than the female lead. So if that’s not for you, this may be a skip. For me though, the romance between Haeng-Seon and Chi-yeon hit all the right moments for me. The push and pull, the genuine care and respect for one another? Couple goals. Chi-yeon basically shoots heart eyes at Haeng-seon everytime he sees her. This is something I can recognize consistently from characters that Jung Kyung-ho likes to play ( _One More Happy Ending, Beating Again, and Hospital Playlist are examples_) - this man likes to play men who are head over heels for their ladies. We stan a loving king. 😍 The real strength of the show though? The family dynamics between all the members of the Nam family and the comparison between all the other students we saw. Haeng-Seon does her absolute best to support Hae-yi in everything she does, even if she doesn’t have the ability to understand and navigate the after school politics like the other mothers do. When she realises she has to get in on the game, she is noticeably different from the other Mom’s and is treated as such by them. She doesn’t allow herself to stoop to their level to get what she wants, and that is so apparent in how Hae-yi behaves later on in the series when faced with a moral conflict. These Nam women have MORALS and we love to see them. The storylines regarding the cram school Moms and the sudden serial killer plot did tie up maybe too nicely for me, but this is kdrama land and I should be grateful they were tied up at all. And, that being said, the secondary characters in this show were excellent even when we loved to hate them or knew from the very beginning they were the villain. (If so hot, why so evil??) All and all, this is a simple, easy watch. I love that the outfit styling felt so 80s - and apparently impacted floral blouses increasing in sales in Korea. That is the Nam Haeng-seon effect. I enjoyed this very much.

I have ever seen a romance like this. The relationship between Na Haeng Sun and Choi Chi Yeol is in another level, superior to the rest. Their love story was the only reason I started and finished _Crash Course in Romance_ . The love story and THEIR CHEMESTRY !!!!!!!! THEY WERE JUST AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA SO GOOD. Jun Do Yun and Jung Kyung Ho has a REAL CONNECTION, you can feel it in every episode, at every stare, hug, kiss (plus: Jun Do Yun is a GREAT actor, he definitely got me). The rest of the scenes in this history (wich not includes them as main characters) was boring, without sence and incomplete. The same for the mayority of the characters. But I really don't care. Only Na Haeng Sun and Choi Chi Yeol worth it, love them.