This drama was indeed a crash course – nothing complicated and just enough material to focus on the main subjects: math and romance.
Here’s my Crash Course in Romance review.
For those who haven’t watched it
I use Korean drama reviews to help me decide on whether or not I should pick up the drama. Since I don’t want to spoil this drama, I’m sort of doing a mini review portion to entice or convince readers who haven’t watched this drama to pick it up.
Should you watch this?
I will say this right off the bat – if you’re looking for a lot of romance, then this drama most likely isn’t for you. Despite having romance in the title name, the show doesn’t have a lot of romance.
If you’re looking for a balanced drama that’s got a little of everything, you should watch this. There’s sprinkles of romance, melodrama, and thriller.
If you’re looking for a drama about math or education, you should watch this drama.
What is Crash Course in Romance about?
Nam Haeng Sun is a banchan (side dish) owner. At a very young age, she had to retire from her career as a national handball athlete to take care of her brother and niece, Nam Hae-e, who was abandoned by her sister.
She’s has an upbeat and warming personality, which is the complete opposite of Choi Chi Yeol, who is a famous star math teacher. They unexpectedly cross paths through Nam Hae-e.
Both live very hectic lives and never had a chance to focus on their love lives so the drama follows their journey to learning what it’s like to fall in love while trying to live their own tumultuous lives.
For those who have watched it
This is the part of the review for those who have watched it. Let’s jump in!
The good
Fantastic story telling of the intense Korean education system
The drama does a fantastic job portraying what the Korean education system is like and how it affects students, parents, and tutors.
I’ve heard that Korea’s education system is good and pretty competitive. Some articles, like this one, highlight the same idea. I’m not Korean, but as an Asian who has gone through a pretty rigorous education system, I’d say the drama really conveys the competitive aspect of the Korean education system. How? Through the perspectives of the students and parents.
We see the entire spectrum of emotions and reactions as students navigate the pressure to excel in school, which I think mirrors real life quite accurately.
We see the students like Su-A who suffers mental breakdowns and jealousy from studying too much and comparing herself to others’ success.
Then we get sort of the middle of the pack where we have students like Dan-Ji (Hae-e’s best friend) and Hae-e who want to do well but won’t sacrifice their health just to get a high grade.
Then we have the students like Geon-Hu who seem completely indifferent to school.
We can see the same range of reactions and emotions across the different parents. On one hand, we have the tiger moms like Sun-Jae’s Mom who prioritize studying above all else. Then we have parents like Haeng-Seon who care about their children’s education but not at the expense of their well-being.
The drama also shines a light on how the education system impacts tutors. Like students competing for the highest grades, tutors are seen competing to get the most business. In the case of Chi-Yeol, we see how he almost worked himself to death trying to become the star match teacher.
Haeng-Seon as the strong female lead
Haeng-Seon does a fantastic job playing the strong female lead.
She’s somebody who fights for herself and those she loves. She doesn’t let people easily trample over her.
She’s a great cook.
She feeds Chi-Yeol and teaches him how to take care of himself.
She supports Nam-E and her own autistic brother.
The show clearly shows how hard her life is, but she’s a fierce woman who decides to take on the responsibility.
She doesn’t need Chi Yeol to jump in every time she has a problem, which is something I really appreciated.
The whole build up to identifying the mystery murderer
The show did such a good job convincing me that Hui-Jae, Sun-Jae’s brother, was the mystery neighborhood murderer the entire time.
His personality and him dressed in that large black coat with a hood made me believe he was the killer.
Even though he was conveniently taking out people who were a threat to Chi-Yeol and tending to his own cat that I supposedly thought he murdered, I was still slightly convinced that it could be his psychotic personality.
Once the actual murderer was revealed, I was like – “MY BAD HUI-JAE”. Just like the Mom – I was guilty.
The whole back story with Ji Dong-Hui
I actually quite liked the backstory with Ji Dong Hui. It really added depth and sold the story to why he did what he did to serve and protect Chi-Yeol.
Music
The music was good and balanced. The drama itself wasn’t too heavy, yet not overly upbeat or light, so I thought that the songs matched this balance well. There wasn’t one that stood out to me, but if I had to choose one, it would be this song!
The bad
Hae-e’s decision to leave with her Mom
I thought Hae-e turning 180 and shunning out her aunt and her uncle was super weird. Just like her aunt, I was really confused by this whole front she was putting. I understood what she was trying to do but her way about doing it just felt forced and out of character.
What I thought could’ve been better
Showing Sun-Jae’s brother past
Based on Hui-Jae’s behavior and personality, we can assume that he also suffered from the academic pressure and the overwhelming control of his parents.
I thought it would’ve cool to see how Hui-Jae handled the academic pressure and do like a side by side comparison with Sun-Jae’s journey.
I believe this would really speak to that older younger sibling dynamic for people who have siblings.
Seeing Geon-Hu’s parents viewpoint on school
I think it would’ve been interesting to see how Geon-Hu’s parents think of schooling. Do they have a relaxed viewpoint of schooling and studying like Geon-Hu or are they tiger parents like Sun-Jae’s Mom?
Life themes in this drama
A simple drama that’s filled with simple life themes.
Life is unfair and demanding
Not everyone is born into wealth or in a safe environment to grow up. Yet, we are all put on the same playing field of life. This game of life is so incredibly hard because of the responsibilities we carry, no matter what age you’re at. Those responsibilities can pull you apart in every way – mentally, physically, financially, etc… Once you recognize that, life gets simple in that you essentially narrow your options to two choices: give up or deal with the problems.
Haeng-Seon is a prime example of how life is unfair and hard. She had to give up handball and to support not just her family, but also her niece, whom her sister abandoned. She had two choices: give up or get to work. It was a life of hell for her, but she came out on the other side with a beautiful family and fiancé 😉
Education is important, but your health is even more
Going to school, learning, and getting good grades are all important, but if you’re sick or stressed all the time (or dead…), how can you study and get good grades? Sun-Jae and Su-A were prime examples of this. Su-A’s stress went through the roof and she started hallucinating and bombed her exams. Sun-Jae was so stressed from the cheating incident that he had to quit school.
So make sure to eat to fuel up your body and mind. Get the sleep you need. Make sure you surround yourself with good people that contribute to your physical and mental health.
It’s crazy how people would do anything to see that letter grade or placement number. We’d either be willing to give up our whole life or somebody else’s just to see that letter or that high test score number. A whole life over that? It sounds crazy right, but somehow, it’s somehow a vital support block in Asian culture.
Be internally strong. Know your truth. Stand by your beliefs.
Haeng-Seon did such a great job showcasing this incredible life lesson. She was ruthlessly attacked by the Mom’s and gossiped about, but she didn’t gossip back or try to hurt others. She did try to explain herself a couple of times, and in the end, she kept her composure against the public opinions and gossip.
The same goes for Hae-e at school.
The same goes for Chi-Yeol by standing up for his own moral beliefs about the unfair rules and events at the Pride.
It’s so easy to say this but SO incredibly hard to do this. I’m still struggling with this!
Have a role model or someone who can inspire you
Having a role model can give you direction and purpose in life. It can give you the inspiration to live life better.
Hae-e and Dong-Hee (Chi-Yeol’s assistant) both found Chi-Yeol as their role models. Hae-e found motivation to study hard. Dong-Hee found purpose in his life – to serve and protect Chi-Yeol, who was also the role model of Dong-Hee’s sister.
Romance isn’t a math equation you can just solve
You can’t solve romance like a math equation. You can’t teach it either. There’s too many variables and no constraints when it comes to romance. You just have to keep trying things out until you find what you’re looking for.
Crash Course in Romance Quotes
Here are some of my favorite quotes from the drama.
Episode 6
“But math is black and white. There’s always an answer. But my life isn’t like that. There are no set formulas or rules. Every time I make a mistake, I become dispirited.” – Choi Chi-Yeol to Nam Haeng-Seon
“That’s life. We are all fumbling for the answer. We try out different approaches. Don’t overcomplicate things.” – Nam Haeng-Seon to Choi Chi-Yeol
Episode 7
“Humans are lonely creatures. So they emotionally depend on those around them. But you don’t do that” – Psychiatrist Jo Ga-Yeon to Choi Chi-Yeol
Episode 11
“Repetition is the best way to learn.” – Choi Chi-Yeol to Nam Hae-e
Episode 15
“Today is the last day you’ll blame yourself” – Nam Haeng-Seon to Choi Chi-Yeol
“We don’t get to choose our parents. All we can do is try to become better people then them.” – Lee Sun-Jae to Nam Hae-e
Episode 16
“But a part of me understands them. Studying means everything. Their futures depends on the CSAT” – Choi Chi-Yeol to Jeon Jong-Ryeol
Re-watchability
I’d give the rewatchabaility like an 8/10.
It’s not something I could watch by myself again, but it’s something I could again watch with somebody else.
What I watched before this?
I watched Hometown Cha Cha Cha before this.
Overall Rating
8/10
It’s a solid show. No real intense or dramatic moments. Great depiction and showcasing of Korean education.
I hope you enjoyed this Crash Course in Romance review! Let me know what you thought of it in the comments below.
