The Midnight Romance in Hagwon

A quality drama, don't give up and watch until the end to understand its quality. Casting is also perfect, there is no doubt, Wi Ha Joon is perfect in the role he plays (I love his acting in both Little Women and The Worst of Evil) the casting and acting of everyone is perfect as if they were chosen with tweezers.. there were moments that made me seethe with rage and there were also those that made me cry with rage. The drama is a sharp indictment and criticism against the education system in Korea, the pursuit of excellence by memorization and not by self-thinking or analyzing situations, at the same time I have a reservation that the drama is apparently boring, there is a lot of talk about grades/tests and the grading system of tests. Sometimes I found myself repeating episodes or dialogue (one must say witty) to understand things, which leads me to think that the drama mainly speaks to viewers from Korea, they can better understand the depth of the drama than a western audience, most of the filming was done almost in the dark (even the room of The principal of the college it's dark not to talk about intimate scenes and a kiss lol) which made it difficult to watch. There are a lot of silences but the silences are so necessary for the plot (really wonderful acting) I've already seen series that deal with the strict education in South Korea and the attitude of the parents to their children and teachers regarding achievements, but it was on the edge (from what I saw), this drama gave me a different perspective ... Of course, it has many important and universal topics related to education and interpersonal communication, (relationships between students/teachers/and parents and interpersonal relationships on a romantic background and pure and supportive love) The soundtrack of the drama is great and pleasant throughout the drama I rated the drama 9/10 for me it was another introduction to culture and it takes time to get used to its pace and plot... And it may be true that she is not suitable for everyone, this is my personal opinion and I would recommend giving her a chance♥

The conversations are so real and the storyline and character development make sense and the acting is so convincing and natural. It is very refreshing to come across an intelligent and fairly realistic drama like this in K-drama land. It is still a drama of course with plenty of conflict and tension and feelings, but it is free of flashy materialism, immature characters and antics, and unrealistic plot events. I really enjoyed watching this one. If I could have made two requests of the director and production team, they would be: (1) I wish they could have varied the music. I get that this is this director's style, to use the same songs over and over again. He did the same thing in SITR, another drama I really enjoyed. But the repetitive music was annoying there as it was here. (2) I wish they had kept the original drama name of "Graduation" in the English marketing of this drama. "Graduation" is a much more poetic name for this drama than "Midnight Romance in Hagwon," which sounds like a paperback romance or Hallmark movie and this drama is far from those. Maybe the production team thought the drama would get even fewer views with the original name, but I think this drama will get the attention it deserves in time. I hope more people discover this one and enjoy it as much as I did. Dramas like this one are why I keep watching K-dramas, even if worthwhile ones like this one are few and far between.

This show is brilliant in every sense. It gave a good insight on the education system. The script and plot was through provoking and so realistic. Every scene felt natural. The casting was superb. Jung Ryeo-won and Wi Ha Joon's acting brilliantly showed the nuances of their characters. The romance between them was so beautiful to watch as it built up in every episode because their chemistry was in a whole other level. Seo Jung-Yeon who was Gray witch did pretty well and gave me Meryl Streep vibes in Devil wears prada. This is up there with One Spring Night and Something in the rain. I'll surely be this rewatching again.

The plot, the story itself and its brilliant twists and turns are so captivating. The drama was directed in a perfect match to the story, adding the exact accurate light and setting, costumes and objects surrounding the characters. The casting was so perfect as well. The actors succeeded, in the most professional and talented way, to support their original and sooo important drama idea. Everything combined, it provided the viewer with a fascinating glimpse at the Korean world of education- a realistic portrait of both people and environment. As a teacher and a woman I would like to share my sheer admiration to all the wonderful people behind this amazing drama. May you all continue making such inspiring TV.

What lifts this drama apart from the brilliant acting is the writing. The dialogue spoken by the characters nails the emotions, aspirations and ambitions most cleverly. The politics of the tutoring Academies projects a Game of Thrones vibe in the interactions and interrelationships that are exposed. Kim Jung-young (Seung-hee) and Seo Jeong-yeon (Ms Choi) played their roles to perfection in contributing to the tension and drama of the story. Who would have thought that there could be so much reeling and dealing behind the scenes revealing the competitiveness that exists in the education climate in South Korea? The momentum of the story is driven by the strong characterisations. I particularly liked the revelation of the growth in Mr Pyo's character portrayed by Kim Song-il (loved the way he delivered his lecture in one of the later episodes). His importance to developing the plot seemed at first understated but later enhanced his contribution which was a highlight in displaying the brilliance of the script. The two main leads, Jung Ryeo-won as Hye-Jin and Wi Ha-Joon as Joon-ho are amazing. I couldn't help but feel their emotions due to their exceptional performance and outstanding script. So Joo-yeon as Ms Nam (loved her in Doctor Romantic 2&3) is a pivotal character in the ethical issues such as loyalty and professional integrity that emerged in this series. The scenes where the teachers lectured the students was so interesting and the young actors stood out in their roles. Love the OST especially the track, 'Now and Then' which was a most poignant background at some of the more emotional and romantic moments. 'Catch Me' added to both some toe-tapping lightheartedness but also as a metaphor to the ambitions of the characters. Highly recommended and definitely worth watching. If anything, will watch again the interchange between Jo-hoon and Seung-hee in Episode 15. The dialogue in this scene was so well constructed and progressed like a game of chess in exposing the deceit and manipulation. For me, this exchange was the climax of the series.

A romance between the Senior Golden Girl, long-time academy instructor, Seo Hye-jin, and her former student Lee Joon-ho, who returns after 10 years to teach at the same academy where he was previously the #1 student. This romance is fundamentally of the older woman and young man genre. (But as there are ONLY 6 years between the ML & FL don't see it as anything to even be concerned about!) The story is in the setting of after school cramming Academies. The rivalry amongst the teaching staff within, the incessant competition for students, and the disturbing unsettling power of the parents. This is utterly baffling to those viewers from countries where the concept of cramming Academies and the competitive nature amongst them is non-existent, so the setting of this story is completely bewildering and it may as well be set on Mars in another future timezone! Long lengthy explanations are plentiful and meaningless for a viewer from the UK. But did grasp (1) that the object of Academys is to teach the student to pass the Exams, not necessarily to understand what you are learning in education! And do not for one nanosecond deviate from this method and whatsoever! And (2) that it is first and foremost a BUSINESS! Sadly these well-known fine actors (Jung Ryeo-won and Wi Ha-Joon) are totally and incredibly wasted, as the Director asks for clichéd performances. However the performance of Seo Jeong-yeon as the powerful Director of the rival academy was noteworthy. She acted out her nickname of "white-witch" with an appropriate amount of venom that one felt she didn't need the Director's suggestions! Only one scene raises a smile - when the ML falls out the bed as he attempts to seduce the FL (fully clothed, of course, pleeeeze stop this at least a button-down shirt that can be unbuttoned I mean who gets into bed for obvious s*x with so many clothes on in 2024). The couple never seem to have fun together, quite unlike the other popular older woman/younger man genre "Something in the Rain", equally full of family angst and trauma, but where you could see that couple fall in love while having FUN, joyfully discovering each other together in the kitchen, the bedroom, or just walking! At times it seemed as if this series was bordering on becoming a documentary about Korean Cramming Academies! Just cannot recommend it. Korean audio + English subtitles.

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