“Crash Course in Romance” is a series that is rock solid through fifteen episodes, and then limps to the finish line with a very mediocre final episode. It was clear that the writers had enough material for fifteen episodes, and then ended up having to come up with some gimmicks to stretch it to sixteen, which is almost always a mistake for a writer to make.

This is a series that is part romance, part thriller, which is something that the Koreans are masters. They are fantastic at utilizing multiple genres within a single series and making it work.

This is a series that seeks to shed light on the obsession with education in Korea. Korea is one of the top countries in education, which obviously accounts for much of the country’s success. But, at what cost? Korea also has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, especially among teens. You’re dealing with tiger moms, worn-out kids, and one of the most competitive cultures in the world.

I am an ESL teacher, and I have lived and worked in Korea, China, and Taiwan in the Asian countries. While education is huge in all three, Korea surpasses the others when it comes to an almost obsessive, compulsive need to be the best. And this series does a tremendous job of exposing the education culture of Korea with the realization that change is needed.

First of all, students in Korea are expected to study from sunrise, and in many cases, until midnight or later. This is true for children as young as 2nd or 3rd grade. I remember asking many of my students on the eve of a long holiday what they planned to do (thinking that they might do something fun). All of them said, “Studying. My parents told me to bring my books on our vacation.” In the series, we see the culture of students in Nam Hae Yi, Bang Soo Ah, and Lee Seon Jae.

Bang Soo Ah has an unhealthy and frenetic outlook on her education. If she doesn’t finish as #1, she sees herself as a failure. But worse than that, she gets angry at those who beat her, feeling that they must have done something wrong or dishonest.

Lee Seon Jae is put under such pressure from his mother, that he ends up doing something terribly wrong.

Second, we have Tiger moms. This a term used to describe mothers who are so obsessed with their children’s education and future, that nothing else matters to them. They will even dictate to teachers what should or shouldn’t be done. We have a number of tiger moms depicted in this series. Of course, they will all state that it’s for their children. This is a lie. These are women who live vicariously through their own kids and use them to achieve social status. Their children are nothing but pawns, and yes, this is a form of child abuse. It’s no less abusive for moms in the west who give little-to-no attention to their kids, not caring what they do or don’t do. That is abuse too. These are two cultures of extremes, where balance is needed. Make no mistake: most children in Asian countries and cultures are never given much of a chance to be a kid. Many of their lives are mapped and planned out for them. They are told who to marry, what job they will do, and what to do every single day. I have spoken with so many native teachers of these countries who say that they hate their education system.

Believe it or not, I actually had a Korean student who was upset with his test scores at school. His own mother told him, “If you can’t do any better than this, then you should throw yourself off the balcony!” Yes, that’s a true story.

In this series, we have tiger moms who will do anything to bring other students down. Other mothers down. In short, there isn’t much they won’t do to ensure that their child is among the elite. Now, you may look at some of the scenes in this series and say, “Goodness! Do those things really happen? Do mothers really do these kinds of things?” Yes, they do. And that is the truth of the harsh reality that virtually nothing depicted in this series is exaggerated.

Choi Chi Yeol is arguably Korea’s top academy math teacher. He’s so popular, that moms and students line up on the street for a chance to get into one of his classes. There’s no doubt that he’s a great teacher, bringing great enthusiasm and passion to his classrooms. However, it’s also apparent that teaching is all there is for him. He can barely eat, and he even sleeps less. And his small, bubble world is finally blown up when he meets Nam Haeng Seon. What’s funny is that Choi Chi Yeol is horrible at remembering people’s names, including those he works with. However, someone is killing anyone who attempts to harm Choi Chi Yeol, and we’re given a pretty good thriller aspect as we try to figure out who it could be.

Nam Haeng Seon is a woman who runs a small side-dish café while raising her niece who was left on Nam Haeng Seon’s doorstep when the girl was only a few years old. It’s clear that Nam Haeng Seon wants the best for her niece, but she wisely allows Nam Hae Yi to choose and create her own path. In short, she’s a supportive mother who isn’t a tiger mom. She’s a perfect balance of supporting Nam Hae Yi without going overboard.

The relationship between Choi Chi Yeol and Nam Haeng Seon is endearing and cute, despite the fact that occasionally, there appears to be little romantic chemistry between the two leads. Don’t get me wrong. Jeon Do Yeon and Jung Kyung Ho are masterful in their roles. But I made me wonder if the fact that Jeon Do Yeon is 10+ years older than her co-star had something to do with it. I’ve seen Jung Kyung Ho in series like “Hospital Playlist” and he’s nothing short of brilliant in this series as well. He’s very believable as the tightly wound and somewhat aloof math teacher. I was also very impressed with Roh Yoon Seo (Nam Hae Yi). This young lady has a bright future ahead of her.

This series was a “10” for me until the last episode. The writers suddenly forced a contrived storyline upon us where Nam Hae Yi’s mother comes back, and she suddenly announces that she’s going to move with her selfish, gold-digging mother to Japan, which comes right out of the blue. Also, it simply doesn’t fit with the character of Nam Hae Yi. Now, one might believe that she did it to protect her aunt and Choi Chi Yeol, but no resolution or discussion is ever made to account for her behavior. It was ridiculous and it didn’t fit with the rest of the story. We also got no real resolution between Lee Seon Jae’s mother and his brother, whom she suspected of being a murderer. A resolution scene there would have gone far, but that came up short as well.

All in all, this was a very nice series to be a part of. I’m glad that someone decided to shed some light on Korea’s issues with the educational system. It’s high time the children stop paying the price for their parents’ obsession with status. This series would have been perfect had it ended after 15 episodes, but even with the lackluster 16th, it’s still a good series!