As a byproduct from the same makers of the similar sugary-sweet series ‘Secret Mistake’ , the short series ‘Be My Boyfriend’ ‘ is a fairly formulaic high school romance tale where ‘’ popular girl’’ Oh Ji Na ( Lee Shi Woo) forces mundane student Lee Seungmin ( Shin Hyung Seung) into a contractual relationship to drive away old flame Ku Hyung Tak ( Im Sung Kyung). The series certainly wasn’t unwatchable and had an initial sweet romantic setup , however, the series was formulaic with a predictable storyline and cliches throughout.

Naturally, it is important to address that the majority of the cast were either novice actors such as Shi Woo, Im Sung Kyung and Hyung Seung , or have only had a few minor and supporting roles like Jung Bo Min ( who played Joo Min Ji) and Kim Byeong Kwan over the years. (This is not to condemn casting choices or actors merely because they don’t have experience.)

Whilst there were a couple of questionable acting moments ( especially with several line deliverances from Byeong Kwan during “ comical moments”) it certainly wasn’t dire for viewers to watch either. In fact, as rookie actors, Shi Woo, Im Sung Kyung and Hyung Seung were fairly suitable as our main leads. That aside, it is prominent to address the bigger issue of characters and their overall presentation within the series.

Perhaps the most notable character to address is the female lead of the drama; the labelled ‘ goddess’ and ‘ popular girl’ Oh Ji Na. With these notable character archetypes constantly referenced nearly every two seconds in the opening of the show, it is fair to say from Ji Na’s initial introduction, she’s fairly narcissistic in the beginning . Yet as this is a ‘ typical and life-changing romance story’, Ji Na begins to reveal more behind her layers as the series moves on, by her gradual affection towards the male lead.

However, the most notable problem with Ji Na as a character occurred within her lacking sense of imperfection . Whilst admittedly there is the argument Ji Na is easily shot down by her jealousy and inability to accept her feelings( especially with Seungmin), Ji Na rarely seemed to understand or take responsibility for her own mistakes and hurting others in the process. A good example of this scene can be found early on in the web series when Ji Na becomes envious over Seungmin hanging out with her ” best friend” Seong Ha Na ( Choi Yu Ju). Whilst admittedly given the context this was revealed to be a misunderstanding and Seungmin was undeniably at fault to some extent ( as well as Ha Na) , it seemed unfair and hypocritical that Ji Na was openly disparaging about Seungmin ” spending time outside the contract ” with Ha Na in a possessive manner, when she was also spending time with Hyung Tak. Seungmin did initially point this out, however, Ji Na allowed this to become a dominant argument upon ” Seungmin in the wrong” rather than sharing the responsibility of her actions.

It is wrong to deny that Ji Na doesn’t entirely grow outside of her cliche shell either. Ji Na does become notably a more tolerant person over the course of the drama by standing up for Seungmin against Hyung Tak, as well as not relying upon the male lead to entirely fight all of her battles as a strong-willed individual . However , one notable factor which was never truly explored in the series in favour for Ji Na being the ” high school popular girl” was exploring more about her past and reasons for joining the idol agency.

This transitions us onto the main lead of the series Lee Seungmin. Introduced under the ‘ loser’, and ‘ normal’ archetype with a ‘ heart of gold’, Seungmin is naturally head over heels with the ‘’ goddess’’ Oh Ji Na and becomes determined after signing the contract to earn her affections. Seungmin did have a more fleshed-out backstory than Ji Na, with a complicated family scenario of his mother dying prior to the events of the drama and residing with his single-father.

On the other hand, Seungmin’s reactions and growth over the course of the series often felt very minimal . Whilst it was refreshing to see that Seungmin considered his own feelings for Ji Na before signing the contract, he was often overly oblivious and complacent towards the growing affections of Ha Na at times also. The relationship between the two characters took a fairly predictable turn with the established setup and cliches along the way. As Seungmin has harboured feelings for Ji Na for awhile, it was a fun dynamic to see Ji Na also growing to fall in love with Seungmin for his kind soul.

Of course, perhaps the biggest elephant in the room in the beginning of the series appears within the character Hyung Tak. Notably controlling over Ji Na , fractious within his behaviour towards Seungmin and appearing seemingly as an “antagonistic force” of the series, Hyung Tak was immediately established as the ‘ aloof and popular sportsman’ of the school. Hyung Tak admittedly did have some more exposure as not entirely as a ” terrible person” over his guilt for leaving Ji Na when they were dating and forgetting special events, as well as being the first to take the reigns to locate Ji Na when he becomes aware that she is being stalked. On the other hand, Hyung Tak oddly went from being a predominant character in the series to a fairly minor presence. There was nothing entirely wrong with this as the show was attempting to focus more upon Seungmin and Ji Na’s relationship, however, this often led to Hyung Tak feeling poorly fleshed-out as a character.

The ending of the web series was fairly predictable and typical of a teen-romance setup; not bad or terrible per say, but not entirely original either.

‘Be My Boyfriend’ isn’t an initially ” terrible” show. The romantic pairing between the characters was oddly heartwarming against the more notable cliches and a new array of promising actors were introduced through the novice cast lineup. On the other hand, the web series was undeniably predictable and cliche-ridden within its setup , immature dialogue and conservative archetypes upon ‘’ Korean high schoolers’’, often felt poorly-written. Certainly not unwatchable, however, the majority of the web series was foreseeable, making ‘ Be My A Boyfriend’ a web series which can easily be swept under the carpet for the next romantic drama out there.