Graduation

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.

The first half of this drama was interesting and entertaining enough to keep me watching. The chemistry between the leads worked well, even if it wasn't spectacular, and the story had potential to be something memorable.

But after episode 8, everything started to fall apart. The plot became unnecessarily dragged out, repetitive, and lost all sense of direction. It felt like the writers were adding filler moments just to stretch it to 16 episodes, and instead of deepening the story, they completely diluted it. By the time it reached the finale, all the charm from the earlier episodes was gone, and it felt like a chore to finish.

This drama could have been so much better with a tighter script and fewer episodes. What started off as a promising and simple romance turned into something unnecessarily long and frustrating. A shorter, more focused series would have done wonders for the pacing and overall impact.

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.

Korean Drama '' The Midnight Romance in Hagwon '' is a school romantic melodrama.

The drama is slow paced and feels relaxing and comforting. The cinematography is soothing and the camerawork makes the viewing experience feel like the audience is peeking into the characters' lives.

The start of the drama, moreover, was nice, with the story taking its time to settle in.

However, after a while, nothing really happened. The romance was enjoyable, yes, but wasn't enough to save things, and the school drama wasn't intense enough to peek things up.

On the other hand, the performances were enjoyable by every actor and actress of the cast.

So, overall, three out of ten.

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.