Wi Ha Joon’s ‘The Mignight Romance in Hagwon’ Faces Backlash from Teachers Union
Wi Ha Joon and Jung Ryeo Won's drama "The Midnight Romance in Hagwon" sparked criticism after airing its first two episodes.
Following the drama's pilot episode, "The Midnight Romance in Hagwon" quickly received an impressive viewership and an average nationwide rating of 5.2 percent.
Furthermore, the tvN K-drama also took first place in its time slot across all cable channels.
Unfortunately, not all were impressed with how the K-drama depicted its story, especially with the characters.
The romance series, which is set in Daechi, a neighborhood known as the center of Korea's private educational institution, was called out by the teachers union due to the story's premise.
'The Midnight Romance in Hagwon' Accused of Distorting of Korea's Education
Amid the drama's popularity, "The Midnight Romance in Hagwon" garnered negative reactions from viewers.
In a report, a union of secondary school teachers expressed their dismay towards the drama's premise, especially how the instructors were portrayed in the drama.
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As mentioned by the outlet, the union is calling out that "content undermines the morale of teachers who are tasked with teaching and guiding the new generations to grow in public education."
Because of the confusion that the K-drama might have caused, it could "create a distorted view of the Korean public educational system among not only Korean people" but also the global audience.
In addition to this, the union also raised the provocative aspect of the drama, citing that it has "lowered the morale of people working for public education just before Teachers' Day."
It can be recalled that senior instructor Seo Hye Jin, played by Jung Ryeo Won, personally addressed a certain issue with a high school teacher and requested to conduct a retake for the students.
"I know the reason the questions are like this. They're old. These questions are no longer asked in the CSAT," she mentioned in one of the scenes in episode 1.
The secondary school teachers union is also pointing out the relationship between the female lead, who is a senior in the academy, and the male character, who used to be her student, citing that it "can provide a dichotomous perspective to viewers."
'The Midnight Romance in Hagwon' Team Responds to Accusations
In the same report, the production team behind "The Midnight Romance in Hagwon" explained the reason behind the show's premise and took responsibility "for the criticism" due to its content.
"...We have looked through the content and meaning of this drama and deleted promotional content on SNS with inappropriate titles, and we promise to be more careful not to cause any concerns to teachers in the future."
As mentioned, Jung Ryeo Won plays a senior instructor at an academy, while Wi Ha Joon, who plays as Lee Jun Ho, is her former star student. In the series, he decides to leave his high-paying corporate job and start his career as an instructor.
Eventually, he is set to pursue a romantic relationship with Seo Hye Jin, especially now that they are colleagues.
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Written by Geca Flores
