‘Crash Course in Romance’: Jung Kyung-ho Meticulously Practiced Math Equations for the K-Drama
One of 2023’s popular K-dramas was the rom-com Crash Course in Romance. Hospital Playlist actor Jung Kyung-ho starred as the male lead Choi Chi-yeol. For the storyline, Chi-yeol is a popular and sought-after math tutor at the most prestigious hagwon (after-school tutoring). But to get the character right for Crash Course in Romance, Jung Kyung-ho had to get into the rhythm of writing math equations.
Choi Chi-yeol helps high school students prepare for the SATs in the K-drama
Like most rom-coms, there must be a level of drama and inherent turmoil for the main characters. For Chi-yeol, he lost his father as a teenager but vowed to fulfill his wish of becoming a teacher. Now an adult, Chi-yeol succeeded and became the most famous after-school tutor. Chi-yeol is considered a celebrity, with parents lining up to enroll their children.
Unlike other tutors, Chi-yeol can break down math equations and problems for the students to easily understand. His caring and comical demeanor with his students puts them at ease. Watching Crash Course in Romance might bring back some awful memories for fans who went through the horrid SATs and tried to understand calculus and algebra.
But Chi-yeol made it look easy. But behind the star tutor was a man riddled with darkness from his past. Chi-yeol is plagued with the memory of a female student dying by suicide. He has been unable to sleep and eat properly until meeting the female lead. But for actor Jung to get his mathematically talented character accurate for Crash Course in Romance, he needed his own lessons.
Jung Kyung-ho practiced writing the number eight on a blackboard for ‘Crash Course in Romance’
Any fan who went to school with blackboards can understand writing on them is difficult. From the sound, dirty palms, and chalk, writing coherently can be a challenge. But Jung Kyung-ho never wrote math equations and graphs on a blackboard before Crash Course in Romance.
Jung looks flawless on screen for a reason. In a behind-the-scenes video from tvN, Jung practiced with math tutors on how to write math equations accurately and correctly. To film his scenes, he had to memorize all the equations fans saw in Crash Course in Romance. Remembering square roots, variables, derivatives, and integrals is complex. Fans watched as he tried to draw a perfect graph before being corrected.
The video revealed that Jung filmed his tutoring scenes in front of real high school students. They even helped him figure out equations between filming. One of the most shocking moments of the video was how Jung had to practice writing a figure eight over and over for Crash Course in Romance. So dedicated to perfection, he also brought a blackboard home.
What are ‘hagwons’ in South Korea?
Crash Course in Romance brought about the discussion of education and the stresses put on students to succeed. In the K-drama, Chi-yeol is not a simple teacher. He is a math tutor at Pride Academy and after-school ‘hagwon’ designed to help students with their academics.
According to the International TEFL Academy, “Hagwon” is the Korean language word for a for-profit private educational institute or school. Therefore, hagwons are essentially private language centers or academies operated like businesses apart from the South Korean public school system.”
But there is a dark side to overachieving academics in South Korea. While students go to school for six to eight hours, they immediately go to hagwon afterward. On average, a student will spend their entire day studying until late at night. More often than not, students skip meals until they are released from class or go home. To stay awake, students become reliant on caffeine and sugar. Hagwons are a business with parents paying to enroll their kids in some of the best places.
