Love Class (2022)

Mediocre but sweet and awkward in a good way

This drama has this odd charm, with awkwardness, slight suspense (very slight), a decent palette of current issues facing women and the LGBTQ+ community in todays society... However they only scratch the surface and it is delivered in a pretty mediocre way...

The acting- Mediocre
The dialog. Mediocre
The cinematography- Mediocre
The sound- Pretty decent and sweet
The chemistry- Mediocre but sweet/awkwerd/dead fish... type of thing
The side characters-Range between sweet to meeh
The Friendships- lovely!

However it is very short so I would not say it is a waste of time in any way as it was pretty fluffy, easy to watch and entertaining.. Just do not expect a masterpiece... or anything ground breaking, breathtaking or to be swept of your feet...

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A disappointing barely-BL.

The series is framed by a class about love, wherein the students in the class are paired off in heterosexual couples to do a bunch of love experiments. Two girls pair up, because one is in love with the professor, and the other has a stalker, so she's terrified of all men (except Jiwoo, who's too tiny to be scary).

That means that two boys have to pair off, and off we go.

This is a BL, and yet the class doesn't even attempt to address same-sex relationships, or anything not heteronormative. The most we get is that the professor allows the same sex pairings. To be frank, nobody should need his permission.

Because the stalked girl (Yuna) isn't afraid of Jiwoo, she allows him to escort her home, which draws him into the stalker mess.

This is a series that could have worked if it were twice as long. It simply had too much going on, a lot of it totally unnecessary, to cover in six brief episodes. Almost the entire story is about Jiwoo pursuing Yuna and dealing with her stalker. There almost no BL whatsoever.

Then, we skip all the processing it might take to go from identifying as straight and being in love with a girl to going gay. Jiwoo changes like a light switch being flipped, and Roa, who loves him, rejects him based on truly incomprehensible reasoning, then abandons his life and runs off to the sea. But we do have time for a silly girl's antics and pursuit of her professor and Roa's intrusive asshole roommate.

This story is so disjointed and lacking in any organic character or relationship development that I felt absolutlely nothing at the end.

The series doesn't fail because it's short, it fails because it's a long story that was crammed into a short space. For contrast, watch the 8-minute BL short Please Tell Me So on YouTube, also starring Han Hyun Jun - this does a much better storytelling job despite its brevity.

I'm often told that I should unconditionally support Korean BL because it's new there (It isn't. Long Time No See was made in 2017, less than a year after SOTUS) and operating in a homophobic environment (welcome to the continent of Asia). Why? I support good Korean BL like Semantic Error - I have no responsibility to support borderline gay-baiting like this, which is a cynical attempt to exploit a fashionable genre without having to commit to it. This is not a m/m romance, it's a story about stalking, with a shallow and cliched15-minunte BL stapled to the end of it.

Story: Since this is marketed as a BL, I have to rate the writing as a BL, so 3. I liked that Jiwoo's first hints of attraction to Roa was from seeing him shirtless rather than trip/catch/stare or accidetal kiss.

Acting: 7.5. Han Hyun Jun is more like a 9, most of the rest are fine, and Kim Tae Hwan is OK but a bit stiff.

Music: It's there.

Rewatch: 2 - I wouldn't watch it again, but I might revisit a couple of scenes that I liked.

Overall: 5. My overall opinion was that it was bad, but didn't look like it was bad. It's competently produced, but the story is just not interesting as a BL and skips too much that is important. I really hope someone puts Han Hyu Jun in something much better than this because he is talented and just adorable.

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What a Gem!

The quality of Korean BL is steadily improving! This is a short and sweet series that went above my expectations. The story was interesting and flowed well enough even though it was working with limited time. Also, the acting and chemistry were better than I have seen in similar BLs in the past.

The female actors were also pretty good, which I have noticed to be lacking in other BLs. The friendships between the characters were lovely. The two main leads were also seriously so cute (Although their chemistry was a tiny bit lacking - in the case of the tall lead) . Fluffy and sweet wonderfulness of a series, definitely recommend. Especially if you're looking for something to make you feel all those warm fuzzies.

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That awkward quality I kind of liked.

I don’t know how to verbalize my feelings about this show. It’s not good - it’s drowning in awkwardness. The set design at times looks awkward, the acting seems awkward, the writing is awkward and so is the directing. Somehow, that awkwardness was strangely charming? I feel like I enjoyed it for all the wrong reasons.

For a short show like that, it tries to tackle a bit too many issues and ideas. Stalking, unreciprocated feelings, coming out. I appreciate the more serious takes - it’s hard to be a female, because there will always be a creep with weird ideas. Gossips about your sexuality can be harmful and scary, especially if you are still figuring things out. All that was there, but just surface level type of a deal. Still, with a lot of, if now most BLs being “everyone if either gay or loves gays”, this show being just slightly less pink colored glasses view was nice, even if barely explored.

The thing I like the most about this show is how dramatic and over the top about the most basic things RoA was. Him being all “you have no right to worry about Ji Woo” when talking to Yu Na. Damn boy, she is his friend, she has the right. Or when he did not even let Ji Woo confess his feelings with his “you might never get another chance of someone you like confessing their feelings to you”... what, is he going to die the next day? Does he have one chance in life to be in a relationship, and if he passes it, that’s a done deal - he stays single till the end of his days? Where was the logic? Why so dramatic? They did not set up ANY reason for him to reject Ji Woo… it just came out of nowhere.

When he dropped the “He had to suffer like that. It’s all because of me” I turned into a question mark. What the heck is this child talking about? What suffering? How were you the cause of said non-existing, completely made up by your imagination suffering? People gossiped for like two days, long term no one cared. Not one person. And then he went “He’s in pain because of me” SURE HE IS, BECAUSE YOU REJECTED HIM! The poor boy has a broken heart. I literally cried from laughing when he started to say Ji Woo’s feelings for him are just an illusion. My dude, you are the one creating issues and problems for yourself that have no place in reality and never happened. That whole scene was just a gold unintentional comedy.

Not to mention how he left school all dramatic, last month before the semester ends, when he literally had just that semester left to graduate. What an emo kid move, I have to appreciate it.

The side romance between the student and the teacher got me wheezing. It’s not like it’s wrong - she is an adult after all, he is her teacher for just one class for one semester. It was just so painfully awkward, because this guy here teaches about relationships, love, romance, family, and yet he can’t handle one female student having a crush on him, looking so awkward. Especially in the last episode, I died a little bit during their scene.

It’s hard to talk about acting. Some scenes were truly natural. The double date scene was so fun and cute. The four actors have an amazing and natural chemistry. Then more dramatic and emotional scenes happened and sadly, the quality dropped. Delivering a realistic crying scene is not easy, I get that, but none of the sad scenes in this made me feel sad.

Production and directing wise, it felt like a project of a student with amazing potential, but not yet polished skills. Some shots were truly nicely done, well planned camera angles and lighting. Some… were shaky - both literally and in quality.

Overall, my brain told me to drop it, yet my body was clicking to watch the next episode at the same time. I just cannot explain it. I had a lot of fun, even though it made little sense. Maybe that’s why I enjoyed it? All the things I ranted about in the review were actually the reasons why I liked the watch.

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A not so 'classy' love story

A good start by linking the title to its pilot episode; a love story that begins inside a class that talks about love -a ‘Love Class.’ The speedy first date was cutely done thanks to the superb visuals of the main characters. The senior is showering with sex appeal, flirtatiously mysterious vibes, and at the same time a soft giant baby. On the other hand, the junior is sending a dazzling gleam sensation of freshness. The perceptible height difference and the way they consistently face each other while conveying sends me a huge number of butterflies. The one is protectively tall and the other one is adorably cute.

However, due to the limited time duration with only six episodes in total, the storyline is unremarkable. EP04 is likely the weakest and the beginning of the downfall of the show. There are too many loopholes and complicated scenes which aren't a good addition to the story. First, the exaggerated homophobic remarks and the never-ending gossip of everyone at school. In my opinion, the whispering campaign was very bizarre. Second, the girl who had a crush on the professor is annoying. Her inquisitive behavior is irksome. Third, Ro-A’s nosy and embittered friend. His rage isn’t valid at all, he is quite obsessed. Fourth, is the overwritten timing. In that scene wherein Ro-A and the girl are talking about the stalker then right after a pause, the girl suddenly receives a text from the stalker. Not gonna buy it as a pure coincidence. Fifth, it’s been days after Ji-Woo bite the stalker in his wrist with the jacket sleeves on and yet the scar is still intact in him. Please, they’re wasting a lot of possible twists here. It’s also funny that during the phone conversation between Ro-A and his obsessed friend, it’s too obvious that the blue phone is already broken before he even manages to smack it hard into the wall. Also, the confrontation scene in the class is a cringe one.

I don’t want to hate this but I can’t help it. Sorry to say this but Kim Tae Hwan is an example that most models can’t properly act. His portrayal of Ro-A isn’t enough. He tends to be bland and unconvincing from time to time. On the contrary, Han Hyun Jun nailed his character, Ji Woo. I love his mannerism, the understated facial expressions, and his natural tone and intonation in delivering his lines. The drama isn’t that bad at all thanks to him pulling up the whole show.

Unlike the majority of K-BLs, this one doesn’t have an opening song which is okay since they can proceed to the story yet it somehow misses the chance to give us a nice introduction per episode.

This is still a nice and fluffy college-based BL despite the cliche storyline. There’s nothing new to offer but that bodacious poem and its connection to their little romantic memories when Ro-A went to Ji Woo’s place was cute. The drama has the utmost potential but failed to execute a reasonable storyline.

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This is one of the surprise hits of the '22 BL season

“Love Class” is, in my opinion, a surprise hit of the ’22 BL season. It has the key features we’ve come to expect from shows out of Korea: quality acting, writing & directing. The only item missing from its impressive list of achievements is a catchy title song composed & sung by artists like Runy (Where Your Eyes Linger) or Coldin (Semantic Error). Han Hyun Jun, who stole the show in “Please Tell Me So”, is well teamed here opposite Kim Tae Hwan, who plays the tall lean and broody Ro-A.

Online credits for Director Lee SungTaek are sparse but he deserves more attention: “Love Class” is shot with economy & tight focus and doesn’t waste a moment of its precious 6 x 20minute episodes (in effect, a 2hour movie). At time of posting this, the writer is not known, but the script deftly weaves into its university student love story sub plots of unrequited love, jealousy, peer acceptance and stigma, as well as the darker subjects of outing, stalking (there is some violence) and internet trolling. Not a character is wasted, from Ro-A’s flatmates to their university tutor; each is fleshed out and dovetails into the drama.

Within the BL universe, "Love Class" is firmly in the realistic vein of story-telling, not the fantasy space occupied by "Cutie Pie" or "Enchante", for example. Ultimately, what makes this series watchable is the trajectory of its two leads: Ro-A’s attraction to Han Hyun Jun’s Ji-Woo and Ji-Woo’s self-discovery of the difference between having a crush and being in love. Highly recommended.

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university BL, forced proximity, unrequited love, crush, slight love triangle

triggers = outing, bashing, stalking

Stars Kim Tae Hwan (My Amazing Boyfriend) and Han Hyeon Jun (Strongberry's Please Tell Me So the one with the cafe and the bicycle that’s on YT).

It’s like Korea mashed together it’s school KBL style (Light on Me, Semantic Error) with it’s “adult BL (To My Star, Ocean Likes Me). Love Class almost felt like it was trying to bridge between the nostalgic yaoi ideologue of Cherry Blossoms After Winter and the messy gritty queerness of Blueming. But this attempted stylistic mash-up made for an inharmonious show.

I am reminded of an L.M. Montgomery quote,

“... having tried to please both sides, [he] succeeded, as is usual and eminently right, in pleasing neither.” (Anne of Avonlea)

It mixed in an aura of authentic queerness that is an anathema to the “sanitized gay bubble” that Korea prefers, add that to the normal KBL overly short run time and a plot driven by an outsider’s drama (female love interest’s stalking narrative) and the central relationship wasn’t treated with enough integrity. In short, they bit off more than they could chew.

A TON happened in 6 short episodes, this show has A LOT of content, and covers a lot of ground. It moved so fast, and with Korea’s signature “you missed it because it happened off screen” it felt scattered - even tho it had a clear linear story structure. It felt as if this were a full 16 45 min episodes being summarized for us in short form as CliffsNotes BL.

From the start I wasn’t really behind the premise. It’s a forced proximity thing, which is fine as a trope, but the class pushing them to be a couple (and then punishing them for it) is overly odd as a conceit. Also I’ve never enjoyed a BL where the lead (Ji Woo) is crushing on a girl 80% the time. That said, I do like it when the seme has a big old crush on a boy. Although Ro-A’s roommate dynamic confused me: are they exes, almost exes, or friends who never got together but probubly should have?

It’s always interesting when there is a clear seme/uke dynamic (as Korea likes in its school-set BLs) but the gay love triangle (such as it is) is around the seme character. By playing about with aggressive gayness, the narrative is calling into question the nature of romantic pursuit and the nature of the seme/uke dynamic. Unfortunately, this particular narrative didn’t have enough screen time to really explore this fascinating angle.

??? - There’s got to be a name for the trope where “I got injured because of you, and now you have to be my servant.“ Although I do love it when the seme is a bit of a brat. It’s like a short form indenture version of whipping boy. Korea is also a big fan of the premises: If a man is hot enough he can turn anyone gay. I'm not convinced on these tropes, old school though they might be.

The rejection in this one was particularly painful. And it’s one of those “but if your bisexual don’t suffer by being perceived as gay and dating me.” I’m going to save you pain in the long run. Which is a pretty core misunderstanding of bisexuality but not uncommon IRL, and kinda expected from a caring seme like Ro-A. We ended on a rapid reunion (classic Kdrama) and bit of a dead fish kiss (also classic Kdrama), but not as bad as it could be.

All in all, this was a fast-moving, bloated, complicated little show with stronger than usual story structure, well-acted if lacking in chemistry, that managed to be very appealing and engaging despite itself. What it lacked in content it more than made up for in pacing. Both bingable and rewatchable.

RECOMMENDED

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if you think you know what this BL is about - no you don't

Okay, first things first: This BL wasn't at all what I thought it would be. I don't really know what I was expecting, but it surely wasn't this. I expected a lighthearted and heartwarming BL about love, but what I got was... well... what was it? Do you know that gif of that guy holding a skateboard and he starts running and you expect him to use the skateboard, but he never does and he just keeps running... Yeah, that's how I feel about this show..

The story was both too long and not long enough. While the show felt like it was going on for too long, it also felt like there was too much happening and it needs more time. There were some elements that could've made something unique and good out of this, but they didn't use them at all and therefore, the show fell flat.

Yoona is getting stalked by someone and is scared of men (except Jiwoon 'cause he's cute or idk) and Hyewon is in love with her professor and that's why they don't wanna be paired up with boys and ask the professor to be paired up with girls instead. Because of that (and because there are just too many men in general) our two main characters Jiwoon and Roa have to be paired together. And the rest is history.

A perfect set-up to address some issues like the very heteronormative and amatonormativity view that a family is only considered a family when it consists of a man, a woman, and a child/children, same-sex marriage, etc. But this BL did nothing. They just said "well I guess you can pair up in same-sex groups but this class isn't for you students to fall in love anyway so it's fine"... like... thanks?? Also, what was the purpose of this class, then? All the students did was go on dates, spent some time together and money, and... that was it. There was literally no point in this class. I actually thought the concept was interesting but they did nothing with it.

Look at the cover. If you think that this show is about a group of four men taking part in this class and trying to navigate their way through it and find friendship and love, you are wrong. It is about four people, but these two boys that aren't the main characters don't really play any big part in it. They are just there, think of the Thai BL best friend group that isn't really contributing anything to the plot. Instead, it focuses mainly on Jiwoon, Roa, and Yoona (and Hyewon is there as well) who are more or less in a love triangle/corner. The guy with the short hair is only there to be the jealous best friend who has a crush on Roa. And the other guy... idk actually.

Halfway through the show, the stalker took a picture of Jiwoon feeding Roa and took it out of context, saying that "homosexuality was found in the love class" or some other bs and while it caused some trouble in paradise (and led up to a cute scene between the protagonists) other than that it wasn't brought up again. Who took this photo? Why are they homophobic? What was their goal with this picture? Is Jiwoon suffering from internalized homophobia/biphobia? How does that affect their relationship? Why can nobody in this love class just mind their own damn business? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Okay, I think it's time to address the elephant in the room. The stalker. In this BL, Yoona being stalked is used as a plot device so she could spend time with Jiwoon. Who is the stalker? Why is he doing this? How does he know her? How does he access all this information? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I was so convinced that it was the professor, I was 98.99% sure. It all pointed at him.
These are the things this show told us about the stalker:
- He knows where Yoona lives.
- He knows that Jiwoon is walking Yoona home.
- He knows that Jiwoon and Roa are doing this "dating thing" for class.
- He has a bit mark on his wrist from when he attacked Jiwoon and he bit him.

And the professor checked all the boxes.
- He knows Yoona in private (through her uncle or something), so of course it would be no surprise for him to know where she lives.
- He said to Jiwoon that he "heard" that he was 'taking care' of Yoona.
- He is literally the professor of this class, so he knows everything about Jiwoon's and Roa's "dating thing".
- He's the only one in class who didn't show his wrists and covered them all the time.

And oh boy, was I disappointed when it wasn't him. So, you probably ask yourself, who was it then? How did they find out who it was? Did they come up with a great plan? How did they get all the info about her? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It turns out that the stalker was just *some guy* that we don't even know the name of. We get one (1) scene where Yoona says casually: "I'm glad that they found the culprit." And that's it. We never hear from it ever again.

And if you think that at least we get some cute, romantic scene out of it. Not really, I mean sure, there are quite some cute moments, but there aren't nearly enough to outweigh the sheer frustration I was feeling after the whole stalker plot that went nowhere. Jiwoon mostly hangs out with Yoona and has a crush on her until he suddenly doesn't (???) and he is now in love with Roa... And they kiss in the very last scene after we get a classic "he rejected me and left and now I have to go find him" twist thrown in at the very end. In my frustration and attempt to make this at least a little more interesting, I told myself that maybe the prof was blackmailing him or something but no. And to put the cherry on top, the professor is now going out with a student (Yoona's friend Hyewon). :))

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Sort of dark?

I have recently just finished watching Love Class and honestly I really enjoyed the plot. I like how it deals with scary situations in non-glamourising way, like most dark BL's do.

I personally think the acting, wasn't all that great, but it didn't put me of the series. I think the two MLs genuinely had great chemistry with one another, and the side characters stories were really nice, and interesting.

Although I was interested in Yuna's story, her character was really not my favourite. I feel she exploited Ji Woo's feelings and took advantage of him, which I understand is what made it interesting. The whole stalker thing, I really enjoyed, it showed how stalker impact the people around you, as well as yourself.

Ro A's character was really nice, and was always there for Ji Woo. I really enjoyed the poem he read out, it was really nice and I understand how Ji Woo ended up liking him, as he takes care and pays attention to everything Ji Woo does.

Overall the drama was really really good, I would definitely watch this again as I enjoyed it very much.

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Love class ☺️

And one of the beautiful dramas, love class, ended ☺️
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The important thing is, I did not lie to you. I felt this drama as if it wanted to mix the themes of the series, Semantic error, Blooming, Cherry blossoms, and the ocean like me in this series. They wanted to see something similar to these series, but in the end it was mixed in a chaotic way, which led to an inconsistent show, meaning the series was supposed to make its own theme. In it, in order to see what is different and distinctive about it, except that it was also brief except in terms of the story. The drama was really plotted, it was a little confusing.
Even the song, I only heard it at the end of the episode, meaning there were no sound effects.
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But the positive thing about it is that it depicted a love triangle and got out of the frame a little, especially at this time, there is no such kind.
The actors are very nice and the story is somewhat sweet. I loved the show, the ending was very sweet, although I expected more.

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Surprisingly good!

I surprisingly really enjoyed this short drama. I went into it a little hesitant, especially since Cha Ji Woo was a little cringey with how he liked Yu Na. But because it was such a short drama, and it was being released every day, I figured I’d give it a try.

The show got much better as it went on, with the characters being very realistically flawed. I loved watching Ji Woo and Ro-A slowly develop a friendship that ended up turning into something… more. Ro-A’s quiet but steady presence was nice to watch, though I wish the actor portrayed more emotions with his body language. Not sure if it was a directorial choice or a choice by the actor, but I do wish there were more expressions from him. Luckily for them, I am a fan of the stoic character, but that might not be true for everyone.

As Ji Woo and Ro-A got closer, Ji Woo got a taste of what he had given Yu Na: unconditional care. Ro-A’s presence in Ji Woo’s life clearly had a positive impact, and given his actions I truly can’t blame Ji Woo for falling in love with him.

I also really like the resolution of Ji Woo’s crush for Yu Na. I feel like it was a closure for both of them, and it was necessary for Ji Woo to move on.

However, I don’t love Ro-A’s behavior towards his friend Nam Jun, but I also didn’t really enjoy Nam Jun’s behavior towards Ro-A. I think that friendship turned toxic as soon as Nam Jun confessed and Ro-A selfishly asked him to stay as a friend. Nam Jun’s feelings were never resolved and always lingering, which made them both uncomfortable.

Another thing I was not the biggest fan of was the hinting of the Professor and Hye Won’s relationship. Not only do I not really love unequal-power relationships, but I also don’t love Hye Won’s character very much, so I often found myself skipping ahead during those scenes.

However, when we focus mostly on Ji Woo and Ro-A’s relationship, I honestly liked it. While it’s not as good as Blueming, for example, it had its own charm and emotion. The ending was satisfying as well.

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not a fluffy series like the trailer indicated

Overall: I had to adjust my mindset when the first episode took a dark turn towards the end. Although the series had promise, it had too many characters/plot points with not enough run time. Watched on Gagaoolala.

Content Warnings: (not between m/m ship) stalking, non con taking photos, violence, manhandling, teacher/student relationship between side characters

What I Liked
- some cute moments
- the opera music on their date
- the release schedule of 1 episode a day for 6 days, makes it easy to binge if wanted
- production value

Room For Improvement
- the idiocy of not telling the police right away (also that they all relax and think it's solved when it's not...)
- why does Ro-A like Ji-Woo, we don't even see a "love at first sight" scene (we finally see one in episode 5, I'm still not satisfied)
- love triangle/s
- weird plot with the other female classmate and the professor
- super cliche ending makes me want them not to be together

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