Wow @sunnysaturdays thanks for taking the time to write this.

I heard at the time that the story was worth the watch but couldn’t get past the level of violence I knew would be present because I had tried to read the webtoon. I stopped reading after a few episodes because of the swearing and there was a fight scene in practically every episode. However, you have given a very convincing argument to compel me to at least try to watch the story and fast forward through the fight scenes so I can get to know the characters.

It’s probably not the right drama for me to watch now, but when I am well again I will give it a try. I first got to know and love the lead actor from the webtoon Love Revolution and later I enjoyed him in At a distance Spring is green. I also love Choi Hyunwook and it will be good to see him play a different kind of role.

I never know quite what to say about this show because I *did* like it and it had good performance but the use of the girl always annoys me haha. I guess it's the fastest way to create/exacerbate jealousy and negative feelings but I hate it so much haha. Maybe it's because I've read the webtoon and I know it's not needed.

This is such a good post and I really couldn't put it better. I'm looking forward to the 2nd season that's supposedly in the works.

Personally, I didn't think this show brought anything new or interesting to the bullying theme in highschool. The lack of adults made it this drama pretty weird too.

Violence brings violence, the end...

Thank you for your review. You have made some very good points. I had heard a lot of good things about the drama but had stayed away as I find the subject matter triggering.

Funny that you mentioned Jackie Chan - I too watched a lot of his movies growing up. I don't have a problem with "action" movies or dramas per se but school bullying is not for me. I couldn't even watch those scenes in Uncanny Counter, Season 1 which I am assured had just amateur level bullying. I don't know if it would be possible to watch this drama by fast-forwarding all fights.

I commend you on a well written piece and hope you find many more takers for your favored drama.

Beautiful writeup and many reasons why I watched and loved it too. It was gripping and suspenseful and has very much the heart to take you through to the end with all the feels to go with it.

@sunnysaturdays Thanks to you, I bing-watched it! It's around 3:30am now where I am... Waaaaay past my bedtime.

You're right in that the action is very well choreographed, shot and edited. The acting is superb, perfect casting too! I feel like there wasn't much of an arc character-wise, so I thought midway through the show that Park Ji-hoon's acting ability wasn't being fully utilized. But his expression kept building and building as the story built to climax, fully in line with the story's arc. That explosion near the end was so cathartically perfect!

Choi Hyun Wook was excellent, of course. His role was my fave -- serving as both the sage (a role usually reserved for a much older character), and the catalyst for the finale (normally a fragile character), except he's neither old nor fragile. Haha... Gah! I luff him to bits!

I have no idea about the source material, but there weren't any surprises in the storytelling. One can guess at what's coming because the show intentionally leads to it, and yet it's never boring or overindulgent. I guess the beauty is in the unfolding. My heart ached for each of our leads and I winced at their pain, but I couldn't really look away from the violence.

Not for people who can't stand violence, but a very good show all around. Thank you for the excellent reco! :)

I don't know how anyone could watch Weak Hero Class 1 and not fall in love with Choi Hyun-wook. His character was so cool and such a loyal friend, and I'll miss him so much in Season 2. Park Ji-hoon's acting was a revelation, and I've lost count of how many times I'd replayed the last scene of Episode 1. This drama was amazing and deserves its critical success. I can't wait for the second season, which is supposed to follow the webtoon.

I have watched so many teen dramas where there is some form of bullying in the middle and high schools in Korea. Sometimes the reasons seem so strange, like there is no father present, or because of the class system. Sometimes it's because the lead is just a little different. Does anyone know whether bullying is as prevalent as it is displayed in these dramas? Interestingly, I live in Hawaii and have met several children from both China and Korea who refuse to go back to those countries because they tell me they hated their schools. One boy, very bright but on the Asperger scale was terrified that he would have to return. Anyone have direct experience with this?

Congratulations @sunnysaturdays on having your terrific short WEAK HERO CLASS 1 essay published. Although I consider myself a ‘fight’ guy I passed on its initial airing because of its subject/setting: high school bullying. Because of recommendations I decided to give it a watchthis year and 8 episodes didn’t hurt. It is one of those dramas that just pulled me in and all the young actors were terrific.
In the area of physicality (ie fighting) for me top honors goes to Choi Hyun-wook (best fight , first one up against the the baseball team boys) and Cha Woo-min (the ringer from another high school). Both guys obviously trained for the physical part of their role.
Choi Hyun-wook is only 21 but has the maturity of someone older. We all know where his career is going.

Casting note. Cha Woo-min has been cast in a main role in another high school drama: TVING’s STUDY GROUP. Good luck to him on that project.

Because of the news of the casting for Weak Hero Class 2 and the news of Park Jihoon's new drama, I rewatched some clips from this and I once again just have such an appreciation for it. Now that I've watched some more webtoon adaptations, maybe I can view it slightly differently than before when I was just irked by the inclusion of the girl. Then and now, I understood why she was included but it was still irksome to me

It's really such a tragic story because it deals with people's darkness and messiness and how people just reach a point of no return; like a runaway train almost.

I saw a video where a couple was reacting to the episodes and after what happened to Ahn Soo, they thought Shi Eun was partly to blame for things snowballing the way it did because he didn't the cops or Ahn Soo about what happened to him. I don't agree because I think Beom Seok is solely responsible but it did give a different perspective which I don't think I considered.

I honestly don't even know what the best choice(s) were because after watching so many dramas, one of the *MAIN* takeaways is the cops aren't always the most helpful especially if you can't actually prove something. Even though Shi Eun/Ahn Soo had the text of the girl being held hostage, pretty sure Beom Seok's "father" would've gotten it covered up and/or had someone else take the fall. Neither thing would have nessesarily prevented what happened to Ahn Soo (cause there's always someone willing to do messed up things for money)

I think the new season is gonna suffer a similar fate of not being covered here and I already think that's disappointing since the new season is going have so many recognizable actors and it's the same team behind the project so I assume they'll continue to try to make the drama character driven.

I wonder if the new season will have more episodes since it has an increased cast and characters.