Weak Hero Class 1 (2022)
Quick Take: Weak Hero Class 1 (2022) starring Park Ji-hoon, Choi Hyun-wook, and Hong Kyung. 9.1/10. 8 episodes, 40 minutes each.
Synopsis: High school bullies target and torment weaker classmates. Shi-eun (Park Ji-hoon) is a target, but he is befriended and defended by Soo-ho (Choi Hyun-wook), a good guy with martial-arts skills . Wimpy new student Beom-seok comes in for even harsher treatment, but the bullies discover he is from a wealthy family and take advantage. Shi-eun and Soo-ho try to warn Beom-seok that the bullies are just using him, but he turns against them and has his new friends go after them en masse.
Review: This was unexpected. It didn’t deliver the predictable narrative of bullies who get their just deserts while the good guys get vindication. It’s a really dark story, with a really dark ending. Powerful, but dark. Warning: Lots of violence. People hit other people HARD with baseball bats, iron bars, and golf clubs, among other things. IRL blows like these would break bones, if not prove fatal. The sound designer did a great job creating the sound of fists and weapons landing on flesh. (To understand how sound design works, see Another Miss Oh, 2016).
I’m not recommending this one, though it’s well done. The violence and the message won’t appeal to a large audience. I watched it because of Park Ji-hoon; I liked him in From a Distance, Spring is Green (2021). He didn’t get a chance to do much acting in this one until the last episode — his character was emotionally detached through most of the drama.
Weak Hero is a web series, straight to streaming. Like many K-dramas, the story was first a webtoon.
Theme: The sins of the fathers.
Apparently a sequel, Weak Hero Class 2, is planned. A more satisfying ending— and a chance for Park Ji-hoon to act — would be welcome.
Rewatchable - 3, Compelling - 4, Plot/ Story/Writing - 9, Acting/Casting - 10, Production - 10, Bonus - 5. Bonus points for sound design.
Notes:
Park Ji-hoon
began his career as a child actor and advertisement model. He was a member of the successful but short-lived idol group Wanna One and returned to acting after they disbanded in 2019. See him also in Love Revolution (2019), Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency (2019), and At a Distance, Spring is Green (2020).
Choi Hyun-wook
gained recognition for his role in the 2022 drama 25-21, in which he played the love interest of Ok Ye-rin, the rival of the main character. See him also in Taxi Driver and Racket Boys, both 2021.
Hong Kyung
is best known for his role in the film Innocence (2020), which won him a Baeksang Arts Award. See him also in Lovers of the Red Sky (2021).