The Midnight Romance in Hagwon
2024 South Korean television series
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The Midnight Romance in Hagwon (Korean: 졸업) is a 2024 South Korean romance melodrama television series written by Park Kyung-hwa, directed by Ahn Pan-seok, and starring Jung Ryeo-won and Wi Ha-joon. It aired on tvN from May 11 to June 30, 2024, every Saturday and Sunday at 21:20 (KST). It is also available for streaming on TVING in South Korea, and on Viki and Viu in selected regions.
| The Midnight Romance in Hagwon | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster | |
| Hangul | 졸업 |
| Hanja | 卒業 |
| Lit. | Graduation |
| RR | Joreop |
| MR | Chorŏp |
| Genre | |
| Written by | Park Kyung-hwa |
| Directed by | Ahn Pan-seok |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Lee Nam-yeon |
| Opening theme | "Don't Forget About Me" by The Restless Age |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | |
| Producers | |
| Cinematography | |
| Editor | Hwang Geum-bong[2] |
| Running time | 70 minutes[3] |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | tvN |
| Release | May 11 – June 30, 2024 |
Synopsis
It tells the story of a secret and sweet real-life romance between Seo Hye-jin, a veteran cram school instructor, and Lee Jun-ho, a quirky student who returns after a decade to stir her heart. The secret midnight romance that begins when the lights go out in Daechi-dong Academy, and the colorful stories of the academy instructors we didn't know about.[4]
Cast and characters
Main
- Jung Ryeo-won as Seo Hye-jin[5]
- A star tutor with 14 years of experience. She is a quiet competitor with a solid inner game who never gives up.
- Wi Ha-joon as Lee Jun-ho[5]
- A new lecturer who returns after 10 years and stirs up Seo Hye-jin's daily life and heart.
Supporting
People at Daechi Chase Academy
- So Joo-yeon as Nam Cheong-mi[6]
- A new instructor in the Korean Language Department of Daechi Chase Academy and has bold personality.
- Kim Jong-tae as Kim Hyun-tak[7]
- Director of Daechi Chase Academy.
- Kim Jung-young as Woo Seung-hui[7]
- Deputy Director of Daechi Chase Academy.
- Gil Hae-yeon as Kim Hyo-im[7]
- Counseling Manager of Daechi Chase Academy.
- Jang In-sub as Yoon Ji-seok[7]
- English Department 1 team leader of Daechi Chase Academy who is fairly popular and has an unrequited love for Hye-jin.
- Lee Si-hoon as Lee Myeong-jun[7]
- Korean Language Department 2 team leader of Daechi Chase Academy. He was the highest ranking Korean-language until Hye-jin came.
- Yang Jo-a as Min Hee-joo[7]
- Social Studies team leader of Daechi Chase Academy.
- Ahn Hyun-ho as Kim Chae-yoon[7]
- Korean Language Instructor of Daechi Chase Academy and Hye-jin's team member for three years. She graduated from the Department of Korean-language Education at a top-ranked women's university.
- Yuk Hyun-suk as Jang Il-do[7]
- English Department 2 team leader of Daechi Chase Academy.
- Lim Jin-hyo as Shin Dae-baek[7]
- The new instructor at English Department of Daechi Chase Academy who gets along well with people.
- Jang So-yeon as Choi Ji-eun[8]
- Administrative and Support Department head of Daechi Chase Academy.
People at Daechi Choisun Academy
- Seo Jeong-yeon as Choi Hyung-sun[9]
- Director and Instructor of Daechi Choisun Academy and known as White-haired Witch. She has the largest number of students at Heewon High School in Daechi-dong for 20 years.
- Lee Kyu-sung as Park Ki-sung[10]
- Hyung-sun's assistant who is shrouded in mystery.
People around Jun-ho
- Shin Joo-hyup as Choi Seung-gyu[6]
- Jun-ho's best friend and worldly cynical graduate student. He gave up getting a job and went to graduate school.
- Yoon Bok-in as Oh Jeong-hwa[11]
- Jun-ho's mother who was once known as the "pig mom".
- Oh Man-seok as Lee Taek-yeol[12]
- Jun-ho's father who is a former executive at a large securities company but now a current executive at a small to medium-sized company.
People around Hye-jin
- Hwang Eun-hoo as Cha Seo-young[13]
- Hye-jin's best friend and a lawyer.
- Jeon Suk-chan as Geum Chun-il[13]
- Owner of Night Flight bar.
People at Chanyoung High School in Daechi-dong
- Kim Song-il as Pyo Sang-sub[14]
- A Korean Language Teacher at Chanyoung High School with 20-year experience.
- Kim Na-yeon as Sung Ha-yool[14]
- A student at Chanyoung High School who is timid and smart.
- Jin Ga-eun as Lee Ye-eun[14]
- A student at Chanyoung High School who is cheerful and simple.
- Park Min-su as Lee Jung-soo[14]
- A student at Chanyoung High School who is the class president.
People at Heewon High School in Daechi-dong
- Cha Kang-yoon as Lee Si-woo[15]
- A student at Heewon High School who rank first in the entire school.
Production
Development
The Midnight Romance in Hagwon was the 2024 romance melodrama series of director Ahn Pan-seok, who directed Something in the Rain (2018) and One Spring Night (2019), and attracted the attention of broadcasters since the beginning of production.[16][17][18] Park Kyung-hwa announced as the writer while Studio Dragon and JS Pictures managed the production of the series.[4]
Casting
Jung Ryeo-won and Wi Ha-joon were offered the lead roles for the series in July and October 2023, respectively.[16][19]
Jung and Wi were officially confirmed as the lead actors of the series.[20]
Filming
Principal photography began in October 2023.[20]
Original soundtrack
The soundtrack of the series, led by music director Lee Nam-yeon and featuring an American band The Restless Age was revealed on May 10, 2024.[21][22]
Album
| The Midnight Romance in Hagwon (Original Soundtrack) | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by The Restless Age | |
| Released | June 30, 2024 |
| Length | 35:42 |
| Label | Stone Music |
| Singles from The Midnight Romance in Hagwon | |
| |
The Midnight Romance in Hagwon's soundtrack album was released on June 30, 2024; it contains all of the singles and background tracks from the series.[23]
Tracklist
All tracks are written by Will Bryant, Lee Falco, Brandon Morrison, and Lee Nam-yeon.
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Catch Me" | The Restless Age | 3:44 |
| 2. | "Don't Forget About Me" | The Restless Age | 3:53 |
| 3. | "Now and Then" | The Restless Age | 4:44 |
| 4. | "Together With You" | The Restless Age | 3:53 |
| 5. | "Simple Melody" | The Restless Age | 4:20 |
| 6. | "Old Memories" | 1:50 | |
| 7. | "A Raw Youth" | 1:15 | |
| 8. | "Hall of Fame" | 1:00 | |
| 9. | "Farewell to School" | 1:42 | |
| 10. | "Wounded but Okay" | 2:17 | |
| 11. | "Conversation" | 2:57 | |
| 12. | "They Found Out About Us" | 1:01 | |
| 13. | "Declare War" | 3:59 | |
| 14. | "Our Project" | 1:40 | |
| 15. | "Scheme" | 1:47 | |
| Total length: | 35:42 | ||
Singles
Singles included on the album were released from May 12, to June 9, 2024.[22][24][25][26]
Part 1
All tracks are written by Will Bryant, Lee Falco, Brandon Morrison, and Lee Nam-yeon.
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Don't Forget About Me" | The Restless Age | 3:54 |
| 2. | "Catch Me" | The Restless Age | 3:45 |
| Total length: | 7:39 | ||
Part 2
All tracks are written by Will Bryant, Lee Falco, Brandon Morrison, and Lee Nam-yeon.
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Now and Then" | The Restless Age | 4:44 |
| Total length: | 4:44 | ||
Part 3
All tracks are written by Will Bryant, Lee Falco, Brandon Morrison, and Lee Nam-yeon.
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Together With You" | The Restless Age | 3:53 |
| Total length: | 3:53 | ||
Part 4
All tracks are written by Will Bryant, Lee Falco, Brandon Morrison, and Lee Nam-yeon.
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Simple Melody" | The Restless Age | 4:21 |
| Total length: | 4:21 | ||
Release
Viewership
| Season | Episode number | Average | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | |||
| 1 | 1183 | 1269 | 675 | 1061 | 946 | 1278 | 930 | 1011 | 741 | 996 | 854 | 1054 | 802 | 1198 | 871 | 1456 | 1020 | |
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share (Nielsen Korea)[30] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nationwide | Seoul | ||
| 1 | May 11, 2024 | 5.169% (1st) | 6.329% (1st) |
| 2 | May 12, 2024 | 5.150% (1st) | 5.492% (1st) |
| 3 | May 18, 2024 | 3.010% (1st) | 4.005% (1st) |
| 4 | May 19, 2024 | 4.805% (1st) | 6.052% (1st) |
| 5 | May 25, 2024 | 4.231% (1st) | 5.262% (1st) |
| 6 | May 26, 2024 | 4.897% (1st) | 5.749% (1st) |
| 7 | June 1, 2024 | 4.117% (1st) | 5.248% (1st) |
| 8 | June 2, 2024 | 4.322% (2nd) | 5.434% (1st) |
| 9 | June 8, 2024 | 3.175% (1st) | 3.676% (1st) |
| 10 | June 9, 2024 | 4.173% (2nd) | 4.957% (2nd) |
| 11 | June 15, 2024 | 3.369% (1st) | 4.309% (1st) |
| 12 | June 16, 2024 | 4.790% (1st) | 5.950% (1st) |
| 13 | June 22, 2024 | 3.614% (1st) | 4.553% (1st) |
| 14 | June 23, 2024 | 5.192% (1st) | 6.306% (1st) |
| 15 | June 29, 2024 | 3.940% (1st) | 4.476% (1st) |
| 16 | June 30, 2024 | 6.596% (1st) | 7.442% (1st) |
| Average | 4.409% | 5.328% | |
