3 Satisfying Moments In Episodes 15-16 Of "The Midnight Romance In Hagwon"

“The Midnight Romance in Hagwon” has finally come to an end, and the finale episodes were satisfying, to say the least. From Joon Ho (Wi Ha Joon) becoming a better support system for Hye Jin (Jung Ryeo Won) to Hye Jin finally giving herself the right to choose her dreams, here are three moments that made the finale of “The Midnight Romance in Hagwon” satisfying.

Warning: this feature contains spoilers for episodes 15-16.

Joon Ho’s improved mentality

One of the main critique points about Joon Ho for the past couple of weeks has been his immaturity. He is passionate about improving as a teacher and is fully committed to Hye Jin; however, his actions often make him seem like a child. This is one of the reasons why Ms. Nam (So Ju Yeon) told him that his immaturity is off-putting and that she would never date a younger guy for that reason alone. Although Ms. Nam changed her stance about dating younger men, viewers could not help but notice Joon Ho’s constant immature behavior.

Fortunately, in the finale episodes of “The Midnight Romance in Hagwon,” Joon Ho shows immense growth as a person without becoming a doormat. Lee Myung Joon (Lee Si Hun), who had a physical fight with Joon Ho in episodes 13-14, made a snarky comment about Hye Jin in front of the staff members. For a split second, it seemed like Joon Ho would beat him up, but instead, he went and apologized for his previous behavior. The reason wasn’t that he thought Myung Joon was in the right; he explained to the guy that the only reason behind his apology was the hope that everyone would stop treating Hye Jin poorly because of their relationship.

He even had a calm conversation with Yoon Ji Suk (Jang In Sub) and told him how he felt about his evil behavior in a respectful way. If the show had a few more episodes, there would definitely have been a scene where the English teacher reflects on his actions and realizes the error of his ways.

One place where Joon Ho did not act quote-unquote maturely was when he told the vice director how her new academy would fail. But the scene was satisfying to watch. It showed that Joon Ho is becoming more mature but is also not a people-pleaser and can speak his mind when needed.

A scandal for a scandal

“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Often it is recommended to let go, don’t take revenge, and be a better person. Although all of these things are morally right, you cannot forgive someone for the things they did that affected not only you but others as well. If you do not punish wrongdoers, would they even learn a lesson, or would they keep repeating their evil cycle?

Joon Ho is a bit immature and headfirst, but one thing about him is that he is morally great. He never harms others for his own gain. The same goes for Hye Jin, who, despite being ambitious about her work, does not take advantage of others to step up the career ladder. But seeing Choi Hyung Sun (Seo Jung Yeon) and Woo Seung Hee (Kim Jung Young) have a public fight that will probably adversely affect their business is the perfect punishment for them.

Not only did their shenanigans affect Hye Jin’s career, but they also almost ended Daechi Chase Academy, causing all of the other staff members to suffer. For people like them, forgiveness should not be an option. Even if this scandal ends up being the reason their teaching careers end, is that even a bad thing? Especially considering that the only thing they cared about was their own monetary gain and using other teachers and students as pawns in their evil game.

Hye Jin’s decision to retire as a teacher

Life is strange and leads you down paths that you would have never imagined. When Hye Jin started teaching at a hagwon almost a decade ago, her goal was simple: make money to pay off her parents’ debt and finance her law school. However, along the way, she lost sight of her goal and forgot why she started working so hard in the first place. She put all of her energy into sending Joon Ho to a good university and lived her dream through him and did the same thing for multiple students after him to help them get a place on the hall-of-fame wall.

However, in the last episode of “The Midnight Romance in Hagwon,” Hye Jin finally decides to retire from her teaching career and go back to law school to achieve the dream that she always had. In a sense, the ending ties beautifully with the show name “Graduation,” which is the literal translation of this K-drama’s Korean name. The name signifies that Hye Jin has finally graduated from the hagwon and is embarking on a new journey, and in this journey, Joon Ho will be alongside her, giving her the support and love that she deserves.

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Javeria is a binge-watching specialist who loves devouring entire K-dramas in one sitting. Good screenwriting, beautiful cinematography, and a lack of cliches are the way to her heart. As a music fanatic, she listens to multiple artists across different genres but believes no one can top the self-producing idol group SEVENTEEN. You can talk to her on Instagram @javeriayousufs.

Currently watching: “The 8 Show”
Looking forward to: “Squid Game Season 2” and “Serendipity’s Embrace”