The Midnight Romance in Hagwon

The Midnight Romance in Hagwon is a 2024 South Korean 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.

Synopsis
It tells the story of a secret and sweet real-life romance between Seo Hye-jin, a veteran cram school instructor, and Lee Joon-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.

Main

 * Jung Ryeo-won as Seo Hye-jin
 * 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 Joon-ho
 * A new lecturer who returns after 10 years and stirs up Seo Hye-jin's daily life and heart.

People at Daechi Chase Academy

 * So Joo-yeon as Nam Cheong-mi
 * A new instructor in the Korean Language Department of Daechi Chase Academy and has bold personality.


 * Kim Jong-tae as Kim Hyun-tak
 * Director of Daechi Chase Academy.


 * Kim Jung-young as Woo Seung-hee
 * Deputy Director of Daechi Chase Academy.


 * Gil Hae-yeon as Kim Hyo-im
 * Counseling Manager of Daechi Chase Academy.


 * Jang In-sub as Yoon Ji-seok
 * 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 Myung-jun
 * 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
 * Social Studies team leader of Daechi Chase Academy.


 * Ahn Hyun-ho as Kim Chae-yoon
 * 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
 * English Department 2 team leader of Daechi Chase Academy.


 * Lim Jin-hyo as Shin Dae-bak
 * The new instructor at English Department of Daechi Chase Academy who gets along well with people.


 * Jang So-yeon as Choi Ji-eun
 * Administrative and Support Department head of Daechi Chase Academy.

People at Daechi Choisun Academy

 * Seo Jeong-yeon as Choi Hyung-sun
 * 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
 * Hyung-sun's assistant who is shrouded in mystery.

People around Jun-ho

 * Shin Joo-hyup as Choi Seung-gyu
 * 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
 * Jun-ho's mother who was once known as the "pig mom".


 * Oh Man-seok (actor, born 1965) as Lee Taek-yeol
 * 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
 * Hye-jin's best friend and a lawyer.


 * Jeon Suk-chan as Geum Chun-il
 * Owner of Night Flight bar.

People at Chanyoung High School in Daechi-dong

 * Kim Song-il (actor) as Pyo Sang-sub
 * A Korean Language Teacher at Chanyoung High School with 20-year experience.


 * Kim Na-yeon as Sung Ha-yool
 * A student at Chanyoung High School who is timid and smart.


 * Jin Ga-eun as Lee Ye-eun
 * A student at Chanyoung High School who is cheerful and simple.


 * Park Min-su (actor) as Lee Jung-soo
 * 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
 * A student at Heewon High School who rank first in the entire school.

Development
Developed under the working title Graduation is the new work 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. Park Kyung-hwa announced as the writer while Studio Dragon and JS Pictures managed the production of the series.

Casting
Jung Ryeo-won and Wi Ha-joon were offered the lead roles for the series in July and October 2023, respectively.

Jung and Wi were officially confirmed as the lead actors of the series.

Filming
Principal photography began in October 2023.

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.

Album
The Midnight Romance in Hagwon soundtrack album was released on June 30, 2024; it contains all of the singles and background tracks from the series.

Singles
Singles included on the album were released from May 12, to June 9, 2024.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Release
In October 2023, the series was scheduled to be released on tvN in 2024 and is also available for streaming on TVING, Viki, and Viu. Five months later, tvN confirmed that the release date will be on May 11, 2024.