Recap Korean Drama "Crash Course in Romance 2023" Episode 16

Episode 16 of Crash Course in Romance starts with Hae-e’s bombshell announcement that she’s moving to Japan. She’s not going to be taking the CSAT either and decides to study abroad. Haeng-ja is taken aback by her daughter’s decision too and decides they should really be talking about this, clearly hesitant about her tagging along.

How does Haeng-seon handle Hae-e’s confession?

Back inside, Jae-woo is unsure how to feel, calling out Hae-e as a traitor. While he rants inside, Haeng-seon heads out to talk to the girl she’s known as her daughter for so long. Hae-e is not looking to discuss this though, given she’s already made her mind up.

Meanwhile, Su-hui gets a wake up call when she heads home and sees her husband on the sofa. The pair end up in another argument, discussing the mistress and everything that’s happened between them. When Su-a is mentioned and brought into this, the pair are unaware that she’s actually outside the door and the pair decide they should keep this a secret… despite social media being a thing and the video having gone viral. As fate would have it, Su-a has already seen the video.

Chi-yeol comforts Haeng-seon and decides they should go for a walk. Haeng-seon admits she’s confused and frustrated she can’t do more as Hae-e’s aunt. Chi-yeol discusses Haeng-seon’s plans for the future, who admits she actually wants to go back to school and start studying again.

Why do Haeng-seon and Hae-e fight?

When Su-hui drops off her daughter at the Academy, she tells her mum to get a divorce if she wants. Su-a gives her some time to think this over while deciding to walk home that evening. There’s walking all round actually, as Haeng-ja and Haeng-seon go shopping and walk round the shops while Jae-woo decides to go out and get some air as well.

Chi-yeol continues his classes but this time, it’s not all fun and games like it was before. There’s a much darker and more serious edge to what’s happening. A student faints and collapses on the floor after taking medication meant for ADHD. Chi-yeol is worried about his students and contemplates just what the solution is to this. There’s no easy way out it seems, and the conversation Chi-yeol has here feels like a wider discussion about the Korean education system.

Speaking of solutions, Haeng-ja is right in the middle of another family feud again when Haeng-seon gets into a heated chat with Hae-e. Despite thinking of her and getting a whole load of cosmetics, Hae-e refuses to accept it. Eventually Haeng-seon leaves the room, deciding to clean constantly and calling Hae-e a rude brat in a huff. Hae-e takes herself into her room and begins crying. Haeng-ja is left alone to contemplate her feelings.

Is Seo-jin thrown in jail for the exam paper scandal?

Seo-jin gets let off with a slap on a wrist following the leaked exam papers and a hefty 10 million won fine. It’s enough to snap her out of the mood she was in. In fact, she sits down with the family for dinner afterwards. Even Hui-jae is there. Seo-jin decides to try and patch up her severed relationship with her son, asking Hui-jae to join her on a trip away.

Haeng-ja makes a big decision and decides to leave without taking Hae-e with her. She’s felt a sense of shame for the first time in her life, having disrupted that bond between Hae-e and Haeng-seon. Haeng-ja has some beautiful words for her sister, including how proud she is that her sister has raised Hae-e so well and that Chi-yeol is the real lucky one here rather than her.

Haeng-seon notices Yeong-joo and Jae-woo together acting romantically following reading the letter. She sits them both down and learns they’ve only been together for a few days. She hopes their feelings are genuine but gives them their blessing. As they part ways though, Haeng-seon learns some distressing news. Chi-yeol has been caught on film having coffee with the girl he went on a blind date with all those episodes ago.

Do Chi-yeol and Haeng-seon get married?

Haeng-seon heads out to get some air, while Chi-yeol struggles to control his breathing when he sees it trending online. In fact, he speaks to Hyo-won about this scandal and they decide together that the best course of action is a ring. A ring to show Chi-yeol’s commitment to Haeng-seon and a promise of them getting married in the future.

When Chi-yeol shows at the Side Dish restaurant that night, he speaks to Haeng-seon alone and tries to explain himself. Only, Haeng-seon butts in and decides they should get married. Chi-yeol is taken aback, especially as he shows off a ring of his own. The pair agree to get married, with the date set for after Hae-e graduates and Haeng-seon gets her sports certification.

We then jump slightly to preparing for the new school season ahead. Sun-jae has his GED and he’s studying at home, Seo-jin heads out with Hui-jae on their trip together, while Haeng-ja is still talking to Hae-e, deciding to message her and update her girl on what she’s doing in Japan. But now Hae-e is back to calling Haeng-seon her mum and it’s all smiles and joy for them. Ch-yeol continues to excel and maintain his charisma for his students, while Haeng-seon is busy studying too.

How does Crash Course in Romance end?

Cut forward 2 years and Su-hui is now working as a school counsellor! Su-a is pre-med at Hanguk University, while Hui-jae is doing his military service. As for our kids, Geon-hu and Su-a get closer together while Hae-e kisses Sun-jae on the cheek and the pair presumably end up in a relationship too.

Haeng-seon does her exam and gets the results back… she’s passed! Chi-yeol is overjoyed too, speaking to his class and prompting everyone to begin cheering loudly. As the episode closes out, Haeng-seon and Chi-yeol walk down the street together, happy to be together and no longer caring about any more scandals. Now that they have each other an the people around them, that’s all they need.

The Episode Review

Crash Course in Romance comes to a satisfying conclusion, albeit with a somewhat wobbly screenplay that feels tonally all over the place. There are a few contrivances and a couple of niggling issues, namely a scene desperately needed to bridge the gap between Haeng-seon and Hae-e.

Between the letter from Haeng-ja, we go from Hae-e and Haeng-seon not talking and angry to suddenly being all happy and the whole situation dropped. I appreciate there was a letter, but unless I’m missing something here we never really get an explanation over why Hae-e wanted to leave – nor do we get the Haeng-ja money situation resolved either. We needed a one on one chat between the pair to iron everything out, although the scene outside the academy was very good.

The Jae-woo and Yeong-joo relationship still feels like an odd choice that needed more development early on to foreshadow them getting together, but to remedy that we do get a very satisfying conclusion to this whole Sun-jae/Hae-e situation. It’s good to see Su-a come out of her situation in one piece too, while Seo-jin’s day in court is just what she needed to snap out of her mood. Thankfully she can now work on her ties with her boys and do what’s right by them without overworking them.

Overall, a few issues are thankfully overshadowed by a largely satisfying conclusion that brings an end to this wildly popular Korean drama. One thing’s for sure, we definitely need more Jung Kyoung-ho romcoms in the future!