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Pierce Conran

3.5/5 stars
Lead cast: Park Ji-hoon, Ryeoun, Bae Na-ra, Lee Jun-young
The exploits of reluctant school brawler Yeon Si-eun continue in Weak Hero Class 2, in which the troubled student transfers to a new school, where he tries and once again fails to stay out of trouble as new friends and foes gather around him.
The formula remains the same as in Weak Hero Class 1, as do the eight-episode structure and the lead actor, Park Ji-hoon. Other than that, the show returns with an exciting roster of all-new faces and a significantly bigger production budget following a move to Netflix.


Global viewers were delighted to discover the first series of this pugilistic school drama when it dropped on Netflix last month, three years after the show premiered on the Korean streaming service Wavve in 2022.
At his previous school, Si-eun was a model student who was forced to learn how to use his fists, wits and any spare pens at hand to fend off a series of bullies. He became the heart of a close-knit trio whose friendship was born out of necessity and solidarity.
Yet by season’s end that unit had been torn apart, when one of the friends betrayed the group and another ended up in a coma. For his part, Si-eun was expelled and sent to the rough-and-tumble Eunjang High School, as good schools would no longer take him.
Season two picks up the action at Eunjang, but the boisterous bullies leave the solitary Si-eun alone, having heard rumours that he “killed a guy” in his last school.

Nevertheless, he is drawn into the bullying maelstrom thanks to his diminutive new classmate Seo Joon-tae (Choi Min-young, Twenty-Five Twenty-One), who is bullied by Choi Hyo-man (Yoo Su-bin, who appeared very briefly at the end of the season one).
He tries not to get involved, but that only lasts until Hyo-man beats the living hell out of Joon-tae right in front of everyone in class.
After being humiliated by Si-eun, Hyo-man tries to pit him against basketball jock Go Hyun-tak (Lee Min-jae, Crash Course in Romance), but all that does is unite them against him.
Soon afterwards, Eunjang’s top dog Park Hoo-min, played by an electric Ryeoun (Twinkling Watermelon), returns from suspension. Hoo-min has banned fighting in the school, as he does not want Eunjang to get sucked into the “Union”, a gang of local students led by his nemesis Na Baek-jin (Bae Na-ra, D.P. season 2).

Hoo-min chums it up with fellow ball player Hyun-tak and Joon-tae and keeps trying to charm the ever reluctant Si-eun. Friendships are born, but these new relationships merely provide emotional ammunition for Baek-jin when he tries to move in on Eunjang.
Tales of brawling students have been a staple of Korean films and dramas for decades. While Weak Hero hews close to the formulas that fuel many of those that came before, it stands out in the way it mixes pragmatism into the characters’ codes of honour.
Si-eun has neither the stature nor the strength to measure up to the top fighters he will come across. He understands that the only way he can compete is by bending the rules, hence his habit of launching into fights with a pen and scanning his surroundings for any weapon he can use to tilt the scales in his favour.
Si-eun is a dirty fighter, but only because the bullies have forced his hand. This is where Newton’s third law of motion – for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction – which he frequently quotes, comes into play.

With all this weighing on his conscience, particularly as his actions trigger reactions, Si-eun is a compelling protagonist to follow.
Season two kicks off with much excitement, as we watch Si-eun hesitate, knowing he will inevitably raise his fists again, but things become more straightforward after that.
Si-eun and his friends are aligned against a clear enemy, but they retain the moral high ground throughout. The final showdown is huge and thrillingly staged, but on an emotional level it lacks the ambiguous punch of the first season’s conclusion.
Weak Hero Class 2 ups the ante with fantastic fight choreography and some wonderful new cast additions, particularly Ryeoun’s charismatic Hoo-min, but its grander canvas does not always allow us to zoom in on the raw emotional details that added depth the first time around.

Weak Hero Class 2 is streaming on Netflix.


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Reluctant fighter Yeon Si-eun (Park Ji-hoon) is in another new school, where he tries in vain to avoid trouble, in this Netflix drama


Reluctant fighter Yeon Si-eun (Park Ji-hoon) is in another new school, where he tries in vain to avoid trouble, in this Netflix drama.


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Reluctant fighter Yeon Si-eun (Park Ji-hoon) is in another new school, where he tries in vain to avoid trouble, in this Netflix drama

Reluctant fighter Yeon Si-eun (Park Ji-hoon) is in another new school, where he tries in vain to avoid trouble, in this Netflix drama