📍 Hello everyone! A subscriber left some really thoughtful questions about the production background of Weak Hero Class 1, mentioning they were having trouble finding this information online. So I’ve gathered interview materials from various media outlets to answer each of their questions comprehensively!
📢 Fair Use Notice
This post contains copyrighted material from “Weak Hero” (© Wavve/Netflix) and various Korean media interviews used for educational analysis, criticism, and commentary purposes under fair use doctrine. All rights belong to original creators and publications.
Q: How did Weak Hero Class 1 come to be adapted from the webtoon?
This answer is actually a fascinating story of creative connection!
The beginning of Weak Hero started when Director Han Jun-hee directly proposed the project to Director Yoo Soo-min. The two directors first met when Director Yoo Soo-min’s short film Villain Appears won the Excellence Award at the Mise-en-Scène Short Film Festival’s “40,000 Beatings” category, where Han Jun-hee served as a judge.
Director Han Jun-hee, who had enjoyed reading the original webtoon, made the proposal directly, and Director Yoo Soo-min was delighted to work on it. Yoo Soo-min said, “It seemed like it would be fun. I wanted to direct it because it was a work I loved.”
Director Yoo Soo-min also revealed: “I wanted to tell a story I knew well. I kept thinking about my own experiences from that period while working on it. Having graduated from an all-boys high school, I understood the power dynamics and hierarchies of that world.” His personal experiences proved invaluable in adapting the webtoon.
Q: Why was Season 1 structured as a prequel? I heard the real story begins from Season 2?
This structure was an intentional creative choice. Weak Hero covered Si-eun’s story before entering Eunjang High, corresponding to chapters 26-37 of the original webtoon.
The biggest driving force behind creating Season 2 was Director Yoo Soo-min’s sense of ‘responsibility.’ He felt responsible for “properly resolving the wounds Si-eun faced at the end of Weak Hero” and toward “viewers who were curious about and supportive of Si-eun’s future journey.”
Season 2 unfolds the main storyline where Si-eun transfers to Eunjang High and meets characters from the early part of the original webtoon: Park Hu-min, Seo Jun-tae, Go Hyun-tak, Na Baek-jin, and others.
Q: Why did they choose the 8-episode web series format?
Director Yoo Soo-min explained: “I thought it would be interesting to add action to situations that anyone might have experienced during their immature years.”
The entire production process took 1.5 years:
- Screenplay: 6 months
- Pre-production: 4 months
- Filming: 4 months
- Editing: 4 months
This choice proved to be a massive success. ‘Weak Hero Class 1’ ranked #1 in contributing to Wavve’s paid subscriptions in 2022, announcing the birth of a well-made original series. The achievement was particularly meaningful as it was “accomplished without a single top star who typically dominates the drama industry.”
Following domestic success, it gained explosive international reactions:
- Americas Expansion: Simultaneous broadcasting on Amazon, Comcast, Roku, iQiyi USA, Taiwan, etc. through KOCOWA
- Global Reach: Additional broadcasting confirmed in Europe, Oceania, Middle East, and India via Rakuten Viki
- Popularity Metrics: Ranked #1 for 4 consecutive weeks in Good Data Corporation’s ‘OTT Buzz’ drama/series category
- International Ratings: Achieved a 9.9-point rating on Rakuten Viki
- International Media Recognition: Selected for Forbes’ ‘Best Korean Dramas of 2022’ and Teen Vogue’s ‘Best K-Dramas to Watch Right Now in 2022’
- Viewership Performance: First OTT series of the year to enter TOP 3 viewing hours on KOCOWA, maintained TOP 10 rankings in iQiyi Taiwan and North America
Q: How did an inexperienced director work with these young actors to create a masterpiece?
Director Han Jun-hee didn’t just make a proposal – he served as a mentor. Director Yoo Soo-min described him as “like a mentor who guided me when I went in the wrong direction while studying with the mindset of a college student.”
Director Yoo Soo-min praised Park Ji-hoon, Choi Hyun-wook, and Hong Kyung: “The work could be completed because each actor gave 120%.”
The director also conducted interviews with actual high school students to capture authenticity. His sincerity in thinking “I need to bring out and properly reflect the social problems that current high school students face, even if it’s uncomfortable to watch” was fully captured in the work.
Q: How much buzz did it create before and after airing? Did people expect it to become such a great work?
The response after airing was incredible! Director Yoo Soo-min said: “After the work was released, I received many contacts from childhood friends, and they all said they were like Ahn Su-ho.”
This was proof that many people empathized by recalling their own school days.
The most impressive part was Director Yoo Soo-min’s philosophy about teenage friendship:
What I discussed with the actors was that friendship at that age is hot enough to be similar to love. Friends are precious, you want to hang out with that friend all day, and there are aspects similar to love.
I think this delicate emotional direction captured viewers’ hearts.
Additional Fun Production Behind-the-Scenes!
After diving deep into various interviews, I discovered some fascinating creative decisions that weren’t immediately obvious while watching the series.
The Mystery of Su-ho’s Background
One thing that always intrigued me was how little we learned about Su-ho’s family situation compared to the detailed backstories of Si-eun and Beom-seok. Turns out this was a deliberate choice by Director Yoo Soo-min for narrative balance. The director revealed that Su-ho actually had a much more complex background story that didn’t make it into the final cut.
In the original concept, Su-ho’s parents were running restaurants overseas in places like Japan or Southeast Asia, but their business was struggling. This would explain Su-ho’s maturity and why he was working multiple jobs – he was essentially helping support his family financially. There was also a backstory about him quitting sports due to an injury, which adds another layer to his character.
The director described Su-ho as having “fantastical aspects” – essentially, he was designed to be the kind of friend we all wish we had. This idealistic quality was intentional, and including too much realistic hardship in his story might have diminished that aspirational element.
The Psychology Behind Their Friendship
What struck me most was the director’s explanation of why these three very different boys could become so close. According to Yoo Soo-min, it was precisely because they were so different from each other that curiosity drew them together. Each represented something the others lacked or admired.
The director addressed the elephant in the room – whether the relationships in Weak Hero cross the line from friendship into romantic territory. His perspective was beautifully nuanced: teenage friendship at that intense level shares many qualities with love. The preciousness of the friend, the desire to spend every moment together, the overwhelming emotions – these aspects mirror romantic feelings without necessarily being romantic.
This explains why the directing borrowed techniques from romantic comedies while maintaining the platonic nature of the relationships.
Director Yoo Soo-min pinpointed the exact moment when the three boys’ hearts truly connected: after their fight with Jeon Seok-dae’s group in the alley during Part 2. He compared it to a sports team dynamic – like Beom-seok scoring the winning goal and then everyone going out for a team dinner. That shared combat experience bonded them in a way that normal teenage interactions couldn’t.
One of the most chilling aspects of the series was understanding Beom-seok’s adoptive father’s mindset. The director explained that the father was deeply disappointed that his adopted son turned out to be “weak, lacking, and insufficient.” The scene where he orders Beom-seok to beat up Gil-su wasn’t random cruelty – it was his twisted attempt to toughen up a boy he saw as pathetically vulnerable.
This adds another layer to Beom-seok’s psychological damage. He wasn’t just dealing with abandonment issues and bullying – he was living with a father who was fundamentally disappointed in his very existence.
Perhaps my favorite creative decision was how they handled Si-eun’s rare moment of happiness. Director Yoo Soo-min specifically mentioned that Park Ji-hoon has a beautiful smile, but they deliberately saved it for maximum impact. Throughout the first half of the series, we see Si-eun’s stone-faced expressions and dead eyes, so when he finally smiles, it hits like an emotional freight train.
The director described Si-eun’s journey as moving from being numb and unable to feel anything to gradually experiencing various sensations. That single smile represented a boy who “didn’t know why he was living” finally finding something worth protecting and fighting for.
My Love Letter to Weak Hero from Two Weeks Ago
Wow… I stumbled upon Weak Hero completely by chance and was so amazed that this masterpiece was created by a low budget, rookie director, and mostly rookie actors.
Watching this drama made me realize once again how deep human understanding, brilliant writing, and newcomers’ passion for their work and characters can shine brighter than blockbusters with massive budgets. It’s been so long since I watched a show being completely immersed in the characters themselves rather than just the actors, it was such a refreshing experience! 💗
I think Su-ho woke up around March 2024 in Weak Hero, and now it’s June 2025… summer’s approaching again so I hope Si-eun probably started university (Korean fans think he got into Seoul National University, Korea’s top school lol) and Su-ho is probably working hard on his rehabilitation.
The chances of Season 3 are slim but… I’ve been imagining that on some summer weekend night, after staying up all night writing reports, Si-eun comes to visit Su-ho and they’re practicing boxing together by the Han River.
I hope they’re happy.
Sources
🔗 Related Posts by Character & Language
📚 Si-eun (시은) Analysis
English Posts
- Si-eun’s Episode 8 Revenge: Why the “Implausible” Critique Completely Misses the Point
- Why Si-eun is a Character Magnet: The Psychology Behind Weak Hero’s Most Compelling Relationships
- Si-eun’s Hidden Violence: An Exploration
- Si-eun’s Revenge Debate: Core Fan Comments Compilation
🥊 Su-ho (수호) Analysis
English Posts
- Su-ho’s Lost Comedy Gold: The Wordplay That Made Weak Hero Fans Fall in Love (But English Subtitles Missed Everything)
- The Untold Story of Su-ho and Beom-seok: Why Their Friendship Was Doomed from the Start
Korean Posts
💔 Beom-seok (범석) Analysis
English Posts
- When Dreams Become Prison: Analyzing Beom-seok’s Boxing Ring Appearance in Si-eun’s Dreams
- When Subscribers Become Psychology Experts: Two Brilliant Takes on Why Beom-seok Destroyed Su-ho in That Ring
- Beom-seok’s Obsession with Su-ho: The Tragic Psychology Behind Weak Hero’s Most Complex Relationship
⚡ Seong-je (성제) Analysis
English Posts
🤝 Character Dynamics
English Posts
- Su-ho and Si-eun’s Relationship: When Fans Ask the Hard Questions About Weak Hero’s Most Debated Bond
- Understanding Yeong-i: The Character Who Reveals Everything About Weak Hero’s Heart
- Was Yeong-i Added to Tone Down the Bromance? When Subscribers Drop Literary Masterpieces in My Comments
- Jun-tae’s Japanese Mystery and the Heartwarming Go-tak Friendship in Weak Hero Class 2
🎭 Behind-the-Scenes & Analysis
English Posts
- Weak Hero Class 1 Script Book: Behind-the-Scenes Secrets That Will Change How You See the Show
- Script Book vs Final Cut: The Dream Scene That Made Us All Cry
- The Complete Behind-the-Scenes Story of Weak Hero Class 1 – Answering Subscriber Questions
- Weak Hero Class Change Video Explanation: Actors Switching Roles
- Weak Hero Deleted Scene Delivery! Beuksan High’s #1 Taking Down Bullies
🌍 Fan Community & Cultural Analysis
English Posts
- Weak Hero Fans Are Going INSANE and I’m Here for It: The Comments That Broke My Brain
- The Joy of Global Connection: Discussing Weak Hero’s Most Complex Relationships with Fans Around the World
- When International Fans Decode Korean Bromance: Why Weak Hero Reads as BL Overseas
- Three Questions That Reveal Weak Hero’s Hidden Korean Realism
- Why These Three Friends Always Sit Together During Exams (And Other Translation Secrets)
Korean Posts
📊 Quick Navigation by Interest
⚡ Character Dynamics:
- Su-ho and Si-eun’s Relationship
- Beom-seok’s Obsession with Su-ho
- When International Fans Decode Korean Bromance
🧠 Psychology Deep Dives:
- When Subscribers Become Psychology Experts
- Si-eun’s Episode 8 Revenge
- Why Si-eun is a Character Magnet
🎬 Behind-the-Scenes Content:
🌐 Translation & Cultural Context:
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