My adventures in Thai TV shows have yielded wildly uneven results as of late. So I decided to take a break from Thailand and head up to Korea for my next show. Which is how I landed on Semantic Error, one of the most adorable shows I’ve seen all year.
Semantic Error tells the story of Chu Sang-woo, a computer science major who decides he’s had enough of all of the freeloaders on one of his group projects. He removes all of their names from the final presentation, resulting in failing grades for everyone else in the group. This failing grade is particularly bad for Jang Jae-young, as it means he will no longer be able to graduate, and his plans to study abroad get completely derailed as a result. Jae-young decides to get revenge on Sang-woo, but in a plot twist we all saw coming a mile away, he falls for him instead.
To be clear, there is nothing particularly original about the plot of Semantic Error. It’s a classic enemies to lovers romance, with all of the wonderful tropes that that entails. But it is also classically a K-drama, in that everything is just done so darn well. The script is fantastic, with some wonderfully sweet and hilarious exchanges between the two leads. Their chemistry is fantastic. And in a refreshing change from the norms of the BL genre, this show treats its female characters particularly well. At only eight episodes, Semantic Error was a quick but thoroughly delightful watch. I’m definitely keeping my fingers crossed for season 2.
Suggestions for artists I should check out? Please contact me with your ideas. I hope you enjoyed your daily helping of art!
