The 2022 Korean coming-of-age, action thriller Weak Hero Class 1 has just hit the Top 10 Non-English TV Shows chart on Netflix this week, two-and-a-half years after the K-drama was first released on several other international streaming platforms.
The Korean drama premiered on Netflix this week ahead of Season 2 also hitting the platform on April 25th.
And not only is the superb series on the chart, but it has just hit the #2 spot, with only the Argentinian drama Caught being able to beat it to the top.
It also beat out popular K-drama When Life Gives You Tangerines, which ended its 16-episode run last week at #3.
Why has Weak Hero Class 1 been such a success on Netflix, so many years after it was first released and after tens of millions of Korean drama fans have already watched it?
Well, that’s an easy answer to give.
The drama itself is superb.
That means it isn’t only people who are new to Weak Hero Class 1 now viewing it on Netflix and spreading the word, it is also people like me who watched the drama back in 2022 and loved it, and are now rewatching it before Season 2 hits.
Weak Hero Class 1 viewer numbers on Netflix
According to Netflix’s Tudum, during the period March 24th to 30th, 2025, Weak Hero Class 1 was viewed 6.7 million times around the world, for a total number of viewing hours of 36.8 million.
The eight-episode K-drama was also the #1 show in 5 countries for the same period — Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and Reunion — while also making it into the Top 10 in 70 countries.
Not bad for a show that first got its premiere on Amazon Prime Video, Viki, Kocowa and other international platforms so long ago, eh?
Weak Hero Class 2 premiere
The second season of the Korean drama premieres on Netflix on April 25th, which is nice for those who are watching it for the first time as they don’t have long to wait for the continuation of the story.
It again stars Park Ji Hoon, alongside the new cast of Ryeo Un (Namib), Choi Min Yeong (Twenty-Five Twenty-One), Lee Min Jae (Crash Course in Romance), Bae Na Ra (Evilive), and Lee Jun Young (Melo Movie).
The plot of the second season goes like this:
The story follows Yeon Si Eun, a model student who, after failing to protect a friend from violence and carrying the resulting trauma, transfers to a new school.
Determined never to lose another friend, he faces even greater violence, depicting a brutal struggle for survival and a brilliant tale of growth.
And, yes, Weak Hero Class 2 is also being directed by Season 1 director and the screenwriter of the drama You Su Min, so the level of brilliance in Season 1 is likely to be repeated in its second season.
Brit-American journalist based in Austria,. Former radio DJ at 97X WOXY, and Founder/CEO of Leo Sigh. I’ve covered K-drama, K-pop, anime, and manga news for over a decade.