I am not embarrassed to say I am completely addicted to not only the Korean drama itself, but also the Crash Course in Romance soundtrack.
So much so, I have had ‘Gypsophila‘and ‘Alright‘ on repeat on a Spotify playlist for at least a week now.
But, if I had to pick a favorite song from the Crash Course in Romance soundtrack, I think it would have to be Lee Juck’s ‘The Opposite Side‘.
The beautiful song that was playing on Crash Course in Romance, Episode 5 as Choi Chi Yeol has finished teaching his All Care class on the day the student has been found dead, and as he sits in the back of the car feeling sad.
The song continues playing as he goes back to his empty apartment, takes medication, and then tries to sleep — lying on the floor in his sleeping bag, hugging and trying to comfort himself, but still wide awake.
It ends as we see Chi Yeol early the following morning running, as he tries to force himself to work through the pain.
Pain he feels, not only for the dead boy, but also for himself – a lonely man unable to accept or deal with his own sad life.
Lee Juck’s ‘The Opposite Side‘, with its somber, melancholy cello, was the loveliest song for those devastating moments.
‘The Opposite Side‘ was written, composed and arranged by Yaejin Hong (홍예진).
A South Korean songwriter and composer who should be incredibly proud of herself, as not many people can create something this touching and lovely, or a song that stays with you days after you first hear it.
Matched with Lee Juck’s gorgeously rich, almost old-fashioned, utterly heartbreaking voice, the composer and the singer have created such a beautiful song it made me cry.
The song’s lyrics are also wonderful for those scenes, as they not only portray just how devastated Choi Chi Yeol feels about the student’s death, and about his own empty life, they also foreshadow what we all hope will be happier days ahead for him.
Once he and Nam Haeng Seon begin to realize their feelings for each other:
We open the door of sorrow우리는 슬픔의 문을 열고Overcoming all this pain이 모든 아픔을 거스르고To the side of the light, to the arms of life빛의 편으로 삶의 품으로can i reach다다를 수 있을까
Listen to Lee Juck’s ‘The Opposite Side‘ from those touching scenes in Crash Course in Romance, Episode 5 in the video, and on the Spotify player below.
Crash Course in Romance is currently streaming via Netflix and, if you haven’t begun watching it yet, you should start. It is honestly one of the best dramas to come out of Korea in quite a while.