Am very impressed with this Korean drama. I’d go to the extent of even saying that this is the best Korean BL I’ve seen so far. It shows genuinely the struggle of the LGBT youth and those who were labeled as losers in high school, while giving us all the KILIG (google it) at the same time. Specifically the characters of Lee (Tae Kyung), Kang (Shin Woo), and Choe (Da On) fabulously show us the different sides of the experience of the LGBT youth.

The obvious highlights include our 4 main boys!

Go (Nam Goong) was such a bright and shining light in the series. It was just a wonderful performance that gave the viewers so much joy, while taking the story forward in a smart way, even with all the humor he brought with him. “Potato Pizza” says WHAT?!? Ahahaha

Choe (Da On) was such a sweetie. A boy clearly caught between a rock and a hard place. My heart really went out to his plight; being a child of absent parents while clearly compensating with grades for the approval the parents never really gave (heavily implied). It’s hard when you are suddenly hit by the discovery of being LGBT while being in such a crucial phase in your teen life. I am genuinely my happy that at the end of his story, he realized that he is living his life for yourself, and that the opinions of strangers on your life is never as important as your opinion of yourself (if you can’t love yourself, how can you love somebody else). I loved how his character really grew and give time to discover himself in the end.

Kang (Shin Woo), the precious little pancake! I just want to protect with my whole life! He was so adorable, and he is just our strong boy! His character has experienced so much with losing his friends from just being himself. Him being just love struck with Tae Kyung was just so KILIG to watch! I squealed so many times during his scenes with Lee (Tae Kyung). It was embarrassing. We love a gay boy who knows what he wants and does what he can to fight for it. “Fighting!”
Side note, did you notice his LIPS! They were so dry (not in a bad way). I just wanted to lick them every time there was a closeup on them! So kissable!

There is an obvious juxtaposition between the characters of Kang (Shin Woo) and Choe (Da On), where the former has been stung at a young age by prejudice and now hides his real feelings, while the latter is still just discovering himself, but in being such a public figure, is stifled by how the world perceives him.

With a setting of an all boys school, not withstanding that it’s also set in Korea, an obvious norm of toxic machismo is present within the male student body; an environment where being different is treated as a disease. Children are made afraid of being who they are, that is shown in the series. When a child finds out that he is different, instead of embracing it and accepting it as a part of them, they are made to think that this new found part of them has to be kept a secret. My heart goes out to Shin Woo and Da An. The struggle is real, and we have to do our part to move society where kids like them don’t live in fear.

Lastly, of course, and not least, Lee (Tae Kyung) gave such a lovely performance. In another life, little gay high school me also had 2 boys fighting over my affection. He was such an innocent character that just wanted to be accepted by his peers. Cute as a button. Thank goodness he never got scars from all the facial injuries he seemed to receive. Ahahaha. I wish I was as confident as him when I was in high school.

To close, I am subtly reminded of the events of the recent Olympics in Tokyo, where a GOLD medalist Korean woman was accused of being a feminist based on her non female conforming haircut. And the Korean, mostly male, population was scandalized and would rather have her revoke her golds just because of their alarm of her potentially being a feminist based purely on the fact of her hat cut. It seems that through the gloss and veneer of KPop and KDrama, we tend to forget that Korea is still deeply intrench in its conservative traditions. (Surprisingly way more conservative than my über Catholic home country). I honestly lost a bit of respect for Korea then, but I do honestly hope that through time, with representation in media as seen in Light On Me, that Korea will soon become a more accepting country.

The Koreans are very conservative. And that’s not going to fly with our changing world.

We have to do our part to normalize equality in our society. We must teach children that love is love is love.

Proper LGBT representation? Best Korea has to offer so far!

P.S. Lee, Kang, Choe, and Go we’re born in ‘95, ‘94, ‘95, and ‘96 respectively. I was also born in ‘94. Can I also still pass for high school!? Ahahaha. The gift of hydrated youthful looking skin, I guess. SANA ALL!