The secret to the show’s success lies with its source material. The expression “RIDI gwang gong”—combining the name RIDIBOOKS, a major distributor of BL, with words describing the stock male character who is a signature of the genre—is thrown around jokingly to describe the stereotypical characters and relationships usually present in BL stories. But in those cases, the usual power dynamic and difference in wealth between the two leads is ever-present and exaggerated, so the stories are difficult to adapt for the screen for that and a number of other reasons. The main characters in Semantic Error, however, meet through a typical chance encounter—namely, a group project in a general elective course. No matter how popular Jae Young (portrayed by Park Seo-ham) is, or how much of a severely individualistic outsider Sang Woo (Park Jae-chan) is, the gap between them poses no problem. And anyone who attended university in Korea will surely relate to the bad blood between the leader of a group project and the person who slacks off.

The standard progression of romantic comedy is to start with bad blood and finally arrive at love. Sang Woo lives by a strict routine and blocks out all unnecessary human interaction. When Jae Young refuses to stop invading his space, Sang Woo sees him as a bug—an error. Jae Young first follows Sang Woo around just so he can irritate him, goes through a denial phase (of painstakingly refusing to believe he has any feelings toward him), and finally realizes how he really feels about him. Their story follows the familiar romance narrative of wooing, rejection, conflict, reconciliation and romance, but the similarities stop there as the characters are fleshed out and powerful. Casting, of course, is what seals the deal in this fantasy. Working from the realism of the original book, Kim Soojung, who directed the remake for the screen, succeeded in raising the market out from under water and up to the surface with her delicate portrayal of the whimsical adolescent atmosphere of the original and even the subtle sexual tension.

While BL depicts love between men, it is also a genre made by women and for women. “The reason BL is especially popular in Asia has to do with the sexual repression women experience are subjected to from childhood,” Yoon Jieun, an editor with Bomtoon, a platform that specializes in women’s content, said. “BL provides an outlet from a reality where real women’s sexuality is hindered” (The Jugan Kyunghyang). The way Jae Young gets hold of Sang Woo’s schedule and follows him around, for example, would, in real life, be the kind of stalking behavior that would frighten any woman, but there is a psychological safety net in place in BL’s fantasy realm. The fact that the women in Semantic Error have their own personalities and play active roles, and the men are harmless and maintain healthy relationships with the women, is also a part of that safety net. “Every major crew member, including the writers, directors, executive producers, floor producers, production company chief managers, WATCHA producers and marketing team members, were all women,” Jaysun, who wrote the screenplay, said in an interview with KUKINEWS. “They had both a high understanding of the BL genre and were themselves readers. It helped us make the show with a good sense of what female viewers would like and what they would feel uncomfortable with.” And this secret to success may not be limited to BL works.