Itaewon Class (2020)

There are times when you need someone to stand by you

*** Minor Spoilers***

The series Iteawon Class follows Park Saeroyi (Park Seo Joon), a high schooler with a dream of becoming a police officer. However, after making critical decisions in high school, his life drastically changes. After arriving in Iteawon, a district known for its vibrant nightlife and clubs, Saeroyi and his friends open a small bar called "DanBam" to redeem himself.

As Park Saeroyi's business rival and nemesis Jang Hee (Yoojae Myung) owns Jangga, a fire competitor and the fuel and marker for Saeroyi, Iteawon Class follows an engaging and fast-paced plot that kept me hooked throughout its 16-episode run. Saeroyi's journey from expulsion to leading DanBam is inspiring. The series looks at ordinary individuals' struggles for justice and dreams. All the characters are great, but other than the two main pub leaders, I found Joy Yi Seo (Kim Da Mi), Ma Yi the chef (Lee Joo Young), Jang Geun Won, the bully (Ahn Bo Hyun) and Park Saeroyi's father Park Yul (Sun Hyun Joo) pivotal. They aren't perfect, they are different people from all walks of life. Pick ten random people at your workplace and try to avoid any clashes of personalities.

The cast delivers pretty convincing performances, bringing the characters to life and making things more relatable. Park Seo-Joon performance as Park Saeroyi showed determination, passion, leadership and charisma. He had that presence and strength about him that positively impacted his team and his personal life. Saeroyi was flawed and suppressed at times; however, when you bring enough passion, the right individual will enter your life and assist you on your path to your destiny.

The Iteawon Class is well-shot from a visual point of view. It had effective cinematography and attention to detail to capture the characters' emotions. The series captures the essence of Iteawon, from its bustling streets to its hidden nooks and crannies. The production design helped a lot. Before the series I really didn't know too much about the area until that Halloween disaster in 2022.

Iteawon Class's music and soundtrack are a big part of the experience. Mood and atmosphere were enhanced by the music choices. Overall, Iteawon Class was an engaging and entertaining drama. Themes of justice, redemption, and friendship and love. To this point the series is locked in at #8 for my all-time best Korean dramas. I don't give it ALL 10's but it resonates well with me!

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One of the best KDramas of 2020!

For those that are sceptical about watching this drama, do yourself a favour and watch it now!! I have only recently finished watching this drama and I can easily say that this is in my top 10!

Firstly, I just wanna mention the OST!! Each track matches the scenes really well, particularly Start Over and Stone Block. These two are the ones that I can just listen to or jam in the car all the time. I also love Still Fighting It. Just every time I listen to that song, it’s very uplifting but at the same time it makes me feel nostalgic and sad in a good way.

I love all the characters from the leads to even the supporting characters. Everyone would expect me to choose the ML as my favourite character but the FL is the one that stood out for me. It was sooo refreshing to see a female character who was a badass and can fight back rather than always being a damsel in distress. It was so satisfying watching her scenes. Now although the leads are what makes this drama, we must also give credit to all the supporting characters. They really uplifted the show and gave that light and funny element that we always crave for in dramas, making it a fun and enjoyable watch.

As many of you already know, Itaewon Class is a slice of life type of drama. So don’t expect a big plot with many twists and turns. It has none of that. It has a simple plot and it is very character driven. I know a lot of you get turned off with character driven dramas cause even I do sometimes but this is one of those times where it’s an exception. IT IS WORTH YOUR TIME.

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My favorite scenes (which I really want to rewatch once I tired of living)

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Ep 2 00:06:05
Ep 3 00:58:03
Ep 5 00:47:15 00:53:30 00:57:19
Ep 6 00:10:43 00:26:25 00:36:30
Ep 7 00:43:00
Ep 8 00:41:13
Ep 9 00:49:24
Ep 10 00:26:56
Ep 11 00:39:03 00:44:19
Ep 12 00:51:00 00:59:23 01:05:40
Ep 15 00:18:48 00:46:19
Ep 16 00:37:55

At the first time when I heard about this drama, I thought this drama is overrated because there is Park Seo Jun as the main character. THAT'S NOT TRUE. This drama was another level of revenge plot. I would like to rewatch this drama once I feel tired and sad. JJINJA WORTH TO WATCH!

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One thing I would like to pinpoint was how well this drama handled the sensitive topic of racism, transphobia and orphanity. The mtf trans character was played by a woman which made me really happy since trans women are women and trans men are men just like any cis person. Yeah she was played by cis actress but still it was a development. Tony's character was also nice and I liked the Park Sae Ro Yi was supportive of both of them.
The stylists made an amazing job with all the costumes as they were absolute fashion goals!
Overall this was probably my favourite drama of 2020. The sixteenth episode was a bit meh though but overall the drama is worth watching.

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Friendship & Revenge

ITAEWON CLASS (2020) was a fun, fast paced revenge drama filled with quirky characters, with humor, action, drama, friendship, business and teeny bit of romance. This series was really well made and well written, although a bit predictable in some ways (love triangle etc). I watch a lot of series / dramas and find some similar storylines among many of them, especially in revenge dramas. However, I really like the diversity of characters, as well as the bonds of friendship featured throughout.

"An ex-con opens a street bar in Itaewon, while also seeking revenge on the family who was responsible for his father's death."

Overall, this was a fun Kdrama, and definitely worth the chance. It had heart-warming aspects, as well as humor and drama. Somehow both heart-wrenching and light-hearted. A fun watch & great to see more of South Korea's city of Itaewon in a show.

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best revenge for your enemy is your success

My expectation is high before I started to watch this drama.

I love how good the cinematography was, so colourful and feel so fresh. The characters in the drama were interesting enough. some of them have unique and strong characters which is inspiring.

The first episodes make me interested, it tells story about how struggle ML to reach his goal. How big his intention to do the revenge. This drama definitely describe "best revenge for your enemy is your success", that's what the ML was fighting for.

Bu when it comes to the last episodes, there are some of the scenes that were predictable. and I didn't feel interested to watch more, I felt so bored, so I stopped on the episode 15, just because I thought that I know what would be happened, and I was not curious to watch till the end. I'm sorry.

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Started okay, but stopped being interesting

I started this drama because it was really popular at the time, so I thought "oh, it must be good", but I didn't enjoy it.

I liked the initial storyline of Seo Joon's character fighting this rich guy's evil son and going to prison for it then vowing revenge, but then the whole plot just kinda falls flat and stops being interesting. You keep thinking something's going to happen that will surprise you and it just doesn't.

I didn't like the character of the female lead at all. She was just annoying. Nothing against the acting there, just hated the character.

Not Park Seo Joon's finest acting, but I guess that's because the script didn't give him much to work with because I think he was alright in Hwarang. His expression just never seemed to change from straight-faced.

But no, from my point of view, I wouldn't watch it again.

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The romance made sense to me

Each to their own opinion but I just can't fathom SooAh and Saeroyi as endgame. And while the idea of them is nice because they have history that goes way back, and how awesome would it be to end up with the one person who has been there since the beginning of your struggles. But the reality is that they were just not meant to be. And honestly, SooAh is just not ideal for someone like Saeroyi. Homeboy has been through hell and back, he has seen the darkest of the night, felt the greatest pain and losses. He does not need someone unpredictable like SooAh who if given the chance, will drop Saeroyi without hesitation if she were to be offered something of greater importance. What someone like Saeroyi needs, is loyalty. Of course Saeroyi is smart and thinks ahead, reason why he made a plan. But he was simply too vanilla (for a lack of better word) He needed someone just crazy enough to carry it out, and Yiseo was like the missing piece to his puzzle that he's been looking for all along. She was young, ambitious, and clever but most of all, she was loyal to the core. She wasn't wishy washy with what she wanted but made it clear multiple times she is dedicated to this one man and when everyone else just watched and hoped for the best, Yiseo not only fought with him, but she turned his dream into a reality!

And at the same time, it also benefitted her. I know some people might feel like she does nice things only to get on Saeroyi's good side, but for a sociopath like her who before, cares about no one but only winning, to want to become better because of Saeroyi, or even just do nice things for others because of him, I think that's already pretty great in itself.

All in all, these two really complements each other. For Saeroyi, someone whose had a rough life to have someone completely dedicated by his side, and for someone like Yi-seo who lacks empathy for others, but to meet Saeroyi and just feel for this guy, his perseverance and determination, and to want to bring happiness to this dude, but also wanting to do better things because of him. Chefs kiss.

I'm also really tired of the first love = true love trope, so I am glad he ended with Yiseo. It proves that time isn't a measurement of love. No matter how long Saeroyi has known SooAh and clung onto her, Yiseo+Saeroyi proves that love is built through loyalty, teamwork, trusting in each other and having one another's back. All of which Saeroyi's and SooAh's relationship lacked even though they had the advantage of knowing each other longer.

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Be A Diamond!

Itaewon Class may be one of the most inspirational series I’ve ever seen. There is tremendous power in seeing one person doing all he can to achieve a goal. It’s another thing when that person inspires others to do the same by placing his faith, trust, and love in them. And Gwang Jin’s poem, “I’m the Diamond” which is read at the end of the pivotal 12th episode, sums up everything that the series is about.

Park Sae Royi is a young man who loves his father dearly. Sae Royi is a principled man who believes that people should be treated appropriately. Upon seeing a fellow high school student being bullied by Jang Geun Won, he intervenes. Sae Royi doesn’t realize that Geun Won’s father, Jang Dae Hee runs one of the largest corporations in the country. Of course, this is another series where the corporate bully steps all over the weak. Dae Hee demands that Sae Royi get on his knees to beg for forgiveness, even in the presence of Sae Royi’s own father who works for Dae Hee. Sae Royi refuses and is promptly expelled. Fearing his father’s disapproval, Sae Royi is shocked to learn that his father couldn’t be prouder of a son who sticks to his principles unwaveringly. When Sae Royi’s father is killed in a hit-and-run accident by Geun Won, this sets in motion a chain of events that provides Sae Royi with only one goal: the destruction of Jangga Co., the downfall of Dae Hee, and Geun Won brought to justice for his crime.

Kobe Bryant’s English teacher once told him, “Rest at the end, not in the middle.” Sae Royi is a patient man with his eyes never wavering from his goal. He spends seven years after getting out of prison doing odd jobs, reading Dae Hee’s biography, and arming himself with money and knowledge to carry out his plan.

Sae Royi is one of the most inspirational characters, who reminds me a lot of Rocky Balboa; the little unknown “David” attempting to take down “Goliath.” He opens a small pub in Itaewon. It doesn’t take us long to see how much faith and trust he has for his employees and friends. He believes in them even when they don’t believe in themselves. He harbors no ill-will toward them, but he’s also quick to call out any of them if they mistreat or disrespect others. I’m sure that many would love to work for a boss like him!

Sae Royi’s true weapon, however, comes in the unlikely form of Jo Yi Seo, a young woman with an IQ of 162 who runs her own blog, carrying a massive platform of followers and subscribers. She’s rough around the edges, to say the least. She speaks her mind, never apologizing if her views and remarks hurt someone. To her, being honest with the truth is more important than tapdancing around with trivial and whimsical flattery that does nothing. While Yi Seo can be a little irritating at times, this girl knows what she wants and will do whatever it takes to attain it. She is so vivacious and direct that she doesn’t even think twice about telling Sae Royi that she likes him, or even warning those who get in Sae Royi’s way, that she will crush them. Kim Da Mi steals the series, in her depiction of Yi-Seo, in my opinion. She captivates and intrigues in every, single moment she’s on the screen. I’ve only seen her in “The Witch,” and “Our Beloved Summer,” but I’m enthralled by how diverse her characters are and how well she performs them. Yi-Seo quickly became my favorite character of this series. Tell me someone who wouldn’t want a veritable tigress for a companion; someone who will be in those trenches with you through thick and thin?

On the other side, we have Oh Soo Ah, who is Sae Royi’s high school classmate and protégé of his father’s. Oh Soo Ah is someone who will always straddle the fence; someone who is afraid to stand up for anyone or anything. At heart, she’s a true coward which is what all fence straddlers are. Too afraid to pick a side/position, they sit and watch. Oh Soo Ah loves the fact that Sae Royi likes her, but she makes no apologies for being completely unprincipled, including accepting money and working for Jangga Co, regardless of what happened to Sae Royi’s father. She is also incredibly superficial and selfish. Fortunately, for Oh Soo Ah, Sae Royi doesn’t hold it against her. He’s a bit naïve and gullible when it comes to Oh Soo Ah. When we see Yi-Seo with Oh Soo Ah, it’s easily apparent who the stronger woman is, and it’s hilarious each time Yi-Seo hits Oh Soo Ah with the truth of why she’s such a coward, exposing her at each and every turn. Yi-Seo is nobody’s fool, especially Oh Soo Ah’s.

Also take notice that Oh Soo Ah has a list of conditions that Park Sae Royi must meet in order to date her. Yi-Seo has none. And love never has conditions.

It's a true pleasure watching the journey of Sae Royi and his employees as they slowly rise up, deal with setbacks and even being virtually knocked out, only to come back stronger than before. They may get knocked down, but they keep getting back up. Slowly, we can see the believing in people and treating them right, begins to gain footing against Dae Hee and his unprincipled manner of doing business, where people are nothing more than pawns to be used, including his own sons.

The story arc even takes on discrimination, and beautifully so, as Sae Royi hires the black son of a Korean father as well as a transgender cook. In a world where transgenders are mocked, reviled, and frowned upon, the series strikes its own high point when Hyun Yi is about to go on a cooking show, and she’s betrayed when her “transgender” status is made public. While Sae Royi sticks by her side and lets her know that she can leave, if she wants, it’s Yi-Seo who calls her up on the phone and reads her the poem, “I’m the Diamond.” Yi-Seo knows all about just being who you are and never apologizing for it to anyone for any reason. It’s a remarkably powerful scene that should give anyone goosebumps as well as something to think about.

Performances in this series are absolutely stellar with Park Seo Joon, Kwon Na Ra, and others. Still, as I’ve already pointed out, Kim Da Mi is the highlight with veteran Korean actor, Yoo Jae Myung (Dae Hee) who’s been impeccable in everything I’ve seen him in (Stranger, Strong Girl Bong Soon, Vincenzo). He brings the corporate mogul to a whole new level, and the series wouldn’t have been nearly as effective without him.

Itaewon Class is a series that should get anyone fired up to pursue their goals and dreams. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and we see why careful planning and steadfastness are necessary ingredients as well as being willing to lean on those who want to march right along side you. It’s also a series that encourages people to always fight against discrimination and injustice no matter where they rear their ugly heads. Don’t let those with money and power call the shots. Even the smallest person can rise up and fight effectively. The mosquito is one of the smallest predators on the planet, but it also kills far more people than any other animal. Sae Royi reminded me of a mosquito. He antagonizes, pesters, and bites, forcing a reaction.

The diamond is the hardest substance that we know of, and yet it's created due to enormous pressure. But once it's created, it can withstand anything. Don't let pressure get to you. Use it! Be a diamond!

Itaewon Class feels like a series that sits nearly alone in the echelon of series that inspires and encourages us to believe in the definition of nobility: being better than you used to be. Perhaps, that is reason enough to understand why this series resonates in the hearts of so many who have watched it.

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I almost loved every second of it

Itaewon Class for me was very unexpected, it was exciting, thrilling and I almost loved every second of it but I wasn't even expecting to like it. I went into this drama thinking this might not be my cup of tea but ended the first episode thinking, wow this is brilliant, when can I watch the next. Each episode ramped up my anticipation to see the next and my excitement for the upcoming week when I would finally get to Friday.

This drama did not shy away from controversial topics and I thought that was brilliant, instead of letting it fly under the radar they instead discussed these topics. The topics were discussed through an entertaining, well thought out, narrative and in my opinion, they did well for the most part. I do believe there is one issue that could have been handled better (Spray paint) but I do love that they are now addressing different topics and the lives of different people and possibly opening up new conversations.

One of the things that I loved most about this drama, are the characters, minus the antagonists, and their friendships, I loved that the characters, especially from DanBam, cheered each other on while also learning more and more about one another and being understanding. I loved Park Seo Ro Yi's' resilience and the fact that no matter what obstacles were put in his way, he would still find a way to get where he wanted to be. I especially loved the friendship between Yi Seo and Hyun Yi, especially towards the end, their friendship made me so happy and the way they supported one and another was brilliant. Although I did love the friendships, the romantic relationship was a bit exhausting to watch, with Yi Seo not letting go even after being told no countless times. In my opinion that completely disregarded Seo Ro Yi's' feeling and to me it felt hard to watch as well as that the love triangle just felt weird. With these two women fighting over a guy for years, it just felt odd that it would go on that long, I understand that they think he's a great guy but in my opinion, it just seemed very tiring and I couldn't understand the amount of time spent fighting over and pining for him.

As well as this another aspect I did not like about this drama, is that it felt like a completely different drama towards the end, it's like they jumped ship into a new genre and left me baffled. While I loved the drama as a whole, the last few episodes were not my cup of tea and just seemed off to me but that might just be me being picky. It just didn't feel like the drama that I was watching from the beginning and it disappointed me, I watched the drama for the friendships and the behind the scenes of the business, not for whatever this was. I suppose it was where one of the main aspects came into play but it just didn't ring true to me and I still can't quite put my finger on why that is.

I thought it may be important to mention as I don't normally like OSTs, but the soundtrack to this was empowering and awesome, I loved how the music made you want to get up and do anything. Whenever I was sad about anything, I could put this soundtrack on and feel happy again. My favourite song from the soundtrack was Gaho Start, which actually felt like the perfect song for this drama and often brightened the mood of any scene it was in, in my opinion.

Overall, I do love this drama, while the last few episodes and the romantic relationship did let me down, how I felt during the beginning and middle of this drama made up for that and left me feeling sad that it was over.

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