by heartaem & Hide Your Heart, March 2, 2020
35

        WARNING FOR POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR EPISODES 1-8        

안녕 (Annyeong)! Hello! In this article, your fellow MDL enthusiasts etherealtaekibum and hideyourheart have teamed up to bring a currently watching article for Itaewon Class. Here; both of us will share our takes one the drama and on the cast.

Please take to the comments and share your thoughts on the drama so far as well! Remember to use the spoiler option if your review will contain spoilers. Thank you for reading!


On the first day of attending his new high school, Park Sae Ro Yi punches his classmate Jang Geun Won, who was bullying another classmate. The bully is the son of CEO Jang Dae Hee. The bully’s father runs restaurant business Jagga where Park Sae Ro Yi’s own father works. CEO Jang Dae Hee demands to Park Sae Ro Yi that he apologizes to his son, but Park Sae Ro Yi refuses. Because of his refusal, Park Sae Ro Yi gets expelled from school, and his father gets fired from his job. Soon, an accident takes place. Park Sae Ro Yi’s father dies in a motorcycle accident caused by his ex-classmate Jang Geun Won. Burning with anger, Park Sae Ro Yi viciously beats Jang Geun Won. He is soon arrested and receives prison time for violent assault. Park Sae Ro Yi decides to destroy the Jagga company and take revenge upon CEO Jang Dae Hee and his son Jang Geun Won. Once Park Sae Ro Yi is released from prison, he opens a restaurant in Itaewon, Seoul. Jo Yi Seo, who is popular on social media, joins Park Sae Ro Yi’s restaurant and works there as a manager. She has feelings for Park Sae Ro Yi.

Genres: Food, Friendship, Business, Romance, Life, Youth, Drama 
Country: South Korea
Episodes: 16
Duration: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Average Rating: 8.9/10 from 376 users
Rating: 15+ - Teens 15 or Older
Spoken Language: Korean
Release Date: January 31st 2020
Airs On: Friday & Saturday (*)
Finishes On: March 21st, 2020
* Show may not air every Friday & Saturday.
This is a guide from what we know.
All information accurate at the time of article submission.


Park Seo Joon
Park Sae Ro Yi
Kim Da Mi
Jo Yi Seo
Yoo Jae Myung
Jang Dae Hee
Nara
Oh Soo Ah


etherealtaekibum: For the cast, I think all of these are just perfect choices. I’d seen Yoo Jae Myung in another drama, Life, before this, so I was really excited to see how he changed in his different role. He has completely transformed and honestly, it made me even more excited to see how this drama played out. All of the cast do just stunning; their characters are so real. It’s so easy to fall for these characters, to hate them, or to root for them, and I find that my emotions run high when watching this for those exact reasons. A massive shout out to the casting crew; they’ve done an amazing job.

hideyourheart: Park Seo Joon and Yoo Jae Myung have been permanent slots in a lot of the dramas I have watched previous and each time they never fail to intrigue with their roles and control of the characters they take on. It’s the same with Itaewon class. Both did phenomenal jobs so far in showcasing reasons to root for or to dislike with a fiery passion. Along with these two, there’s a handful of genius actors and actresses who bring forth charms and strong personalities that all seem very real, believable and intriguing. I hope to see many of these in more roles soon.


etherealtaekibum: The plot in Itaewon Class never fails to disappoint. It’s packed full of drama, but friendship at the same time, tenseness and relaxed moments, and everything in between. The story is believable, frustrating that it is realistic, and somewhat eye-opening. It doesn’t touch on anything we haven’t known before – rich vs poor and discrimination – but at the same time, it really clicks things into place. It goes from tense and stomach twisting to relaxed and calm, giving the viewer time to relax, and everything about this, I just really love. This is a really important drama, and I just love how much the writer – Kwang Jin – and the director – Kim Seong Yoon – did their research and really tried their best with this. I have high respect for them both.

hideyourheart: The plot in Itaewon Class doesn’t miss a beat. Not only will it keep you focused due to intrigue but also tempt you to follow along with each and every character just to see what will happen or how they will grow/progress. There is no doubt that you will go through many emotions as it covers topics of realistic nature that many go through on a day to day basis. Halfway into this drama and the plot has not faltered for me in the slightest.


etherealtaekibum: At eight episodes into this drama, I can say, I am 100% hooked. There are definitely some areas which could grow and improve (namely, the representation is amazing, but also could be better, etc.) but I feel that most of it will clear up as the drama goes on. I want to see all the characters do well, and those that deserve it, I want to see them suffer. I haven’t rooted for characters so hard for a while. There haven’t been any films or dramas that have 100% made me wake up, grab a coffee and immediately start binging, but every Friday and Saturday that I’m able to, I’m there in front of the television. I can already tell I’m going to have a massive drama hole in my life when this one finishes.

hideyourheart: Eight episodes in and so far I am very impressed. Although there may be areas in which the drama could improve (which is understandable); I cannot help but to root for a few of the main characters and get completely pulled in by the drama itself. I think it covers a variety of subjects that are usually not approached in Korean dramas (only by a few) and it makes the storyline even more real and intriguing. If you’re looking for something that covers topics that really do matter and also gives you that drive to actively cheer when something good happens with the leads, this is the right one for you.


[Author & designer notes] The images used are from the official sites of each film mentioned or Google or IMDb. Some photos have been edited to be sharpened/resized to fit. All graphics have been created under the fair use copyright law 106 and 106A. 

Graphics designed by hideyourheart, formatting by etherealtaekibum.
Hyh’s opinions are not representative of etk’s; etk’s opinions are not representative of hyh’s.


Other articles by hideyourheart can be found here.
Other articles by etherealtaekibum can be found here.

Edited by: Yuanwei (1st editor)

park seo joon itaewon class kim da mi nara yoo jae myung

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