Korean Drama: Itaewon Class [2020]

Itaewon Class is the Korean Drama you have likely already heard about with all the talk it has been getting on social media platforms. It became the second highest-rated Korean Drama bumping Goblin down a notch too. It has been praised for the message it brings to the screen alongside, the themes and subjects it has touched on. The drama has now had its full run on Netflix which means that all sixteen episodes are available to binge-watch! But Itaewon Class wasn’t a drama I was clawing to watch despite the good reception it had received. But it was curiosity that urged me to watch it, and I wanted to see just why Itaewon Class had made it to the high rated table. That perhaps there was more to this drama than I initially thought. 

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PLOT

Itaewon Class follows the story of the main character Park Sae-ro-yi and his dream to become the number one pub in Korea. By doing this, he will be able to destroy his enemy/competitor Jangga Co and its Chairman Jang Dahee and son Geun Won. The three characters have a heavy past between them as the chairman, and his son are responsible for the death of Sae-ro-yi father. As the years pass by and being released from prison after his assault on Geun Won, Saeyori finally opens his pub. He hires people he has met through his years of struggle and eventually a social media savvy woman Jo Yi Seo who not only helps bring DanBam to new heights but also falls for him.

The heart of the plot in Itaewon Class is, of course, Sae-ro-yi revenge and making DanBam the top restaurant in Korea. Its a relatively simple one but the setting in which it takes place is a fairly interesting one. Usually, many K-drama revenge plotlines take place in the corporate world of suits and ties. It covers corruption and conspiracy. But with Itaewon Class, the plot is set within the food and drinks industry, and we watch DanBam grow from a small-time pub into something much bigger. We follow Sae-ro-yi journey and how a group of misfits all come together to help Sae-ro-yi dream. Yes we do follow the corporate world of Jannga Co, and there are some hints of corruption too, but the drama manages to achieve an excellent balance between the two. It also highlights the key differences between Jangga Co and Danbams values. There is also a consistent theme that business is about the people and this was a brillant message to highlight!

Other than Sae-ro-yi revenge plotline there is a romance one too between the characters Jo Yi Seo and Oh Soo-Ah who are both pining after Park Sae-ro-yi. I wasn’t exactly a massive fan of the romance in Itaewon Class, and in my opinion, the drama would have done just fine without it. Sae-ro-yi has liked Soo Ah since he was in high school and his liking towards her remains. But there wasn’t any chemistry between them at all. Then we have Jo Yi Seo who also takes a liking to Sae-ro-yi, which again is also consistent throughout the drama. The romance really didn’t have any development whatsoever until the end of the drama, which to me just felt a tad lazy of the screenwriters. Although the romance was not the central focus, I could not get on board with it at all.

Finally, in terms of the pacing of the drama, it started off relatively strong with the first four or so episodes. But it does tend to dip in the middle before getting better again. There is also time jumps within this drama which was justifiable as they were needed for plot development. But was I clawing for the next episode after I had completed one? Sadly no. Despite the strong plot, I found Itaewon Class lacked in suspense cliffhangers, and I never really felt the urge to watch the next episode as soon as I could. But other than that, I found Sae-ro-yi’s revenge plot to be gripping and following a small-time pub become bigger and bigger as episodes went on was thoroughly engaging.

CHARACTERS

PARK SAEYORI

Its undeniable that Sae-ro-yi’s character is the shining point of this drama and that Park Seojoon has excelled in this role. It’s fairly easy to admire Sae-ro-yi’s character and his principle that business is the people. Despite his steadfast mission to bring down Jannga Co, he shows how much he cares about the people he works alongside with which inevitably makes him different to Jannga Co who believes ‘Business is Business.’ The only small negative thing I’d have to say about his character was that his crush on Soo Ah was not believable. The fact he had to tell her thousands of times that he liked her just didn’t do much for his character at all. However, you watch Sae-ro-yi navigate through hardship and see how sometimes his stubbornness can be his downfall. He becomes a character you root for as his loyalty to friendship and value for relationships over money echoes through the drama.

JO YI SEO

Jo Yi Seo is a social media savvy character who only joins DanBam because she begins to like Sae-ro-yi. Whilst I started off liking her character, she slowly began to become irritating throughout the course of the drama. She was an interesting character in the beginning, but I tended to forget that she has sociopaths behaviours. This meant she didn’t know right from wrong and was not empathetic to the feeling of others around her. But she became obsessive over Sae-ro-yi, and that didn’t sit well with me. In the real world, the behaviours she displayed toward the end of the drama would be considered as harassment. Whilst some people may have found this obsession cute, it was not my cup of tea. So, unfortunately, Jo Yi Seo was not a female lead I was impressed in Itaewon Class.

OH SOO AH

Oh Soo-Ah is Park Sae-ro-yi’s long time crush and has known him and his father since she was in high school. She has played a significant role in Sae-ro-yi’s past but in the present day. She works for the enemy company Jannga Co. However, I found her character to be frustrating as she would reveal things to the chairman and I was never entirely convinced she was trying to help Sae-ro-yi. I also did not think she liked Sae-ro-yi as much as he liked her; the love felt incredibly one-sided throughout the whole drama. Even though her intentions were revealed at the end of the show, I felt like her character could have been executed so much better.

GEUN WON AND GEUN SOO

Geun Won and Geun Soo are the two sons of Jang Da Hee (the chairman of Jannga Co), and they were terrific additions to the drama. It was particularly interesting that we follow not only Sae-ro-yi’s character development but also Geun Wons as throughout the years we see him get worse and worse. By the end of the drama, you can see how his father and the events of the past have set him on a path of corruption. He certainly becomes a character you despise in this drama. On the other hand, you have Geun Soo who appears to be miles different from his older brother. But when he integrates into Jannga Co, you start to see that blood runs thicker than water. Geun Soo begins to make some questionable decision and even starts to have bad feelings towards Sae-ro-yi because he loves Yi Seo. Whilst it was frustrating to see Geun Soo character take this turn when I liked him so much in the beginning, I admired his smartness. He is more than capable of making decisions and having the guts to say things to his father which was a complete contrast to Geun Won.

JANG DA-HEE

The central villain to the entire plot of Itaewon Class his Chairman Jang Da Hee. He seeks to make sure Sae-ro-yi’s pub does not exceed his own company and goes to different lengths to ensure this. The drama successfully crafts him to be a formidable foe for Sae-ro-yi but also highlights the way the two characters are different in there approaches to business. The drama sets up the foundations of his character fairly quick within the first two episodes and in the scene where he asks SaeySae-ro-yi’s to get on his knees to apologize. What I also liked was was that we gain an insight into how Jangga Co was founded and some of the Chairman’s past. It gave a lot more depth to his character but also showed where his behaviour stems from.

THEMES

One thing that makes Itaewon Class stand out as a drama is the themes that it has incorporated. It includes a lot of representation from its characters. Sae-ro-yi is an ex-convict who does not let his past decide his future. Yi Seo admits her sociopathic behaviour openly, and Seukwong is a violent gangsta. The drama shows a bunch of misfits working together and eventually becoming hugely successful. The is also LGTBQ+ representation with the sub-character Hyun-Ni. It all the years I have watched Korean drama’s I have never seen a transgender character. I admired how Sae-ro-yi knew about this and hired her regardless of it. But when the rest of the staff find out and appear to be uncomfortable, he calls them out on it. Whilst the subject doesn’t have an extreme amount of depth, it was great to see that this taboo subject is being addressed in some way, especially when it’s not spoken about frequently in Korea.

There is also black representation in this drama with Toni, who is from Guinea and resided in Korea for most of his life. His father is also Korean, and despite insisting that he is Korean multiple times, people assume he his African and can speak English. He is even turned away when trying to enter a bar and is asked to prove he is Korean! Here Itaewon Class is addressing that the way we perceive race is not that simple and that the pub that Sae-ro-yi has created is a judge free area.

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OVERALL

Itaewon Class is a relatively strong drama, and I can certainly see why people have enjoyed watching it so much. It’s got a solid plot with an amazingly strong character at the centre of it all. It tackles different subjects that are considered to be taboo in Korea and has a brilliant message hidden inside. Park Seojoon shines in this leading role and has left Sae-ro-yi’s character with a lot to be admired. His values and beliefs echoed throughout the course of the drama. Itaewon Class wasn’t the perfect drama, and it may not be everyone’s cup of tea due to pacing, but I think it’s one people should at least give a shot.

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