1. Home page
  2. Actual

ITAEWON CLASS Review

ITAEWON CLASS Review
0

Itaewon Class is a 2020 K-Drama that tells the story of an ex-convict, victim of fate, holding on to life again and patiently preparing himself for reckoning with those who took his father and youth from him. Here you can read about the story, actors, soundtrack about Itaewon Class and learn about our verdict for the series.

Subject of Itaewon Class Series

What makes the story interesting is that the hero is not alone on this long road. Itaewon Class is a very special story of friendship and solidarity. Valuing the people you work with, being a family with them are traits ​​that we don’t see much in today’s harsh, exploitive market environment. The name of the series originates from Itaewon , a district in Seoul. This is a cosmopolitan, multicultural neighborhood where foreigners live a lot. In the past, the NATO base was in this district, and the structure of the district is based on that. This structure of the district contributes significantly to the atmosphere of the series.

There are almost all of the K-drama cliches in our series you must have been addicted to: The show starts in the classroom in high school years, our hero is a bit problematic and his teacher is dealing with him harshly  (the bucket scene is a catchy beautiful detail in this part), there is a rich snob who bullies others in the classroom, our hero teaches him his lesson. The arrogant and ill-disposed father of the bad boy is getting involved … Other clichés (conversations on the overpass, encounters on the pedestrian crossing, hanging out at the playground, a house in the suburbs that can b reached with steep stairs, an old aunt who is a real estate mogul, hand the leading actor investing in financial markets to grant huge returns…) are also included in the series. No worries on that front; you will fell comforted!

In general, we can say that the acting is quite successful. Our lead role is Park Sae-ro-yi, 1.86 meters tall, who actually wants to be a cop but, by the twist of fate, becomes a convicted criminal. Although our hero’s hair is cut pineapple style, his charm is in place. His opponents are the son of a CEO who owns a chain of restaurants, who made the accident that cost Park Sae-ro-yi’s father’s life but escaped from the scene. Here, we need to open a parenthesis to the CEO himself because he shows a memorable performance in this role. As far as I know, the artist in question portrays a bad character for the first time, and in fact, he is an intellectual artist who has a very different image from his image in the series. The reckoning between our hero and the CEO and the support of our hero’s friends constitute the basic dynamics of the series.

At this point, I would like to emphasize this: As I stated above, the main dynamic that carries the series is not “love”. If you ask me if there is nothing about love, of course there are; indeed not just love but love triangles! The love triangles (I counted three different triangles, the rest is up to you) throughout the series are present here as in almost every K-drama. However, our lead actor’s head is so busy with his revenge that love affairs are always in the background.

In one critical scene, the villain’s renegade young son asks our hero Park Sae-ro-yi: “Have you ever seen Yi-seo as a woman once?” . He says no, with complete callousness. Yi-seo gets up and runs away from the table. He runs behind her and caught her over the overpass. The ambiance is perfect in this scene; Yi-seo declares love, with exceptional sincerity, over and over again. But Park Sae-ro-yi stands before him like a museum door. She says I love you like crazy. When the girl walks away, Park Sae-ro-yi looks totally confused with wide open eyes. Jeez!

However, at that stage, at the peak of such emotion, being able to exhibit the same static stance can be considered a serious acting skill. Of course, there is a 10-year-old difference between them, he thinks subconsciously that falling in romance with a much younger girl doesn’t suit him. However, if we erase the lost years of our hero from the equation, they come to the same age. Moreover, it seems as if Yi-seo has ten years more experience in life!

The pace of the series drops towards the middle, but it recovers quickly. Don’t just leave the series just because the tempo has dropped. In fact, the last three episodes are all tied to action; car chase, flying kick, cops who never come, etc.

As in almost every Netflix production, we here have a modern atmosphere depicting success stories by placing so much emphasis on excluded segments (ex-criminal, semi-black, excluded / degraded for female identity, etc. However, they don’t get rid of the male stereotype that can not show his feelings. I understand that some of the men can have a dull appearance; for example, Mr. Darcy (in Pride and Prejudice), a rock-like stance. But then we understand what kind of volcano was boiling behind that rock. Quite simply, Park Sae-ro-yi doesn’t reveal as a Mr. Darcy; he remains a rock till the end. It is all for Yi-seo if anything has happened between them.

The soundtrack of the series is very powerful and makes a serious contribution to the atmosphere of the series. The first piece is devoted to our hero and his father. Father-son relationships are one of the main dynamics of Itaewon Class. The basic character traits of our hero, his style of behavior and his interest in cooking are always based on the legacy he received from his father. The relationship of our anti-hero with his two sons forms the basis of his sons’ mistakes and weaknesses.

The second track, “Start”, voiced by Gaho, manages to show the “let’s get high” song effect, similar to the songs that peaks the energy in “Rocky” movies; albeit with a calmer timbre. While he challenged life and focused on his goal, saying “I will have everything I want, this is my dream”; with the verse “I do not want to lose myself again, because I put everything there” reminds himself of the lesson she took from the troubles she suffered from losing his tempers. What a beautiful song, just splendid!

Sweet Night, voiced by V from BTS , rolls us into the melancholy pit instantly, we are now struggling at the bottom. Meanwhile, Sweet Night managed to reach a very serious number of streams on Spotify and overturn previous records.

The sixth piece of the Soundtrack is very special to me with its melody that makes small touches to your heart and its lyrics that are like a summary of the series:  “After that day, time has grown me, now it says set foot in the world.” At last he answers the question with smiling eyes to the question: “Does this kid have achieved everything he dreamed about?” The story of patience, long-term planning, and sticking to your principles and dreams could end so well.

To sum up, Itaewon Class is a story of friendship, patience, owning dreams, it is about fathers and sons, and most importantly, it is about powerful women. The story of all of these melt into a neighborhood, melting into a “place (a pub-restaurant)” and filtering into our hearts. A story that draws its strength from its sincerity and perfect melodies. A story that needs to be heard and viewed!

Actors and Roles of Itaewon Class

Park Seo Joon  (as Park Sae Ro Yi)

Park was born on December 16, 1988 in Seoul, as the eldest of three siblings. After graduating from An-Nam High School, he entered the Seoul Institute of the Arts and fulfilled his mandatory military service in 2008.

Park began working in the entertainment industry in 2011, appearing in the music video for Bang Yong-Guk’s single, “I Remember.” He then appeared in the television series Dream High 2 (2012), Pots of Gold (2013) and Witch’s Romance (2014). He hosted Music Bank from October 2013 to April 2015.

His debut role was in the television series “She was Pretty” in 2015. He starred in Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning and blockbuster comedy-thriller Parasite (2019).

Kim Da-mi (as Jo Yi Seo)

Kim Da-mi, a South Korean actress born on April 9, 1995, starred in the best action-mystery movie The Witch: Part 1. Kim is a graduate of Incheon National University – Department of Performing Arts. She played the lead role in The Subversion (2018) movie. Se is best known for his lead role in the Itaewon Class (2020) television series. She is just so intriguing!

Other players

Jae-myung Yoo ( as Jang Dae Hee)
Nara (as Oh Soo Ah)
Ahn Bo-Hyun (as Jang Geun Won)
Hye-eun Kim (as Kang Min Jung)

You can watch the Itaewon Class series trailer below.

  • 1
    like
    Like
  • 0
    applause
    Applause
  • 0
    funny
    Funny
  • 0
    considerate
    Considerate
  • 0
    sad
    Sad
  • 0
    love
    Love
  • 0
    angry
    Angry

He has been working as a news editor for 2 years and has been actively an editor at korebu.com for the last 1 year.

Author Profile
Check Also
jungkook phone calls

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *