Itaewon Class (JTBC, 2020): refreshing & Unusual

Based on a webtoon, Itaewon Class was in the top spot of the most watched shows on Netflix in March 2020. And it’s addictive. 

But not straight away for me. Actually, I STOPPED halfway through the first episode. The rich boy rules the school and bullies his classmates. Even the teachers ignore his cruel behaviour. It’s hard to watch. Life is unfair, isn’t it? And I wasn’t sure if I wanted to carry on. It seemed a bit heavy.

But the popularity of the drama made me go back and see the episode through to the end. Next thing I know I’ve binge-watched through the first 6 episodes and it’s the middle of the night…luckily all my work has been cancelled thanks to the coronavirus.  

So the first two episodes get off to a gritty start. And it seems we are in for a very serious drama. But by episode 3 things start to relax and we have some fun too. 

The drama does address serious issues though.

So as mentioned, the drama addresses issues like the abuse of power by those in higher positions in society: aka gapjil. (Remember Korean Air and ‘nut-gate‘? I wrote about gapjil in ‘social trends’ in this post)

There are also scenes that deal with stereotyping, racism, and identity: gender and cultural identity. And the drama also challenges accepted society norms – like the idea that you HAVE TO go to university to have any status or success in Korea. 

So there’s a lot going on!

Itaewon Class: Synopsis

The story revolves around idealistic Park Sae-roy (Park Seo Joon). When his plans to become a policeman are scuppered, he turns to running a small bar-restaurant in Itaewon. 

Tragic events have led to his life becoming entwined with Jang Dae Hee, the CEO of Jangga Group, a large food company. While Jang uses his power and money to bribe officials and intimidate underlings, Sae-roy believes that with the right people, he can build his own company and take his enemy down… 

But it wouldn’t be a proper Korean drama without some LOVE TRIANGLES.

Yey! So amongst all the business ambition and rivalry, LOVE is blossoming. But it’s that classic complicated love with tried-and-tested archetypes: eg. the rich, but incompetent, son of the CEO who falls for the poor but so-smart-she’s-out-of-his-league orphan… 💕

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Itaewon Class: New Characters

Still, the characters feel refreshingly different.

Sae-roy is driven, but he is also loyal. He doesn’t dump anyone just because they are not perfect employees. He is modern and stands for tolerance and this is reflected through the team he hires: 

His cook is transgender. The restaurant manager is a social media star only just out of high school who has been diagnosed as a sociopath. Then we’ve got a waiter who is an ex-con and another from Guinea who speaks Korean but not English, much to everyone’s confusion! (addressing the presumption that everyone ‘foreign’ can speak English) He also hires the illegitimate son of his enemy!

Celebrity Hong Seok Chong, who famously was the first celebrity to come out as gay twenty years ago, makes several appearances as himself. It adds some realism to the show since he has actually run restaurants in Itaewon for many years. 

Itaewon: the home for foreigners in Seoul  

The drama is set in Itaewon – where traditionally the foreign community in Seoul hang out. So it has more of an international vibe than other areas.

Or did have.

I used to go to Itaewon whenever I craved an English pub and some fish and chips. (a couple of times a year). It was THE place for anything anywhere near authentic Western food and atmosphere.  But recently a lot more western style restaurants have opened all over Seoul – with high quality food. And it feels like Itaewon has been left behind. 

And it’s going through an identity crisis. The US military has moved out of the area, so there aren’t as many foreigners hanging out there and some shops have gone out of business.

Gentrification has meant large chains taking over the main drag making it look like any other area in Seoul. 

I wasn’t keen on the cheap knock-off goods you could buy on the streets of Itaewon before, but I’m not happy to see Starbucks and all the other usual suspects there instead either. 

There are some trendy areas that are doing well. But the only reason I go to Itaewon these days is to visit the International supermarkets. The regular large supermarket chains in Seoul sell a much wider range of international products than they did before. But for some specialist items, it’s still Itaewon. I’ve even seen Marmite for sale there. I know. Amazing.

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