[Drama 2020] Itaewon Class, 이태원 클라쓰

[Whisper2]

@NaYouSabi? and @Broaddaylight I can't agree more with you on Soo Ah's situation. True she is a skeptic and has character flaws  but I think that she is overly demonized for her life choices. Just to add to your points on the economic context:

• Many scholarships are given with an employment bond, if severed the recipient might have to reimburse partly/in full the sponsorship. Even if employment bond is not present but the scholar is invited by HR for a job, it would be considered rude / ungrateful to decline it. (I have a few friends that gave up very lucrative job offers after graduation, to serve the sponsors that enables them to get those jobs at the first place).
• If anyone has ever experienced looking for scholarships, all we do is to browse online for scholarship, apply for every possible funding, and accept the first best offer. Same goes to job hunting. How often do we check the ethics / CSR section of the company's annual report before we apply to work for them? Can we naively consider that  "anything as long as not Jangga" to be a decent choice for SA? Heck, even law enforcers (the police) can be dirty..
• At the very least, Jangga Co as a company (judged apart from Chairman Jang personal affairs) seems clean (no corruption, dirty politics, bribery) and has a very solid/customer centric business foundation (PSR can admire this fact through reading the biography, his father is also proud of this fact for 20+ years). Also safe to say as of now, SA has not done any corporate crime or compromised work ethics.
• The timeline is rather loose in the comics, but when SA and PSR bumped into each other during Halloween, I reckon it would be sometime around 2008 financial crisis. Which makes the employment even more competitive and cutthroat. Being choosy about jobs might not be practical (or should I say a luxury).
• Yes, after considering all points, SA can still choose the "dignified" route, that would be really cool and I can respect that. But her actual decision (and survival instinct) ain't wrong either.
• For those who say she can change jobs easily and stay away from Jangga after having some financial independence : many traditional firms in South Korea /Japan still has lifetime employment sentiment. Job hopping might be strange in such corporate culture. There is also a risk of losing seniority/influence at the new place for the job hopper.
• Again, it will be very cool for her leave Jangga due to sense of loyalty to PSR, but staying in the comfort zone isn't evil either.

My other thoughts about SA:

• If we can adore Lee JunHo's character in Good Manager (he does financial crimes, but has the benefit of being cute and has bromance/frenemy dynamics with ML) or still root for a good ending for Kim Hee-Ae from Secret Love Affair (benefit of being FL with lots of romance with ML, her corruption/ethical issues become a side story), then why can't we wish well or a good ending for SA? Good ending, as in I hope that she will be able to find peace, less in her own mental prison, and able to be happy for others' success . Her defence mechanism + refusal to be happy herself and for others+ putting a wall against people who cares about her in the present bother me A LOT, rather than her previous life decisions.
• After putting PSR in jail, Chairman Jang is in relaxed mode and wouldn't have to "buyout" or treat SA well anymore. I would like to think that she has risen the ranks through her own competence (SA is also highly regarded by another female director, which shows that her work is impressive). 
• Would viewers empathize more for SA if she is struggling at low ranks / bullied at Jangga? Does her high position /competence earns her the "greedy" label, whereas if she is the main lead this quality would be admired?
• If all she wants is money she would have sucked up to JGW, but she didn't. I enjoyed it when she is being unfriendly to JGW (i still do), it was this particular observation that drew PSR to want to befriend her at the beginning.

 

I love the portrayal by actress Kwon Na Ra. I hope the character can find happiness at the end (I feel unnecessary for JYS to "destroy" her). But I also don't ship any pairings for now, like @taeunfighting mentioned, one pair is too late and another too early. I prefer all 3 of them to be individuals without being head over heels for one another.

[serenilmauve]

2 hours ago, greenwatch08 said:

SRY & JYS have been pretty consistent in trending high in social media as well as PSJ & KDM everytime the episodes air. Those two are, if not, the most talked about characters/actors in the drama. I'm not sure about the webtoon, but for the drama SRY & JYS as individual characters seem like total fan favorites. Although I'm not sure how audiences/viewers in SKorea think of SRY & JYS being a pair though.

Audience in Korea very positive about PSR/JYS couple, I believe. 
 

 

 

You can even read some comments here. The thing is IC is not a full-blown romance drama. So main focus is not JYS and PSR as couples, but rather as individual characters. People showing them appreciation for their characteristic. Like JYS boldness and attitude, PSR’s strong determination and principles. Which I really like;)
 

 

And about OSA again. Why we blurring the line between “understanding” and “sympathizing”. I understand OSA, I don’t even put her in villains list, for me she is neutral-chaotic, as I wrote before. But by understanding why she did what she did, it doesn’t mean I should also sympathize with her character or decisions, because for me she made a wrong choices start from the point when she decided to go easy way and work for Jangga. As a human being I would never find in myself to continue help grow as company for people like Jang family, with all the knowledge I have about them, no matter how much I love myself. If she is as smart as people say, she wouldn’t die starving outside of Jangga circle. The thing is, we view OSA as a woman first, instead of as a human. Just imagine for a minute, if roles were reversed and PSR was the one, who made all her choices. Like OSA’s dad died and he decided to work for people responsible for that. Would you still support him? Would you still call it “a survival mode” and applaud him for putting himself first? Would you even like to have that kind of guy around OSA as a friend? I doubt. While there is a lot of problems for women at finding jobs and keeping them compared to men, I do think, that we should still have basic common sense as humans first. So my understanding of OSA don’t equal of me sympathizing with her at any level. 

[AsveriaPSJ]

I’m not sure if I’m the only one, but it didn’t sit well with me how Oh Sooah put down Park Saeroy by saying, that he is just “ex-convit, that just finished middle school”, I know she tried to hurt him and etc, but man it was a low blow. One thing if she didn’t knew his history, another thing to say that when she perfectly knew why he ended up with just middle school diploma and in prison, while being “conflicted” over “him” and Jang Co.  Her words didn’t sit well with me.

[serenilmauve]

 

I love how she was looking at him here;)

 

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[AsveriaPSJ]

47 minutes ago, serenilmauve said:

 

I love how she was looking at him here;)

 

I was so entertained by Park Saeroy’s confusion lol He is so clueless about what’s going on with those girls. Or maybe he is trying to be? 
He seems like a guy, who can read a mood in the room and good at understanding people. I wonder if he really don’t see the way Jo Yiseo is acting when she is around him, the way she is looking at him and how she actually smiles, when she sees him? 

[_heywatch]

@corey

I understand what you mean because if you're familiar with chinese dramas, they do this all the time lol since most c-dramas are adaptation from web/

light/novels & the live action shows tend to stray away from the source material like 50-75% which bugs me to no end lol because they have an unusual way writing off the FL, atleast from the ones that I watched. For IC, it's from a webtoon so it's understandable why stuff were included/added in to make the show feel/appear fuller/grand. Anything can happen in the drama since the webtoon writer himself is the screenwriter. I'm curious to see how everything pans out. 

 

@taeunfighting

Romance is just another aspect of the show. I dont think it's going to overshadow the main point of the story. I'm dont mind shows with romance if it's well written/done appropriately. I'm fine with SRY finding love because hes mention that days/nights have felt lonely & he derserves someone he loves & vice versa. He may a bit aloof on the romance department lol. He seems like he wants/find someone romantically/share his life with. That's probably why he clings onto/likes SA so much because it's his first experience feeling that way about someone & wants to be of worth to

her? SA did say she wants a rich man but SRY isnt quite there yet & he promise he wouldnt let SA struggle at J Co. I'm okay with SRY being happy with someone, but not with SA though lol. I'm not sure what the end has in store for their friendship/relationship

 to each other in the drama since I'm not too familiar with the webtoon either. 

 

I like the relationship/development between SRY & JYS but ofcourse he isnt going to like JYS romantically that way because for one thing, she's 18, it would be odd. Plus, she's just started as the manager at Danbam. Im assuming the story takes a span within 5 years before the statue of limitations, so SRY & JYS might become something more(or less?) as year pass by with them working together & JYS being slightly older. As of now, they make great business partners & he has a mutual respect for her insights and work ethics. They learn & can continue to learn from working together. Yes, I agree that it's nice to see someone support SRY given the fact that he had to establish himself after prison/work his butt off and now he's found a group of people whom he can count on & vice versa. 

 

@Whisper2

JYS isnt going to 'destroy' SA. She's impulsive & like making grand gesture/statements because well, that's how she is lol. She was speaking from the standpoint of winning SRY's heart because SRY is still infatuated with SA even after 10 years. But JYS also tells SRY that she doesnt like winning dishonestly, so now she'll win his heart in a honest way without being messy. 

[serenilmauve]

11 hours ago, greenwatch08 said:

@serenilmauve

I'm one of those who REALLY likes JYS  despite what others say lol. To me, she is a very flawed yet unique character, specifically for a FL. She has attributes that would be written usually for male characters(ex: brash, impulsive, rationale). Characters with mental illness/disorder arent too prominent in k-dramas/mainstream and to have one as a main character, specifically a FL, is neat. JYS going to therapy and being candid about her disorder/illness is impactful and significant onscreen especially when society sees speaking/reaching out as a stigma or weak. I'm curious about the intro scene of episode 1 when JYS is at her therapy session when she thinks back to a conversation with SRY when he tells her "just die". I also like that she isnt define by her mental illness/disorder, its just something that she has. Besides her mental disorder(being almost borderline sociopath), her cynicalcism about life also reads a form of depression to me? Depression can affect anyone whether they lived a good/bad upbringing. 

 

Also, I dont see JYS as selfish because she IS grateful to her mother for giving her all those opportunity growing up but thats on her mom, not JYS. She's the mom, ofcourse it's the duty of the parent(s) to provide for their child no matter the circumstances. JYS is a legal adult who can make decisions for herself now even if it's not what her mother intended. I'm more suprised that the mom kicked her out so easily when she's single & JYS is her only daughter. I believe JYS can achieve both love & success because she is confident/compotent. Her mom might eat her own words when JYS succeeds alongside with SRY/ Danbam.

 

 

I feel like half of the time people simply ignoring, that Jo Yi Seo has mental problems. Like you don't need to find her likable or agree, but at least when you're judging her character take into consideration, that girl sees this world and feels other people different than all of us, due to her health. And yes, I do think maybe she has some form of depression. And she definitely doesn't need a reason to feel the way she is feeling like some people suggest. Depression, just like all mental health problems very complicated and can develop even in most successful or "sheltered" people. Plus, she is a young girl and only trying to fugue this life. Park Sae Roy drowning himself in work, having insomnia and being obsessed with his revenge shows another signal of not exactly being mentally stable. But he figured his life and has clear goals, that's why he sees life as something meaningful.

 

I do think, that she is self-centered, but not selfish. So far all Jo Yi Seo actions were about satisfying her needs (even helping Park Sae Roy), but in the process, she didn't hurt anyone. She is also not here to use anyone's pain as her own gain. She didn't need to know Park Sae Roy for 10 years, to try to give him peace in mind and soul, that he is fighting for. 

 

[AsveriaPSJ]

3 hours ago, serenilmauve said:

Audience in Korea very positive about PSR/JYS couple, I believe. 
 

You can even read some comments here. The thing is IC is not a full-blown romance drama. So main focus is not JYS and PSR as couples, but rather as individual characters. People showing them appreciation for their characteristic. Like JYS boldness and attitude, PSR’s strong determination and principles. Which I really like;)
 

 

And about OSA again. Why we blurring the line between “understanding” and “sympathizing”. I understand OSA, I don’t even put her in villains list, for me she is neutral-chaotic, as I wrote before. But by understanding why she did what she did, it doesn’t mean I should also sympathize with her character or decisions, because for me she made a wrong choices start from the point when she decided to go easy way and work for Jangga. As a human being I would never find in myself to continue help grow as company for people like Jang family, with all the knowledge I have about them, no matter how much I love myself. If she is as smart as people say, she wouldn’t die starving outside of Jangga circle. The thing is, we view OSA as a woman first, instead of as a human. Just imagine for a minute, if roles were reversed and PSR was the one, who made all her choices. Like OSA’s dad died and he decided to work for people responsible for that. Would you still support him? Would you still call it “a survival mode” and applaud him for putting himself first? Would you even like to have that kind of guy around OSA as a friend? I doubt. While there is a lot of problems for women at finding jobs and keeping them compared to men, I do think, that we should still have basic common sense as humans first. So my understanding of OSA don’t equal of me sympathizing with her at any level. 

You just made me release, that the guy in that position would’ve been viewed as a total jerk (rightfully so) and definitely not as a “gray character”. 

[_heywatch]

@corey

I hope there isnt a time skip right at the end, but moreso progression of time passing by. Currently the show is in 2017 and I'm assuming it will reach 202? - something in the future because of SRY's 5 year plan before the statue of limitations expires. I think JYS genuinely likes SRY. It can be said moreso about SA since she knows JYS likes SRY. In the scene when SRY & JYS went strolling and met SA in ep. 6, SA told them if they are on a date & SRY puts off that idea saying 'No way'. She also mentions to JYS two times already that SRY likes her & JYS gets super annoyed lol.

 

JYS is an awesome asset to Danbam. JYS & SRY relationship to eachother is fascinating? I like their business partnership. SRY doesnt have a seniority complex like how most adults would be towards younger people in a society that puts emphasis on seniority. He doesnt undermine her knowledge/expertise & always looks to her opinion within the workspace at Danbam. She's also learning alot about teamwork too from him. I find them to be really in tune with eachother. 

 

@serenilmauve

I agree, JYS is definitely self-absorbed but not necessarily selfish. Im fine with people not liking her character but I have seen the disregard about JYS's mental illness. I'm not excusing her behavior just because she has mental illness though. But it's really interesting to see a charcter, let alone a FL, written/showcase signs of her disorder/mental illness & not being define by it. It's just something she has to Iive with. I wonder if there is an extension of that first scene with SRY & JYS from episode 1 & will it pop up later in the show? I agree, I felt like SRY too was in that position of self doubt & uncertainty about his prospect in life as a teen & after (ex: like not having really any friends & getting in trouble at school and then his father's death/going to prison). But he realized how far hes come because of his father's love & that's what made him so headstrong to continue to live/push forward.

 

SRY & JYS has a different outlook in life. The thing is JYS has mental illness/disorder & it impacts how she views her own existence & does things. Her cynicalcism may annoy people, especially from someone like SRY who values life, but people like JYS with (maybe)depression speaks that way, atleast from personal knowledge. Btw it's super significant and impactful to see characters that are self aware/candid about their mental illness and not be ridiculed when seeking help. Society puts alot of stigma on mental health so its refreshing to see JYS express herself

/going to therapy.

[sodarn]

6 hours ago, Kimsungrin said:

 

I can spoil you if you want in message 

Yes please!

 

2 hours ago, greenwatch08 said:

@corey

I understand what you mean because if you're familiar with chinese dramas, they do this all the time lol since most c-dramas are adaptation from web/

light/novels & the live action shows tend to stray away from the source material like 50-75% which bugs me to no end lol because they have an unusual way writing off the FL, atleast from the ones that I watched. For IC, it's from a webtoon so it's understandable why stuff were included/added in to make the show feel/appear fuller/grand. Anything can happen in the drama since the webtoon writer himself is the screenwriter. I'm curious to see how everything pans out. 

 

@taeunfighting

Romance is just another aspect of the show. I dont think it's going to overshadow the main point of the story. I'm dont mind shows with romance if it's well written/done appropriately. I'm fine with SRY finding love because hes mention that days/nights have felt lonely & he derserves someone he loves & vice versa. He may a bit aloof on the romance department lol. He seems like he wants/find someone romantically/share his life with. That's probably why he clings onto/likes SA so much because it's his first experience feeling that way about someone & wants to be of worth to

her? SA did say she wants a rich man but SRY isnt quite there yet & he promise he wouldnt let SA struggle at J Co. I'm okay with SRY being happy with someone, but not with SA though lol. I'm not sure what the end has in store for their friendship/relationship

 to each other in the drama since I'm not too familiar with the webtoon either. 

 

I like the relationship/development between SRY & JYS but ofcourse he isnt going to like JYS romantically that way because for one thing, she's 18, it would be odd. Plus, she's just started as the manager at Danbam. Im assuming the story takes a span within 5 years before the statue of limitations, so SRY & JYS might become something more(or less?) as year pass by with them working together & JYS being slightly older. As of now, they make great business partners & he has a mutual respect for her insights and work ethics. They learn & can continue to learn from working together. Yes, I agree that it's nice to see someone support SRY given the fact that he had to establish himself after prison/work his butt off and now he's found a group of people whom he can count on & vice versa. 

 

@Whisper2

JYS isnt going to 'destroy' SA. She's impulsive & like making grand gesture/statements because well, that's how she is lol. She was speaking from the standpoint of winning SRY's heart because SRY is still infatuated with SA even after 10 years. But JYS also tells SRY that she doesnt like winning dishonestly, so now she'll win his heart in a honest way without being messy. 

She isn't 18 though. The adult age in SK is 20. JYS is 20 years old.

[_heywatch]

@sodarn

Yes, JYS is now 20 which makes her an legal adult. But she was 19 before which makes her a minor/still in highschool because she couldnt go to clubs/drink. In SKorea, they add a year or two to their current age. JYS being 20 is the equivalent of her being 18 who just finished highschool. SRY is 29(28?). They are about ten years apart. 

 

I could be wrong lol. Because the school/age system is different & a bit confusing because I am from the U.S. I'm not sure how long highschool teens attend highschool in SKorea. In the U.S we attend highschool from from age 14 to 17(4 years). Once we graduate we are 18. Do high schoolers attend highschool until they are 19 & then turn 20 once they graduate? Because on JYS's mensa card, it said she was born in 1997?  So this technically makes her 20 living in 2017.

[serenilmauve]

@corey As I said before, I view her so as comparison to other characters. In this show Jang family members (dad especially, then his oldest son) being on negative spectrum. 

And for me personally her visual appeal or lack of it plays no role. I don’t like her much anyway;) 

[AsveriaPSJ]

11 minutes ago, corey said:

 

LOL, what an excellent wrapping-up  of the entire discussion if OSA is bad or "chaotic-neutral" as @serenilmauve calls her.

I never thought of reversing the role and considering the character from this point of view.

Also  - if OSA had not been so incredibly attractive, would she be still considered "neutral"?

 

I think people view her as “gray” because of what kind of restrictions society puts on women in general compared to men. And Korean media gives very limited number of colors to their female characters. So, seeing women like Oh Sooah who has both positive and negative in her (narration wise) and in the middle of self-love, self-care and emancipation from society norms movement (rightfully so) we want to attribute Oh Sooah’s ambition to something overall positive, especially considering her background. And I would’ve been totally on her side, if I just didn’t know how exactly she achieved that. Which makes me question her as @serenilmauve like a simple human. 

[serenilmauve]

 

 

 

[_heywatch]

@serenilmauve

I dont/cant read hangul so looking through post/comments on korean social media sites is difficult lol. I know that both SRY & JYS are popular

/trendy individually & so are PSJ & KDM everytime when the show airs each week(thanks to you), which makes me happy because I like them both alot. Didnt KDM ranked higher than PSJ?  I wasnt to sure about the netizens and viewers opinions of SRY & JYS being a pair because of the age difference in the characters. Btw, the webtoon must be a huge hit/popular in SKorea?

[MicMe]

7 minutes ago, greenwatch08 said:

@serenilmauve

I dont/cant read hangul so looking through post/comments on korean social media sites is difficult lol. I know that both SRY & JYS are popular

/trendy individually & so are PSJ & KDM everytime when the show airs each week(thanks to you), which makes me happy because I like them both alot. Didnt KDM ranked higher than PSJ?  I wasnt to sure about the netizens and viewers opinions of SRY & JYS being a pair because of the age difference in the characters. Btw, the webtoon must be a huge hit/popular in SKorea?

Yeah, i feel JYS looks too young for SRY

[_heywatch]

@MicMe

JYS is suppose to look/appear younger hence the 10 year age difference. KDM has a very youthful look & this is her 1st tv role which is probably why her presence feels new/fresh. Whereas PSJ has been acting/in lead roles for a while now & so he appears much more older/mature as SRY than KDM as JYS. 

 

Im curious to see if there will be a time span progression(soon) on the show. I dont mind an age gap between characters but a romantic relationship between a girl who just got out of highschool in 2 months & a grown 29 year old man sounds odd. But I feel that their relationship so far has been appropriately handled. I do enjoy their scenes together ALOT ! I like SRY & JYS as business partners very much because of their interactions when they discuss about business & Danbam. They both know how to get things done. I find their relationship to eachother super dynamic & interesting. Also, SRY & JYS both bring alot of energy onscreen. They are really in tune with eachother in regards to their work ethics. Although, I do find JYS crush/admiration for SRY endearing/cute because he's such a good-natured person who's action positively impacts others. 

[serenilmauve]

1 hour ago, greenwatch08 said:

@serenilmauve

I dont/cant read hangul so looking through post/comments on korean social media sites is difficult lol. I know that both SRY & JYS are popular

/trendy individually & so are PSJ & KDM everytime when the show airs each week(thanks to you), which makes me happy because I like them both alot. Didnt KDM ranked higher than PSJ?  I wasnt to sure about the netizens and viewers opinions of SRY & JYS being a pair because of the age difference in the characters. Btw, the webtoon must be a huge hit/popular in SKorea?

Naver offers you to translate comments automatically to a lot of languages. It’s not 100% accurate, but it makes comments understandable;) 

As for trending, it’s understandable that people searched for KDM, instead of PSJ;)) But in buzzworthy list PSJ still right now higher, than KDM. But she is getting a lot of recognition. And I’m super happy for her, because I think she deserves it. So charming and so talented;) 

 

Itaewon Class webtoon is famous for being super well received (along with being super popular). They even made accent in the teasers, that it has 9.9 out 10 stars on Daum;)

 

 

[AsveriaPSJ]

 

Making club scene from ep.5

[Anjalifairy]

 

 

@greenwatch08

Time span progression is near but at least for the next 2 episodes, it won't happen yet. Instead things will heat up and lead to new conflicts. In addition, there are also some narratives that haven't unfold yet, such as Lee Hojin and Toni Kim's narratives. I'm pretty sure it will unfold in this week episodes. Also we will enter a new stage of PSR-JYS relationship where they'll get to know each other better. PSR will more open to her, tell her everything that has happened in his life so far. So i guess we will have chance to see more screen time of them together this week. 

Spoiler

 

I hope writer-nim doesn't make another plot twist here by bringing Oh Sooah to bother them lol