How are you? It's been a while since we've talked so let me bring you up to date.
I've been studying, studying, sleeping, studying and binge watching Netflix. A pretty typical week for a teenager during the hellish month of May. If you're struggling trying to find a series which you haven't already watched then I'm your gal.
It was a couple a weeks ago and, as usual, I found myself on a Sunday evening not knowing what to watch. You know when you have an idea in mind but everything any streaming platform offers you seems boring? So I started to wander around Netflix, trying to avoid mainstream series, and after some time I finally found one. It's called Itaewon Class and it's a Corean tv series.
Quick infos:
1) It's super recent, infact it aired in South Corea between January and March 2020
2) It is set in Seoul
3) The genre is drama
4) Aaaaand it's dope!
The main character is Saeroyi who is just a normal, awkward and shy teenager. He dreams of becoming a cop and he has very strong morals. He changes school his last year of high school and in his new class, he meets Geun-wong. This guy here is the son of the president of a huge food company and as such, he ain't funny. He's mean, a bully and thinks he owns the world. Thanks to him and his powerful father, Saeroyi's life gets flushed down the toilet.
He gets expelled, goes to prison, loses his father and lives a miserable life for a while. However he doesn't give up on hope and decides to make Geun-wong and his dad pay for the pain they caused. Be careful here folks, because it gets complicated. Instead of punching them or insult them, he plans to create a bigger food company than theirs and destroy them from an economical point of view. So he starts by opening a crappy bar called DanBam in the coolest district in Seoul, Itaewon, and step by step he starts to grow a buisness. He manages to do that thanks to the amazing people he hires, which with the time become his family. Unusual (it is composed of: an ex criminal, a transgender girl, an almost sociopath lady and many others) but still family.
In this series there is so much going on that I almost don't know how to talk about it. Let's say that what I described is the main thread. The story develops during 15 years so it's very beautiful to see how each character evolves.
I appreciated it for many reasons. First, it is different from the most series I've watched. We're used to western cinema and story telling and Itaewon Class has nothing to do with that. The story is told by different angles and points of view and has very intense scenes. Plus, the different culture makes everything more interesting. Secondly, there is a looot of cooking. And everything looks freaking delicious. I've craved for Corean food ever since. Thirdly, between the many subplots there is also an amazing love story which, I'm telling you, has many plot twists. Moreover the kick-ass soundtrack will make you want to have friends and opening a pub and lastly...the Corean style, bust most importantly Corean actors and actresses are fine as hell.
What's not to like?
See you next week!
Credits
Photo by Nina Ferrari
Animation by Carlotta Forni