Itaewon Class: transgender issues, social injustice, racism – how the K-drama hit starring Park Seo-joon challenges discrimination and old-fashioned thinking
South Korea continues its winning streak with a hit TV series on Netflix, which ticks all the boxes – and the stars look good too
Class differences, power struggles, and injustice are issues present everywhere in the world and hit K-drama series Itaewon Class is no different. Other than ex-convict Park Sae-ro-yi's motto to stick to one's principles no matter what, another lesson we learn from him is inclusivity and looking beyond differences.
With a background like that, how can one even think of landing a decent job, let alone live a regular life? For Park Sae-ro-yi, it’s not the end of the world – in fact, it’s only the beginning.
With a people-over-profit mindset, he rounds up a group of misfits and hires them to work at his bar-restaurant DanBam based on trust, despite lacking in skills. His belief in his staff inspires them to look beyond their own failings and focus on improving their abilities.
Mean and selfish, Jo Yi-seo’s only other weakness is Sae-ro-yi, who she decides to bet her whole life on after realising she loves him like crazy. She manages to check her ego at the door, if only to get on Sae-ro-yi’s good side.
While in jail, Choi Seung-kwon would go around picking fights, believing it was the only way to live. After seeing Sae-ro-yi living a decent life, Seung-kwon realises that an unsavoury past isn’t a death sentence after all, and decides to work at DanBam.
As DanBam’s chef, Ma Hyeon-yi was lacking confidence, and the fact that she is transgender also led to a lot of judgement, jeopardising DanBam’s reputation. Still, Sae-ro-yi, with the rest of the DanBam team, had her back and in the face of public criticism, Hyeon-yi emerged the stronger.
