I hope that everyone’s doing well, taking into account the increasing seriousness of COVID19…. Please, never consider even taking the risks by going out for a small stroll, JUST STAY AT HOME!
If there’s one series I’d recommend watching during this lockdown period, it’d definitely be this webtoon-based Korean series, Itaewon Class (scroll down right to the bottom for the webtoon links).. :D
For this post, I’ll be discussing about this series that really caught my interest (and I’m sure many others too), and share my personal thoughts and understanding of this series!
[Itaewon Class/이태원 클라쓰] series was based on an original Korean webtoon (also with the same name) produced from December 2016 to July 2018. The producer of this webtoon, Kwang Jin, was also the writer of this series.
The story started when the main character, Park Sae-Ro-Yi (played by Park Seo Joon) lost his father from a hit-and-run accident caused by his class bully Jang Geun Won (played by Ahn Bo Hyun).
Geun Won was the son of JangGa Company’s boss, a leading conglomerate in the food industry. Hence, the head of JangGa, Chairman Jang (played by Yoo Jae Myung) decided to cover up Mr. Park’s death to protect his company and son’s image, and sentenced SaeRoYi to 3 years of jail for hurting Geun Won after discovering that Geun Won was the murderer.
The series followed SaeRoYi’s journey, as he strove to work hard and achieve his ultimate goal: defeat JangGa, take revenge against Chairman Jang, and for justice to be brought upon them. After being released from prison and performing multiple odd jobs, he was able to open a pub named DanBam at Itaewon 7 years later. Along the way of succeeding, he met multiple people which eventually became one of the closest families he’s ever had, as they learnt and grew together.
[Photo credits: KpopMap]
I personally really enjoyed this series!! The storyline itself was unique and set it apart from the typical romance-driven Korean dramas nowadays. There was a strong focus on the passion and energy youths have for their future, and also the strong desire to continue striving for their ambition, despite not knowing what’s ahead.
This series was ultimately reminding us to always carry that strong flame of desire no matter where we go.
[Photo credit : KpopMap]
I believed that one of the top reasons for this series’ popularity wasn’t mainly because of its interesting storyline, but more about the messages the characters were conveying to us as the story progressed on.
So, how did this series successfully show their perceptions and views of society to us? Below here will be my reflections and interpretations of what this series conveyed~
And as always, SPOILERS AHEAD! :)
1. The Importance of Living with the Correct Beliefs and Values
Essentially, the whole series itself embodied and centered around the impact and influence one’s values and beliefs can bring to everyone around him/her. The concept of values and beliefs was ultimately the plot’s core and body.
In fact, it was already presented in the first episode, when SaeRoYi refused to kneel and apologize for retaliating against the school bully Geun Won, insisting on standing firm with the values his father taught him: To do what is right, and take responsibility for your actions.
While SaeRoYi accepted his punishment for punching Geun Won, he could not apologize for his actions because he believed that Geun Won’s bullying should be stopped. Despite being expelled from school and his father losing his job, they were happy to start anew.
So, what are values and beliefs? While both terms may be similar, they are also drastically different, and it’s important to be aware of these differences.
A belief stems from the assumption we make about the world, through our experiences. We form our beliefs based on what we assume should be true about the world. An example is the belief everyone should be treated equally.
A value in turn is formed from our beliefs. As our assumptions about the world forms, we start organizing our beliefs to locate similarities. An example of a value is integrity.
The values we choose to hold on to with will play a huge role in the decisions and choices we make later in life; It sticks with us. Both could be incorrect or even correct to others, but it will always hold true to us.
Park SaeRoYI
The main character Park SaeRoYi had not only influenced many to copy his hairstyle (LOL) , but also served as one of the best role model many strives to be, because of his strong values and beliefs:
He was very clear with what’s good and bad, and knew what to judge a person based on.
While he absolutely detested Chairman Jang for his actions and had been planning his vengeance since, he acknowledged the CEO’s business skills and competence in the market. During his time in prison, he brought along Chairman Jang's success biography, and even memorised everything he said from the book.
This was what I found really admirable about SaeRoYi. It must be difficult, taking advices and teachings from someone that covered his father’s death, but he knew that it was the best advice that could be taken then.
He never allowed his past to define him
One strong lesson SaeRoYi reminded everyone was to never allow our past to dictate who we can become. Despite being looked down at as an ex-convict, and despite people’s beliefs that an ex-convict could never be able to win in society, SaeRoYi proved them all wrong, as he eventually achieved his dreams of franchising DanBam, becoming the top food industry in the world.
His determination influenced Seung Kwon (played by Ryoo Kyung Soo), also an ex-convict. He joined SaeRoYi and worked alongside him, eventually rising up to become the director of IC Company.
(From SaeRoYi and SeungKwon’s first conversation at Episode 4)
Most importantly, he stood firm with his father’s teachings to ALWAYS CHOOSE WHAT IS RIGHT AND ETHICAL
At Episode 3, as DanBam faced the risk of suspension for unknowingly allowing minors to enter, Geun Won, the then director of JangGa, mockingly offered to help bribe the police through his power.
However, SaeRoYi’s beliefs and values remained the same from 9 years ago, when he was faced with the threat of his expulsion from school. Despite the risk of closing something he'd worked 7 years to achieve, he refused the bribe, and took responsibility of his actions for allowing minors to enter his pub.
This was one of my favourite scenes, when SaeRoYi’s frustration and anger towards the injustice of the police’s corruptive practises was felt so strongly here.
Yi Seo (played by Kwon Dami) questioned his actions, unable to understand why he could possibly compromise his business over his beliefs, and this was his response:
SaeRoYi’s words here were indicative of his frustration towards society today, where many would choose the easy way out to achieve their aims through bribery or other corruption practises.
In a society where the majority strives for power, where everyone strives to get recognised, are we all slowly losing our ethics? Are we compromising our beliefs and values?
2. The Ultimate Consequences of Carrying the Wrong Values and Beliefs
The character that best fit this section would definitely be Chairman Jang (fight me if you disagree!).
Being raised in a poverty-stricken family, Chairman Jang was the only survivor out of his other family members, which all died from starvation. This upbringing led him to develop completely opposite beliefs and values from SaeRoYi’s.
He strongly based his values from his belief that the strong prey on the weak. Hence, values such as integrity, justice, or equality never cease to be of worth to him. To him, his own survival and power should always be prioritized over anything else.
He believed that maintaining his power and instilling fear among others would be the only means for him to survive, and to continue maintaining society’s respect and obedience towards him.
Worse still, he's willing to even abandon his family if they pose a risk to his power and control because to him, to survive is to maintain his power.
[Credits to KdramaStars]
He passed down his teachings and beliefs to Geun Won, in hopes that he would take over his place as the new CEO in the near future. Very sadly for Chairman Jang, Geun Won was never able to fulfil that role and it was his hidden son Geun Soo (played by Kim Dong Hee) which fulfilled the tycoon’s wishes instead.
After his departure from DanBam and faced with the new determination to proof himself, Geun Soo adopted his perceptions and practises to please his father’s taste.
He started seeing things as business transactions, and the staffs there as machines instead of people. He lost his emotions and sense of ethics by breaking potential long-lasting friendships in the process, wholeheartedly deciding to dedicate his life to be JangGa’s head.
Chairman Jang’s wishes were fulfilled, but in a very depressing manner. When Chairman Jang was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the son he trusted to inherit the company only bothered visiting him to request his father to come back to work, as the Chairman’s absence would lead to a fall in the company’s stock prices (gasps!).
Ironically, the only person who bothered showing his affection and acknowledged Chairman Jang as his father was Geun Won, despite being betrayed by his father over the company.
Not only was Geun Won the first to visit his father the moment he was admitted to the hospital, but he too, took care of his father by bringing him to a yearly medical check-up before he was ousted from JangGa. Much to Geun Won’s dismay and hurt, Geun Soo believed that it wasn’t his responsibility to take care of Chairman Jang as the DIRECTOR of the company.
[Episode 13 dialogue]
Geun Soo was loyal to his father till the very end, and also yearned for his father’s affection and care to him as a son. But very sadly, this yearning was deemed as a ‘weak’ trait by his father, who deemed him unfit to take over JangGa.
I found it really sickening for the fact that despite Geun Soo’s inhuman treatment towards him, Chairman Jang prided himself for Geun Soo’s attitudes, because it benefitted the company in the long run. The Chairman chose to stick with his belief that only power and control matters in today's society.
The Chairman’s thirst for power and money consumed him. In the process of living up to his values, he failed to build proper relationships with people, and turned away the one and only person that genuinely cared for him and didn’t want him dead.
In the later episodes, as Geun Won was sent to jail for another scandal and the Chairman’s illness was reported to the public, JangGa was facing an inevitable bankruptcy. Everyone the Chairman deemed as ‘partners’ rejected his pleas for support, as they awaited JangGa’s eventual defeat. They were preying on the possibilities of taking over the company the Chairman dedicated his life to.
In the end, the Chairman ended up losing to the principles he’d always lived with – the strong prey on the weak. This time, JangGa was the weak being preyed on.
SaeRoYi’s franchise company IC eventually took over JangGa, which served as the ultimate punishment for Chairman Jang.
The consequences Chairman Jang faced once again reminds us that we determine our own destiny by choosing the values and beliefs we want to carry in our lives.
3. What Constitutes A Good And Successful Business (based on the series)
It was certainly empowering and there’s this huge sense of pride seeing how DanBam ventured from a small pub overlooked by many to become a multi-national franchise, eventually becoming the strongest conglomerate of the food industry!
*PS: Did you know that the pub DanBam also exists irl? Read all about it here!
[Credits to dulichvietnam]
So how did they did this? Here’s a few points I found and think is worth mentioning about the entire series:
Being brought up with his father’s teachings, SaeRoYi reminded us to never forget the core foundation of every successful business: The people.
It’s easy for managers to forget or dismiss the importance of them, treating them as resources or tools to just help them succeed even more. Unlike JangGa, SaeRoYi reminded us that it’s the people that helps the business grow. It’s the people that we should prioritise more, not power, status, or wealth.
Adding on from being people-focused, SaeRoYi also believed that everyone should be treated fairly regardless of their skin colour or sexual preferences, hence his hiring of minorities like transgender Hyun Yi (played by Lee Joo Young) and African-Korean Toni (played by Chris Lyon).
[This is a huge plus point I’m giving to the series! It’s rare to see someone of a different skin tone together with a transgender being featured in Korean movies! Putting my fingers crossed for more Korean shows to feature this diversity in the future.]
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SaeRoYi went through multiple lengths to fight for his people’s rights. At Episode 8, Toni was denied entry to a nightclub because of his skin colour. He was harassed by the security staff that called him ‘African’ along with rude names.
Furious at the nightclub staff’s actions, SaeRoYi retaliated by secretly vandalising their club and accused them for such indecent acts, bringing down the Korean society.
Of course, this method of retaliation isn’t the wisest way to respond and should not be taken as an example to justify one’s actions in real life. But do keep in mind that this was his attempt to show that he was against society’s close-minded preferences.
Also at Episode 12, when Hyun Yi was discriminated after news of her being a transgender was revealed by Geun Soo (that fox!), SaeRoYi consoled and comforted her, telling her that it’s okay to quit the competition, even though this might be the only chance for DanBam to continue their operations.
His acceptance of Hyun Yi’s identity, alongside other of Danbam friends’ support and care gave strength for Hyun Yi to be stronger, and she succeeded winning the first award DanBam ever received: The Best Pub Award!
It was also Hyun Yi that saved DanBam’s reputation, as they managed to gather enough investment funds to continue their operations.
This was a really emotional scene, and I’d never felt more empowered seeing her embracing herself for who she is.
All in all, everything that led to Park SaeRoYi’s success stemmed from this one lesson:
NEVER FOCUS ON THE OBVIOUS, OR WHAT YOU SEE IN FRONT
The truth about reality is that we are all inherently selfish. Most of the time, we’d prefer making decisions that benefits ourselves over the well-being of others, consciously and unconsciously.
The easiest example of this would be when we are given the chance to fulfil our materialistic desires. Many would choose to fulfil this temporary desire if they’re given the opportunity to, and overlook everything else.
An example would be from Episode 10, after Geun Won threw a huge stash of money in air in hopes of people forgetting about the then current situation in hand: Yi Seo pleading for help after Geun Won slapped her.
Sadly, the crowd reacted exactly as Geun Won predicted.
This was also precisely how Chairman Jang exploited Soo Ah (played by Kwon Nara): Her wishes were always materialistic (moving to Seoul, getting a house, getting a car, and a rich boyfriend), and she gets easily swayed to side with Chairman Jang because he can offer he everything she thought she'd be happy with.
Hence, what SaeRoYi taught us was to make decisions based on what you could see happen in the future.
He hired a college student, an ex convict, a transgender, and someone of a different racial colour despite many protests, because he believed in them, even though it wasn’t obvious at the present then.
So, what are your thoughts on this series? And are there any feedbacks for this post? Please DO let me know, I’m curious to hear it!
And If you made it all the way here, once again, thank you so much for spending your time reading this. I really appreciate it..
Also in light of the current situation, please remember to keep safe, enjoy your alone time, and always stay at home at all times!!
Personal Ratings : 8.5/10
English Webtoon Link: Shortened version
Original Webtoon Link: Korean
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