A magnificient masterpiece

Itaewon Class is a drama that deserves to be watched by all. Not because I have a slight soft spot for Park Seo Joon (a sweetness to look at through his physique and acting) but because it deals with several themes that are still a problem in the world but especially in Asian culture in general (except for some points).

First of all, and this is one of the major points of the story, he tackles the problem of social classes. From the first episode, we can see that the "weak" are obliged to submit to the economically strongest, letting their whims pass or keeping silent in front of them. But Park Sae Ro Yi, a character played by Park Seo Joon, will prove the opposite by opposing Jang Geun Won, son of a Jagga leader. Of course, as everyone suspected, everything does not go well for him and he ends up in prison, shortly after his father's death, for beating up Jang Geun Won, the person responsible for his father's death. Then everything becomes a "logical sequence" of events, that is, a perpetual fight between Park Sae Ro Yi and Jang Dae Hee, the president of Jagga, all sprinkled with a love story (although this later becomes a secondary one).

Two other themes, important to me, are also discussed, one of which is particularly touching to me. Racism and transidentity. These subjects are major points in the news nowadays. Numerous movements, already existing for some time, have become much stronger in the fight against discrimination, racism, homophobia and so on. I think it's quite good that the producers have introduced these subjects into the series, making it more striking because they are still problems that society has to deal with but doesn't want to address, as if they were still taboo. Obviously, they are not the first to have addressed these facts but they have tried to have a positive impact on the current mentality. Being black or transgender does not make people less human. It has always been there and it won't stop anytime soon, so we might as well accept it and live with it.

As far as acting is concerned, there is not much to say. It was a marvel to watch. I don't think it was perfect, but overall the selection of actors was the right one. All the characters in this series brought a little extra, both the main and secondary characters, and that's pretty rare to see, especially when, in most cases, the secondary characters are only there to help out with problems that one of the main characters may have, or just bring more problems than they already have. In Itaewon Class, the secondary characters had an existence of their own, independent of that of the main characters.

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