Discover Top Posts Tagged with #chris lyon

Itaewon Class: Webtoon & Drama

I watched the drama adaptation in Netflix without knowing it was based on a webtoon. I loved the series for so many reasons but mainly it was the characters. This story gives center stage to characters that society outcasts: Park Sea Ro Yi a dropout and ex-convict, Lee Ho Jin victim of bullying at school, Jo Yi Seo a sociopath, Ma Hyun Yi a transgender, and Choi Seung Kwon an ex-convict and ex-gangster. The fact that the main characters are not the typical kind makes this story fresh and interesting. I won't repeat myself - if you want to know in detail what I think about the characters and the plot as presented in the Korean drama you can check my post Itaewon Class (Korean Drama).

Needless to say, when I learned this drama was based on a webtoon, I searched for it until I found it, but I found it in Korean and so I had to wait for a translation. A couple of months ago I found the webtoon translated to English in Tapas and I read the whole 79 episode long webtoon between yesterday and today. I couldn't put it down. I was so happy and excited to see that the Netflix series adaptation had been faithful to the essence of the characters and to the most important events in the webtoon. Don't get me wrong, the series did take its liberties and the major one was creating Tony Kim's character; but I think that its addition to the clan was enriching and daring. These characters break stereotypes and initiate difficult conversations in a very conservative culture and Tony Kim wasn't an exception. The adaptation also changed the scene where Park Sae Ro Yi realizes he is in love with Yi Seo but I like both scenes so I don't mind. The series showed us how they opened the second pub and took some things that in the webtoon were planned but never really executed and made them happen for plot development which I thought it was fine as well. I think that the screenwriter and the director made deliberate changes that didn't harm the story, but actually made it even more intense. . .

I am so happy that I got to read this amazing webtoon! I loved the story, the character development, and drawings. . . everything really. If you like the webtoon, watch the series. If you watched the series, read the webtoon. They are both so worth it!

#itaewon class webtoon #kwang jin #korean drama #itaewon class #realistic fiction #Park Seo-Joon #Kim Da-Mi #Kim Dong-Hee #Ryoo Kyung-Soo #Lee Joo-Young #Chris Lyon

Itaewon Class ~ DanBam’s Kim Toni

#itaewon class #kdramanetwork #kdramaedit #kdrama #chris lyon

Itaewon Class (2020)

#itaewon class #netflix #kdrama #gifs #danbam #park saeroyi #park seojun #kim dami #kwon nara #kim donghee #lee jooyoung #ryoo kyungsoo #chris lyon #yoo jaemyung #ahn bohyun

Itaewon Class

I love how this show had 2 strong female leads instead of the typical two strong male leads. And by strong I mean they were both solid characters and had their own development and redemption and honestly until the very end if wasn’t quite sure which one was the first female lead and which was the second (though I was rooting for Yi Seo from the very beginning).

Park Sae Ro Yi. How can I articulate what I feel about him? Other than he is now my top 3 kdrama male leads right up there with Captain Yoo Shi Jin from Descendants of the Sun and Ryan Gold from Her Private Life. I am going to write a whole list of why later!

Edit/gif by @sclcncsblog

I love how the newer kdramas are really talking about issues that matter. In Her Private Life they navigate homosexuality so very well with Ryan Gold’s view of it. In Itaewon Class Hyun-yi being trans was one of my highlights.

Then with Toni and racism and with Choi Seung-kwon being from the background he is thinking is life is done for but how seeing Sae Ro Yi’s outlook on life and self-worth really turning his life around - oh my gosh.

I like how by the end of it Park Sae Ro Yi truly becomes a businessman while keeping his values and dignity in place. How he doesn’t treat Chairman Jang in a mean or harsh way - rather makes him soft tofu stew and talks politely - but he doesn’t let his weeping and pleading change his mind about the takeover since that’s a business decision.

Also I mean can we just acknowledge how the first actual kiss in this kdrama is right at the end of it? And how it could - like most other kdramas- make us feel so much without having to have intense kiss/sex scenes. I mean that is true art.

I love how Sae Ro Yi takes his time to realise and confess his feelings for Yi Seo. And when he finally tells her - that intensity, that sincerity, that sureness - you can never doubt a man like Sae Ro Yi.

Edit/gif by @thingskateknows

Yi Seo was, of course, my favourite character - right after Sae Ro Yi. She is strong, a little crazy but pure-hearted and a perfect match for Sae Ro Yi. She isn’t weak. She isn’t a coward. Yes, she can be a little too harsh but in the moments that matter, she always rises up to the occasion. Whether for Hyuni-yi or Toni. Her final conversation with Geun Soo where she apologises to him and acknowledges his feelings and how she’s treated them - that was her redemption.

Edit/gif by @kdramanewbie

I really didn’t like Soo Ah. I get that her background wasn’t privileged and that she was at a disadvantage but still...she was just no match for Sae Ro Yi. The kind of man he is, he needs a woman like Yi Seo rather than Soo Ah. But of course, by the end by being the whistler blower and not asking Sae Ro Yi for anything but just to be happy...she redeemed herself. And I love her ending too - starting her own cafe, looking so happy and elegant and pretty and maybe falling for hew new chef (Park Bo Gum!)? I was genuinely happy for her.

You know what I really liked about Itaewon Class? The fact that Sae Ro Yi wasn’t above it all. The fact that he let revenge fuel him. And in the end, he got what he wanted but he also admitted that it didn’t make him feel happy and that it had been really fucking tough living life that way. I like how irrespective of how perfect he was, he had his flaw because it’s honestly only natural to have such flaws. Him kneeling down before Chairman Chang to save Yi Seo - I love how he didn’t even have to think about it for a second and how easily it came to him.

The show truly was about people. And trust. And bonds. Lee Ho-Jin becoming Sae Ro Yi’s friend and then financial manager - loved that. Toni’s grandmom being the badass investor - loved that. I love how all the characters in the show are SO majorly flawed but in the end, mostly good at heart and have their own special/unique set of strengths. In the end, the key to a person’s support, trust, respect and love is sincerity. It really is that simple.

And the fact that someone can be important to you but not all the time. That’s something Yi Seo understood and Soo Ah didn’t. Like when shit went wrong with the 10 billion investment and Soo Ah told Sae Ro Yi to leave everything and come to her and they could be happy...how could she! Despite knowing, despite actually being right there when Sae Ro Yi’s life fell to pieces back in school. That, along with 100 other reasons is why Yi Seo and Sae Ro Yi always made sense.

Edit/gif @kdramatelier

But the point isn’t that. The point is that everyone has their priorities and people - no matter how much you care about them - they can’t be your constant priority. Hence, you have to be strong enough to be there for yourself.

In the end, all I can say is...

How did it taste?