Itaewon Class
2020
Original language: Korean
- drama
The story
In a colorful Seoul neighborhood, an ex-con and his friends fight a mighty foe to make their ambitious dreams for their street bar a reality.
What it’s like
Bright, saturated Seoul nightlife: neon signs bleeding red and blue across wet asphalt, sweating kitchen light, the crowded warmth of a street-level bar in Itaewon. The camera stays close and mobile through restaurant floors and back alleys, catching faces in tight two-shots and quick reaction cuts, with loud K-pop and pop-rock on the soundtrack and pounding percussion during fights. Its mood is scrappy and hopeful, with a streak of righteous anger running underneath, the warm-hearted energy of a comeback story. The pace is brisk and episodic, built around cooking, service and small-business struggles, with frequent comic beats and sincere emotional turns. Its central arc follows a young man who has been shut out of respectable life learning to build something of his own and trust the people around him. Violence is a recurring, sometimes brutal part of the story: punches, street brawls and bloodied faces, shown fairly directly and with some intensity, plus workplace cruelty and threats. Romance stays light and gradual. It suits binge-watching on a weekend, or a viewer who wants an energetic underdog story with a lot of heart and a clear sense of who the good people are, and who can handle regular bursts of physical conflict.
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