Itaewon Class/이태원 클라 – Rise of the Underdogs & Hard Truths of Social Disparity
“Itaewon Class” is lauded for being “more than just an ordinary revenge drama”. It denotes an inspiring story of the underdogs’ uphill climb to success and takes us on a self-exploration journey to work through limitless possibilities in life. The theme fuels motivation to conquer obstacles and striving harder to achieve your dreams. It surfaces ingrained societal problems and also “golden” quotes for us to reflect on.
“Freedom” and “Forgiveness” are the keywords that embody the theme of “Itaewon Class”. Letting go is an art of learning how to forgive not just others, but also yourself. You need to break free from the invisible chains holding you down, so that you can move on.
Some societal issues include discrimination against ex-convicts, foreigners and transgenders, dealing with Sociopaths, how the rich and influential abuse their authority to get pass the law.
The realistically multi-faceted and imperfect characters prove that there isn’t always a distinctive line between good and evil. Ahn Bo Hyun has changed my perspective on villainous characters being one-dimensional. He added much spice to the drama by portraying the dark but also vulnerable side of a villain.
“Seeking revenge” doesn’t mean having to degrade yourself or stoop to an unscrupulous level. It can inspire you to dream bigger and strive harder, retain your principles while achieving your goals.
Sae Royi is a symbol of the “underdogs’ fight against evil”. He showed us how imperative it is to better your knowledge, experience, learn from repeated failures, press on and work your way through.
My favourite quote: “Everyone is given the same amount of time. It is how we use it that defines who and how different we are.”
We have learnt that self-love includes knowing when to put yourself before others and we do not need anyone’s affirmation to be who we are. Giving up without a fight is one of the detrimental things we can do to ourselves.
Listen to your inner voice, have faith in yourself.
Never say never.
Join us on a meaningful self-exploration journey as we delve deeper into analyzing some of our favourite characters, discuss prevalent societal issues, draw inferences from the characters’ life lessons and share with you some of our favourite quotes.Read More →
