You had me at Park Seo-joon (What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim). Directed by Moonlight Drawn by Clouds PD Kim Sung-yoon, Itaewon Class will feature Park Seo-joon as a straightforward young man who fights to live in an unjust world. Itaewon Class is a story about a couple of stubborn and brave youths who come together and rebel against the status quo.
The original source work was an incredibly popular hit webtoon that has accumulated more than 200 million views since its debut in 2017. It’s number one in Daum’s preview sales records, with an average rating of 9.9 stars. Furthermore, the original web comic artist Jo Kwang-jin will be personally adapting this work into the drama format. Isn’t that awesome?
Park Seo-joon will play a character named Park Se-ro; he’s the type of person who doesn’t negotiate with injustice and directly confronts any challenges. His relentless righteous anger leads him to begin a new dream in the streets of Itaewon (a neighborhood in Seoul known for its thriving expat community) to defend the local restaurant scene from being consolidated into large corporations. The actor said about his character: “Park Se-ro commits to his convictions, and is honest to a fault in every moment. Although it is an intimidating role for me because of the love the original web comic character received, it makes me want to challenge myself that much more, because the character is so charismatic.”
Yoo Jae-myung, Kim Da-mi
In addition to Park Seo-joon, Kim Da-mi (Witch) and Yoo Jae-myung (My Fellow Citizens) have also confirmed their places in the lineup. Kim Da-mi will play a highly intelligent sociopath who has used her smarts to become a social media star and power blogger. In contrast to her angel-like looks, her personality is very different. This leads to an ill-fated beginning with Park Seo-joon’s character, but they will eventually team up to take over Itaewon.
Yoo Jae-myung is set to play the CEO of a large food conglomeration. He’s a self-made man who still remembers the days he had to go hungry when he was young. An accident involving his son introduces him to Park Seo-joon’s character, and little by little, his entire world begins to shake.
So far, the Friday-Saturday JTBC drama lineup is as follows: Melo Suits Me in August, followed by By Country, followed by Chocolate, and finally followed by Itaewon Class.