ITAEWON CLASS (Ep.8) | JERSEY COWS' REACTION

I also think she's very unlikable but also that it's exactly what she's meant to be like at this point. It would be weird to say she has sociopathic tendencies but make her a normal, empathetic person just because we get to know her a little bit. Right now, she's doing what a sociopathic person would do - she has a goal, and she doesn't care about hurting other people's feelings. She can't seem to really emphasize with Saeroyi and what he wants either but she's slowly learning to behave in ways he would like because she wants him to like her. This is exactly how families approach those with sociopathic/psychopathic tendencies. You can't teach her to feel empathy, only teach her to behave. So I actually appreciate that they don't destroy her character completely like most dramas tend to do with mental illnesses. I hate the way they handled the racism though.

Trust yiseo 😂 she knows what she’s doing

Arzuhii

Yeay, you guys got it! Thanks for trying to say it correctly, I appreciate it. As always, I really enjoy watching your video. 'She's pregnant!' Your random comments never failed to entertain me. You're just so hilarious, David. And oh, I've said this before but heck, I'm gonna say it again. Kevin, your surprised look is so adorable, and David, when you get super excited you do this thing with your hands, like shaking them, and it's so cute. You both made my Sunday a fun day. I can't wait to go back after work and watch your reaction video. See you in the next episode. Take care.

Wacanggih Joy

Kim Dami was also the main actress in a movie called The Witch: Part 1 Subversion about a year after her debut and she was really great so I completely agree with your comments about her, which is why Yiseo is my favorite character because Dami just does such a good job

Suzanne Austen

yeah, I agree with you. They tried to tackle multiple ''taboo'' topics/things that need to be addressed in Korea at the same time. Racism and transphobia together with mental health disorders, and I think that was a bit too much at once if the purpose really was to make people think or to ''educate them''. I also feel conflicted about Yi seo. The thing is she does all of these things that make her completely unlikeable and I hate her in those moments, but then I remember that she this Anti social disorder/sociopathic tendencies, and then it all makes sense. She's not hurting any of these innocent people on purpose, she just really lacks empathy and understanding and it's not her fault that she has this disorder and then I like her again. But maybe that is just me, I tend to excuse people's actions when I see where they're coming from and what the reason for them acting this way is... But you def. have every reason to dislike her xD I hope to see her grow and become a better person throughout the series although I don't know whether that is possible.

strange& sleepless

There’s one thing about Itaewon Class that I personally have an issue with and that is they didn’t really handle these serious topics the way i would’ve liked them to. Now don’t get me wrong, I love that they shed light on to racism & transphobia in SK and how much of an issue it really is BUT i don’t think they executed it very well. It’s like the issue with Hyun Yi and firing her. I would’ve understood if Yiseo wanted to fire her if it was just solely about her cooking BUT it was about her being trans & making the customers uncomfortable. She said some very transphobic things so I was expecting some sort of apology at the end but the writers just made Yiseo become some sort of taste tester for Hyun Yi while she practiced cooking and somehow that was some sort of apology??? Same thing with Toni. Her posting about the club on her blog was a step forward but she was still pretty ignorant and called him African AND her constant need to tell Toni he doesn’t “look” Korean was just 🙃 Then they just added a cute scene with Saeroyi/Yiseo and called it a day Idk i just wish the writers would’ve done a bit more because the scenes themselves (although uncomfortable/shocking) like the club scene were executed really well I just wish they wrapped it up with sincere apologies or genuine actions. Idk just more that they could’ve done.... Now the thing with Yiseo is she’s very blunt. Tbh when I first watched this drama I liked her in the beginning and then the Hyun Yi ep & this ep happened & it made me hate her and then I just felt conflicted. I get her reasons for doing/saying things but she’s verryyy harsh. I understand her way of thinking when it comes to wanting to fire Geun Soo because really if Saeroyi did fire him it Would solve problems. BUT it’s still fucked up and Saeroyi just wouldn’t do that. Her logic is that Saeroyi wants to beat Jangga and if he keeps acting like this he’s never gonna be able to. WHICH I GET but it’s still terrible. I just think she needs to step back a bit. I feel like the writers in this particular ep just wanted us to hate her because it felt like every scene of hers was just frustrating to watch. Also poor Geunsoo man yiseo just does NOT care about him AT ALL . (P.S. i’m still team Yiseo tho... unfortunately. I just can’t like Sooah man like she’s on the other side & i still can’t wrap my head around the fact that she works for a man who essentially has a hand in the death of a man she considered her dad. no matter how pretty she is 😔) Also racism is a huge everywhere unfortunately but it just blew my mind when I first watched that club scene. I watched a video on YT from this channel called Asian Boss and it had a black man in SK talk about the BLM movement and he said he wanted to teach @ an english institute he would do a phone interview and at the end they would ask if he was black or white & they would say like you’re totally qualified for the job but we don’t hire black ppl & that they’re afraid he’ll scare ppl. Like that’s just so crazy to me because this man learned about the korean culture AND their language and yet these ppl won’t even hire a man because of his skin color

Angela

This episode is full of conflicts and ignorance but I think it is just to make their bond tighter...... I think Yi Seo will not able to change Saeroyi but it will go other way round, he will make her understand how to respect and care for others.... and racism is everywhere especially for Black and Brown people irrespective of there nationality and people are fighting and giving up there lives coz of such thing hoping for a better tomorrow.... There is so much negativity in the society that they don't see how they are impacting other's lives and their own life.... Anyways, I love your reaction guys you are doing great.....stay positive, safe and healthy.....

Korea has a big problem with ignorance. Racism is still very prominent but most of it comes from ignorance and being uneducated. I think the fact that Korea has very little foreigners, and even fewer Black people plays a big part in that. They lack exposure. A lot of Koreans have never really interacted with Black people before especially if they're from the countryside, so everything they know about black people is from the Korean media, which often portrays Black people in very stereotypical and negative ways. And if you grow up in a society like that, with that ignorant kind of mindset, then it can be very difficult to not be prejudiced and to get out of that and look at things from a different perspective and admit that what you believed is wrong. And Yi seo being a sociopath or having sociopathic tendencies makes this even more difficult because she generally doesn't care enough about other people's feelings to look at things from a different perspective. She will not gain anything from understanding Tony's situation and defending him/empathizing with him and getting justice for him. And as we've established, everything sociopaths do, all of their relationships are for their own personal gain and to achieve what they want. And being with Saeroyi and making Saeroyi get his revenge and making him happy is all she cares about. That is what she wants, so she will do everything to achieve that, which is why she apologized and is now trying to help tony. It's not because she cares, she never has. This is basically the same Situation as with Hyun yi. But because her feelings for Saeroyi and his happiness and well being are so intense, which is very out of character for a sociopath, I have hope that she will be able to genuinely empathize with people and care in the future. Although I don't know if it works that way. Also, it's more common than you think that natives won't accept you as one of them and look at you as a foreigner if you look different/have lived/were born abroad. My country is very multicultural, and I had a lot of classmates whose parents were immigrants, and when they'd go back to the country they came from they were often looked at as foreigners by locals even tho their parents are from that country and they have it in their blood. And the Racism/prejudice in Korea of course makes it even harder for a black Korean to be accepted as Korean.

strange& sleepless

Korea has actually quite a big problem with racism unfortunately. A lot of clubs deny access for all foreigners but especially dark skinned people sometimes they also make foreigners pay extra to enter the club. It’s horrible:(

Aleksandra

Now, Yiseo's reaction is an extreme example, but Korea being an homogeneous country, NOT ALL, but many koreans tend to make racist comments and jokes, without realizing the gravity of their actions. Some of them have never been exposed to foreigners, so all the "knowledge" they have about foreigners is what they have been exposed to by the media, which end up being stereotypes they take for face value. Some don't even know that the information they have and that the comments they make are racist because they've got nobody to tell them otherwise. I'm glad this issue is being talked more in korean media, so people can learn and help fight against it.

Meruka Hinaru

Many establishments in Korea still have prejudice against foreigners, specially dark skinned people. They have this delusional idea that ALL foreigners are promt to cause trouble. So of course they "shield" themselves by generalizing and just simply limiting the access to anyone foreign. I'm glad IC covered these issues to let people know that's called racism and how unfair that treatment is. Because some might see it like a simple "Well, the establishment has a right to not accept costumers" but that is just them getting away with discriminating people. I'm all for not accepting anyone that's violent, but Tony's case is an example of them just being ridiculous.

Meruka Hinaru

Wow Yi-seo was really wilding this episode. Like she's a queen in my eyes but her actions and apologies just are not it. I also really feel bad for Geun soo this episode poor dude really got the short end of the stick with that family, like he gets judged by who his family is when he never has received any benefit from being a "Jung." God really played him like that. From other Korean dramas I saw, there isn't much individualism in Korea. So if a close family member does something wrong (like murder) there's always a shadow over that entire family, because of societal judgement. It will be interesting to see how they will portray that side of the Korean culture when eventually the death of Saeroyi's father does get to the media. Will them being rich affect the way people see them or will their business take a bad hit? I can't wait to find out. And the thing with Toni is so refreshing to see in the drama because it is so self aware of the director to do that. I used to watch this variety show called "Hello Counselor" and there have been a couple black people on that show that talk about how they have been mistreated by the public cause of their skin and it was so shocking. There are also a lot of YouTubers that show what it is like to be black in Korea, and it is never something truly bad but its just so much ignorance. There's also a lot of comedy skits and idols that have black face (like the whole painting your skin black and outlining your lips with a huge pink, dressing and acting really dumb while eating watermelon. They go the extra mile to show you they are doing a black face). So there are a lot of POC fans of kpop and kdrama that have been turned off by these aspects. Because the usual response of Korean people to racism response is that "they're a monogamous country so they're just behind the times. They don't mean anything bad" and that response is always soooo disappointing so I loved how they showed it in this show in the manner that they did. Although more younger people are open and less ignorant to different cultures there's still hella ignorance. I don't want anyone reading this to feel like I am just bashing Korea "even though its better than other countries when it comes to racism" cause I do know that literally every country has its own version of racism/colorism/-ism but I am just writing about the micro racism I have seen in dramas and shows in Korea. If that even made sense. If you guys are planning on watching the youtube interview with Chris Lyon (Toni) on DKDK Tv or DKDK tv rundown on the Show Itaewon class, I am sure they touch on this topic a little bit. Again sorry to the person reading my turn, cause I am not sure I coherently explained my thoughts well.

Hermela T.