The Hidden Angle | 'Itaewon Class': Yi-seo is shaped after the webtoon, but Da-mi's portrayal breathes new life to her
Kim Da-mi plays the lead role of Jo Yi-seo in Netflix and tvN show 'Itaewon Class' that concluded recently and her character is shaped from the webtoon that the show is based on. Da-mi's understanding and portrayal of this character add a much-needed magic to the show.
The first scene of Yi-seo sees her appear in high school taking on a bully like no one else would. She goes live on social media to show how the rich brats in school are bullying others. When a rich brat's mother comes at her and tries to teach her a lesson, Yi-seo gets her friend Geun-soo to record it all so that it can be used as proof later.
She is one of the smartest girls but the way she uses her intelligence is twisted. She doesn't believe in set rules of right and wrong and would do anything as long as it serves her purposes. Yi-seo's life takes a sharp turn when she meets Park Sae-ro-yi. The two are completely different from each other, and instead of one changing for the other, what we see in this show is each of them complementing the other equipped with their differences.
While Sae-ro-yi was strict about his beliefs, what was right and wrong, and clear about his ambitions, Yi-seo has no qualms about ruining others' to give wings to her goals. The only thing they have in common is their determination.
There are many ways Yi-seo's character could have been portrayed but Da-mi goes about it in this unapologetic manner that has now become one of the best things about the show. For instance, when Yi-seo tries to manipulate Geun-soo into taking over his father's company so that Sae-ro-yi can achieve his aim easier, she comes off as a selfish friend, just mean with no redemption going for her. However, it is hard to hate her because she doesn't pretend. There is no pretense to her actions, and even Geun-soo knows that she is trying to manipulate him because she has fallen for Sae-ro-yi.
There is a transition period in the show where Yi-seo and Sae-ro-yi's methods don't match. This results in multiple clashes because the two of them are now working together on making DanBam the number 1 in the food industry. He tries to run his business exactly the opposite way his enemy Jang Dae-hee would have run, but Yi-seo's interference at certain stages doesn't help.
For instance, the first time she learned that Ma Hyun-yi was a transperson, she tries to get her out of DanBam. It is Sae-ro-yi who keeps Hyun-yi employed and tells her that she needs to become better as a chef to stay at DanBam. This back and forth adds to the chemistry that the lead characters build over the episodes.
Another important trait about Yi-seo that Da-mi portrayed wonderfully is how Yi-seo pursues love. She begins to work at DanBam because she likes Sae-ro-yi, but it doesn't end there. She is also ambitious and that is why we see her ask Sae-ro-yi for a percentage of shares at DanBam in return for employing her. Yes, she does give up her college education, but not in vain and she is certain that she can do much better for Sae-ro-yi than she would if she were to go to college.
Even when Yi-seo learns that Sae-ro-yi doesn't have feelings for her, she continues to work with him and profess her love without inhibition because she believes that her feelings are her own. She doesn't force Sae-ro-yi who says that things won't work between them because of the age difference and his background — which is a high school drop out who was in prison — and Yi-seo sees these as just excuses to hide behind.
Despite whatever happens in their personal lives, Yi-seo hasn't given up on her ambitions and when she becomes one of the top businesswomen in 2020 after shaping up Itaewon Class Corp to be what it is, she is still in love with Sae-ro-yi and all of it just is packed into her character and it is truly a pleasure to watch her come together, change over time, change with her experiences of dealing with different people, her friendship with Hyun-yi — all of it.
This show also has some great performance by Yoo Jae-myung who portrays Jang Dae-hee, Park Seo-jun who plays Sae-ro-yi and Ahn Bo-hyun who portrays Jang Geun-soo and so this is definitely a show you should binge on especially now that we are all staying at home, staying safe!
‘The Hidden Angle’ is a weekly column examining narratives, frames and sounds that add value to movies and shows but are not part of conversations surrounding their success or failure. The column will be published Fridays.