What I Don't Know About Kpop & Itaewon Class Ep 7-11

So, I clearly need to do more research on the groups and solo acts whose songs I've stumbled across and really liked. Generally, liking one song isn't cause for me to know or care at all about a group/artist. But kpop might just be a different animal. Why?

Things I learned while drunk binging on kpop last night:

1. Jackson Wang is in Got7.

OhEmGee. I love "Okay". It was one of the first songs that caught my attention when I started listening to kpop playlists (audio only). And it is one that is going to stay. I pretty much look forward to hearing the NCT songs I've added to my playlist, and maybe 2 other tracks. This is one of them.

So, while I don't think I've heard any Got7 songs that I needed to hear again, this makes me want to check them out more thoroughly. I heard one other Jackson Wang song last night, and it was awesome too! MVs here I come! Even his Pepsi commercial was good. That's wild to me!

2. SuperM is a kpop super group.

With my favorite members of NCT, I might add. What the hell. "Tiger Inside" is one of the only other songs that I actively look forward to hearing on that play list, particularly for the beat and rap breakdown. It makes SO much sense that it was Mark and Taeyong. Like. Man. I need to start looking up these songs/groups a bit quicker.

I watched the video for "Tiger Inside" as soon as I realized. And I checked out "One (Monster & Infinity)" too, which was fire!

Itaewon Class (2020)

I mostly watched kpop videos and dance practices last night, but I did watch another episode of Itaewon Class. And I watched some more this afternoon too. 

There haven't been any other scenes that I thought were as good as the "Soup Incident" and "Kiss Denied", but there have been some nice shots and decent scenes.

    Awkwardly Comforting

There is something about a socially awkward person comforting other people that is just... so sweet. Jo Si-Yeo doesn't really deserve a whole lot of comfort in my view, but her crying because of how rough Saeroyi's life had been while he awkwardly patted her back? That's cute.

The scene with Kim Dong-Hee was better though. The character development for Geun-Soo has been just enough to make the scene really touching. His family has always treated him poorly... so the enemy of his family took him in. But really, it started the first night they met, when the kid wanted to take responsibility and received a pat on the head for the thought.

    Sympathy for the Devil

Honestly, I feel like most of the characters are pretty sympathetic. Even Jang Geun-Won is a sympathetic character, in part because of the stellar acting job by Ahn Bo-Hyun. The guy has been repugnant since his very first appearance, but if the chicken torture scene with his dad was any indication, the guy has been abused his whole life.

The visible flinching when his father gets angry... the parroting of his father's words (people are "livestock", etc)... this character is a victim as much as anyone. It's amazing that Ahn is able to play the wounded man child who is terrified of his father and desperate for approval... while still making him an arrogant, sleazy dude. Amazing.

    The Best Scene in Ep 7-11

Honestly, Park ripping off the manager name tag in response to her belittling the importance of his people... that was the best scene. He freaked. And it was well deserved, really. Particularly since I'm fond of the Geun-Soo character. 

    Some Interesting Shots

I like the shots of the new pub's rooftop. The city is very gray and hazy. The rooftop is cheery and colorful. It's like it's a happy beacon in a dreary place.

I thought this shot was nice because it definitely shows how isolated the new pub is. Again, it is colorful and glowing in the middle of a dark street. It's just nicely done.

The shots of the mountain grave were lovely. Here, Park Seo-Joon is kneeling to pour soju for Saeroyi's dead father after files were charged for his murderer. The actual shot itself was beautiful. The writing of the scene was a little cheesy compared to most of this show. "It still tastes bitter" and all. Still, Park did well with the material.

Today & Tomorrow

I went over vocab, particularly the ones that I cannot remember for the life of me! I talked to Woong a little bit on Tandem. Otherwise, I didn't do much. The whole Covid thing has been rough... I've had texts from my employees since 9am. It's understandably concerning to be quarantined. I get it. But it's exhausting.

I might study some more later. For now... I'm watching Itaewon Class and zoning out. I need to not think for a while. 

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