David Lee & Itaewon Class & Bullying

 I went through a Korean transcript today, a conversation between three people. I feel like I was doing well before I got pulled away. I also forgot it at work when I left. It did highlight a few things that I want to clarify with Soo-Yeong and/or Keun-Yong (my two best language exchange partners). So, it was productive if short.

Hey Ghost, Let's Fight

When I can finally write very brief blog entries in Korean, I will be looking forward to using Korean titles. Right now, even if I know the words, I have to look at the spelling and switch my keyboard back and forth. A pain. 

The version I'm watching is called Bring It on Ghost. Most places, it's called Hey Ghost, Let's Fight. Both are fitting... and stupid. Which one is preferred? No idea.

David Lee

In yesterday's blog post, I delved into a bit of 2PM's music because I finally connected some dots thanks to Bring It on Ghost and Taecyeon. Today, I was bothered by the fact that David Lee just... looked familiar.

And I discovered why. He was in Itaewon Class. I often forget about the drama, though I really enjoyed it. Mostly because it is the only drama I've ever watched on Netflix to date... it is just tucked away in another random corner of the internet for me.

That said, I found his character on the show amusing and touching. The horribly bullied kid who grew up to be rich and powerful. Yet he continued to have issues and low self-esteem, seemingly, because of the bullying. 

This is super clear in the above gif. He thinks that his bully is in jail. Then, he is just crossing a street, looks up, and is confronted with the man who tormented him. Look at that face. He doesn't look like a grown up, let alone a rich or powerful one. I found him more memorable and touching than almost any other character.

David Lee is clearly a solid actor. He did a very delicate job with his role in Itaewon Class. Who knew that he had comedic timing? He was so over the top and goofy in Bring It on Ghost! It's amazing. And playing half of the comedic duo with Kwang Ki-Young is just too perfect!

Off-Topic: Skin Color

David Lee seems so much paler now than he did then. If that was a purposeful change for beauty standards, that's a real shame. The natural tan skin color is beautiful on everybody.

It's interesting that the "western" white skin is considered beautiful there, while in the U.S., I've been called Casper, Elvira, Morticia, and a slew of other nicknames because I'm "pale as a corpse". I've even been asked many many times if I'm albino, despite having color in my hair and eyes.

People tried to talk me into going to tanning salons my whole life. No thanks. I believe in embracing whatever color we came with. 

My color just happens to be almost translucent white with every vein clearly visible. I have blue streaks everywhere... and I'm okay with that. If the sun shining on my bare skin gives people snow blindness, they can stop looking. Judge all you want. Don't care.

파이팅!