My favourite and most memorable K-drama that I have watched

By Syamil

As early as 2020, when the world went into lockdown and the days felt like they were all the same, I would waste hours scrolling listlessly on Netflix. Quarantine tended to make everything heavy and drag everything out, so that things felt boring. Sometime in the afternoon on one lazy day, I clicked on some random K-drama everyone was discussing online, Itaewon Class. I wasn't expecting much. I just wanted to kill time. But I had no idea, that one click would lead me into a story that I would be thinking about long after the credits rolled.

Itaewon Class was not only entertainment but an equation of emotion, defiance, camaraderie, and individual growth. Every episode got me hooked further. I was thoroughly addicted to the plot, Park Sae-ro-yi's struggle, the struggle for justice, and the dream of entrepreneurship of building something from ground zero. It was not a show at all, It was like a reflection of the chaos and hope that I was going through during the un-real lockdown days.

But if I had to choose one thing about the drama that truly stuck with me, it would have to be the character Ma Hyun Yi. Among all the vibrant characters in the show, she made a mark quietly but forcefully. Her personal history as a transgender woman who fought to find her spot in the world was devastating and yet uplifting. She was quietly brave, she was brave just by being herself, by being bold enough to be herself in a space that did not always accept her.

Ma Hyun Yi was my favorite Itaewon Class character, and any K-drama character I have seen since. Her vulnerability, bravery, and commitment made me understand that representation matters, and that strength does not necessarily manifest itself in the form that we picture it to be. Even today, years later, I catch myself thinking about her narrative and how during a time in my life when I felt stuck, an imagined character made me feel heard.