Discover The Best Movies and TV Shows Like Itaewon Class

Park Sae-roy’s life is upended on his first day of high school when he punches bully Jang Geun-won, the son of restaurant tycoon Jang Dae-hee, whose conglomerate Jangga Group previously employed Sae-roy’s honest father. Refusing to apologize to the ruthless CEO, Sae-roy is expelled, and his father is fired. Tragedy strikes when Geun-won recklessly kills Sae-roy’s father in a hit-and-run and covers it up. Consumed by grief and rage, Sae-roy attacks Geun-won, resulting in a three-year prison sentence. While incarcerated, he reads Chairman Jang’s autobiography, plotting a meticulous, fifteen-year revenge plan to destroy Jangga Group by dethroning it in the food industry.Upon his release, Sae-roy moves to Itaewon, a vibrant, culturally diverse district in Seoul. Alongside the fiercely intelligent and sociopathic social media influencer Jo Yi-seo—who becomes his restaurant's manager—and a loyal crew of societal misfits, he opens a modest pub named Danbam. However, the path to success is fraught with sabotage. Chairman Jang and Geun-won, now a Jangga executive, relentlessly target Danbam, using their immense wealth and corrupt police connections to shut them down and force relocations.Undeterred, Sae-roy scales up, turning Danbam into IC (Itaewon Class), a massive franchise corporation. He strategically recruits brilliant former classmates and investors, growing strong enough to threaten Jangga’s market dominance. Throughout this corporate war, complex romantic tensions unfold. Yi-seo harbors a deep, unwavering romantic obsession for Sae-roy, while he remains emotionally tethered to his former classmate and Jangga employee, Oh Soo-ah, who struggles morally between her loyalty to Chairman Jang, who funded her education, and her lingering affection for Sae-roy. Eventually, Soo-ah resigns from Jangga and blows the whistle on their illegal practices, providing crucial ammunition for Sae-roy’s ultimate corporate takeover.As IC surges ahead, a desperate Geun-won, stripped of his heir status and family backing, kidnaps Yi-seo and Sae-roy’s loyal chef, Ma Hyun-yi, to lure Sae-roy into a trap. Sae-roy rushes to the rescue, engaging in a brutal confrontation. Geun-won is finally defeated and arrested, bringing closure to the murder of Sae-roy’s father. Simultaneously, Chairman Jang’s health fails, and the crumbling empire is acquired by Sae-roy’s IC. Humbled and utterly defeated, the elderly former CEO is forced to kneel before Sae-roy, begging for mercy. Sae-roy refuses to grant it out of malice, but rather indifference, completing his professional and personal victory. Having achieved his lifelong vengeance, Sae-roy finally allows himself to find peace, turning his attention away from hatred and toward genuine happiness and love with Yi-seo.