A realistic drama about love, relationships, and marriages... but...

This kdrama started out perfect. Everything about it was great. Everyone was interesting and going through realistic struggles, such as being house poor, regular poor, sexual harassment and being the subject of workplace gossip, marriage and relationships etc. The show was slow paced but thought provoking and I really loved how everyone matured at the end, however, that's the problem, the ending.

Before we get to the ending we need to talk about one of the side couple, Yang Ho-rang and her boyfriend of 7 years, Sim Won-Seok. They were a couple that dated since college but had financial issues. As well as other relationship issues, the biggest one being that Ho-rang wants to get married while Won-Seok doesn't want to commit to it. They were in an on and off relationship (this is important). After Ho-rang finally spilled the beans on why she was so upset and after rubbing it in her boyfriend's face with things like "I won' have sex with you because we're not going to get married" the man finally proposed. However, like I said they had financial issues they couldn't get married until in 5 years. They eventually broke up and that moment felt so realistic for me. They had differences in what they want in the future and their relationship and realized that no amount of love can make up for it. I loved that couple so much for its realistic portrayals. They finally broke that cycle of being in an on and off relationship and they found someone who has compatible expectations for their relationships and future. Or so I thought. But in the most cliche and cringey moment at the end they realized they deep down love each other blah blah blah, a bunch of tears at the end. Except the relationship issues these two had did not go away, and they showed that no amount of love for each other can make up for that. I was so emotionally invested in the side couple. A show with one of the most realistic relationship got ruined in a 5 minute scene to the most cliche.

I also wished the show made. Yoon Ji-ho (our protagonist) resolved communication issues by... you know... communicating the communication issues by her husband/landlord Nam Se-Hee. Instead of throwing in a break up and seeing him go through it to see "how much he really loved me". That way we the writers could show us Woo Soo-Ji getting into the career she is truly passionate about and not be subjected to sexual harassment.and gossip. That girl was finally achieving her dreams, but instead of showing that they showed the aftermath of the breakup and makeup.

I had such high expectations for this show and if they didn't ruin it with the last 2 episodes it would've been one of my top shows of all time.

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Must watch Korean drama shedding light on the realities of issues in Korean law and society

This is one of the best Kdramas of 2022. If not THE BEST and will always be a top tier kdrama in my heart along with Mystic Pop-up Bar, Flower of Evil, and Move to Heaven. This Korean drama has amazing writing, pacing, and dialogue brought to life by top-tier acting and music we have a kdrama that sheds light on juvenile offenders, the leniency they receive, the ubiquitous repeated offenders, and other issues in law and society.

Characters

We have a cold hearted and emotionless judge, who despises juvenile offenders with the philosophy that the law is too lenient towards young offenders. Contrast to that we have her colleague, Cha Tae-Ju who is a warm hearted and has a philosophy of rehabilitation of offenders. Each with opposite ideals but the same goal: serving justice, but in their own way.

Examples of the many ways it sheds light on Korean society

My favourite episode of this kdrama were episode 3 and 4 where it focused Seo Yu-Ri's case. Seo Yu-Ri was part of a runaway gang and has a history of minor crimes including theft. But when we get to know more about her, the kdrama teaches and important lesson which is a re-occurring theme throughout the show as we see more juvenile offenders: you're a product of your environment.

This child dealt with horrific abuse from her father. But what I loved most about this story is the grandmother. She is good hearted but she discouraged her granddaughter to report the abused because "he's her father", how she tried to convince her son to stop, and when she confessed to the police that she raised her son wrong and how his father was also abusive; which led to her son continuing that cycle down her granddaughter.

I know this sound shitty of the grandma but this really touched me because this is exactly the problem with Asian society in general. Hitting your child as a form of discipline is normal (not to that extent) and it is why child abuse is so common. The sentiment of "respect your parents" and "respect your elders" is also the standard in Asia.

I've never seen a Korean drama talk about truly deep and sensitive issues about Korea like Juvenile Justice does which is why it's my favourite. It doesn't just talk about issues in Korea that everyone is okay with talking about like corruption, or beauty standards; It sheds light on genuinely critical societal issues that most don't want to talk about such as academic pressure and competition, child abuse, forced prostitution, gang violence, juveniles being unafraid of the law because of how lenient their sentences will be and fucking scary they are because not even the law is stopping them.

It's not like some other dramas about law where justice is ALWAYS served (cough, cough, While you were sleeping). It shows the reality and how the law doesn't always protect the victim and those perpetrators do get away or get extremely lenient sentences.

Conclusion

This kdrama is on the darker side of things but if you're okay with it I strongly recommend it! I finally found a kdrama to be on my top tier greatest of all time kdramas through the stories important stories it tells.

10/10

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