If you watch it on a legal site, does that make it a "legal drama"?

I've only handled patent prosecution matters in AsiaPac, so I'm not that familiar on civil and/or criminal procedures. But even though I have found my way inside a SoKor courtroom or two, I still find it extremely hard to watch anything legally-related without throwing cat toys at my TV. (Made an exception for "Suspicious Partner," for very obvious reasons. 🥰)

There will never be a totally-factual Korean legal drama made, unless a PD-nim wants to bore an audience into a coma. But not without a few *what-the-hell* moments, "Diary of a Prosecutor" came the closest to what I've witnessed first-hand of the Korean legal system.

I don't watch many legal dramas, from this list alone the only one i've watched is Suits. It's a good drama
Does I Can Hear Your Voice count? I know it has fantasy elements but it's a good drama with great characters

Thanks for putting this together as this is a genre I have tended to be wary of for fear of violence or thriller themes but there are a few that sound like they would work for me. I loved the first few seasons of the US version of Suits so it would be good to see if the Korean version has the same impact. Law school has been recommended a few times so its on the list to check out. I really enjoyed Miss H so I am glad to see it featured here.

Love Story In Harvard
Secret Forest season 2
Doberman

I've heard Your Honor is good too.
And where's my Law School season 2? :(

I'm rarely happy with the legal part, so I usually focus on the other parts. I liked :
- Judge vs Judge with Park Eun-Bin and Yeon Woo-Jin + Dong Ha as great second lead!
- Suspicious Partner with Nam Ji-Hyun and Ji Chang-Wook + Dong Ha as a great villain :p
- The Good Wife with Jeon Do-Yeon, Yoo Ji-Tae and Yoon Kye-Sang. It was a great remake.

I have pretty much given up on procedurals (legal and medical) because of the gross errors and ethical issues inherit in laymen writers trying to create drama.

i respectfully decline

In their order-
1. Hyena.
2. Juvenile Justice.
3. Forest of Secrets/Stranger.
4. Law School.
5. Innocent Defendant.

Honorable Mentions goes to Whisper, more of the romance than the legal.

My favourite is Dairy of Prosecutor. It is different then usual KD concept but it was quite fun.

I love legal dramas in general. Loved watching everything from Perry Mason to David E. Kelley's shows. Has also helped build up a very high tolerance for ridiculous law/ courtroom scenes. Some recommendations -

1. Forest of Secrets (Stranger)
2. While You Were Sleeping / I Can Hear Your Voice (both have a lot of similar elements since they're by the same writer)
3. Confession
4. Whisper
5. Remember - War of the Son

Despite my chosen profession, I’m not a big fan of legal dramas. I think it’s because I watch dramas to relax and be entertained; I don’t want to feel like I’m at work.
I don’t think most dramas or American legal shows accurately reflect the everyday life of the average lawyer. That’s because the show would be boring and no one would watch. Legal matters are not neatly wrapped up in 60 minutes. The dramatic witness stand confessions don’t happen. And for those of us attorneys with a transactional practice, we are rarely inside a courtroom. Our work consists of client meetings, a large stack of files, and drafting all that legalese in a document no one likes to read. Fun and exciting stuff!
But here are the following legal dramas I have enjoyed, not in any particular order, and without limitation: 𝗟𝗮𝘄𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝘄𝘆𝗲𝗿, 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿, 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶, 𝗛𝘆𝗲𝗻𝗮, and 𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹. The Socratic Method as depicted in Law School is so realistic, it made my stomach clench with the terrifying memories after 30+ years!
I’m also currently enjoying 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗿? Oh, yeah, 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 was fun.

Vincenzo? 😁😁😁

More seriously 🙂 :
I remember liking The Good Wife and Legal High, though don't remember anymore how good the 'legal' part was.
I quite enjoyed my recent watch of the jdrama Hero (2001).

I couldn't get through more than a couple of episodes of "Suits" or "Law School." I did, however, like "Hyena" a lot, but I'm not sure I'd agree that the tone was light. IIRC, there are a fair amount of very dark moments--including the whole arc with the FL's father--that made it a more challenging watch sometimes. But the humorous moments were genuinely funny. I still remember the ML's hilarious moment of surprise when he entered the impromptu celebration party near the end. Oh, and they both wore amazing suits!

Another one I'd add to this list is "Military Prosecutor Doberman." It's not the type of drama that sticks with you long after watching, but it was a fun and pretty easy watch once we got passed the way the writers bungled the initial sexual assault and its aftermath.

Legal dramas generally bear little resemblance to what actually happens in the practice of law- much of which would resemble watching paint dry- although those scenes where counsel is having to deal with angry, distraught, fearful, overwrought or obnoxious clients and witnesses are all too true to life- and so we who are lawyers generally cut the writers, directors and actors considerable slack. But sometimes the writer will go too far and the stunt pulled by the FL in HYENA in the first two episodes was just such a case: It was both profoundly unethical and a felony at the same time. The writer thinks that the FL would always get away with it because the ML would be too embarrassed to report it. Problem: The ML would have a legal duty to report it and our FL might escape jail time but would never be permitted to practice law again.

This was so offensive to me that I simply could not watch the rest of the drama. What made it even more offensive was the knowledge that the information sought could have ultimately been obtained quite legitimately through the legal process known as 'discovery'. The dramatic problem with discovery is that it is precisely the watching paint dry stuff I mentioned earlier. And even worse dramatically is that conducted well it may force the other side into a more advantageous settlement- and it is tough to make high drama over people signing settlement documents.

I would contrast Hyena with a drama where the writer has better legal knowledge and more common sense: In A DIVORCE LAWYER IN LOVE our FL has also obtained evidence illegally- which in turns leads to a tragedy- but she does suffer consequences in the form of being suspended from practicing as a lawyer for 3 years. This leads to some wonderful comic scenes including our ML being drenched with seaweed soup (twice) but more importantly it is much more realistic and at the same time actually added to the story dramatically.

I love legal dramas, but it was only when I watched s2 of Forest of Secrets that I bothered to look up any details on the legal and prosecutorial system in SK. I am not in the profession, but I looked at the differences between in the judiciary, the judges and prosecutors in different countries, the separation of the powers, and the discovery process. All are a big rl ongoing problem in SK, and I see most dramas that deal with these as picking at a scab over a poorly healing wound. The new administration in SK is currently stuffing ministerial positions with ex-prosecutors allied to the President who was a Prosecutor General. There is also no discovery process as we know it. Anyway I watch these dramas in the rl context and also in light of what I read in the SK online paper in English. I find them blindingly close to much on what is actually going on in the country.

Diary of a Prosecutor is probably the best legal K-drama I've seen. It's more intelligent than most. I dropped Suits and Ms. Hammurabi. In the case of the latter, I think I just found the logic vs. empathy stuff a bit simplistic (and the girl incompetent). Suits started off well, but it didn't really hold my interest for some reason (I can't remember why). For a decent remake of an American legal drama, I would recommend the Korean adaptation of The Good Wife instead. I haven't seen Hyena or Law School .

I loved Miss Hammurabi and it's one of the few legal dramas that look at what korean judges do. Diary of a Prosecutor really captures the slice of life. Basically, these dramas don't show off the profession as sexy or cool (cue the Yoo Inna's hero-worship eyes from Touch Your Heart every time she looks at Lee Dong Wook do lawyer stuff).

I ended up really liking Your Honor with Yoon Shi Yoon, who did a great job playing twins. It's lighter than other legal dramas and he was so cute with Lee Yoo Young!

I wish there will be a season 2 for Law School with whole team back.

My favorite prosecutor will always be Shi mok in Forest of Secrets (or Stranger on Netflix)

Am I the only beanie who has watched and loved Partner?
A 2009 drama starring Lee Dong Wook, Kim Hyun Joo, and Lee Honey.

Switch was also fun.

Junho's Confession. Best lawyer in dramaland.
The drama had a stellar beginning and end. Though the middle slagged comparatively, it was still good. The court scenes with Junho were the best.
His lawyer is memorable because of how subdued, gentle and respectful he was, even with the criminals. No chest thumping declarations of justice or revenge, just quiet perseverance towards doing a good job.

No one remember Prosecutor Princess? 😄

I doubt anyone remembers A New Leaf from 2014. At first it looked like one of those soppy "amnesiac bad guy rediscovers his good side" shows, but even in the first couple of episodes it became clear that there was something colder and harsher going on. It was interesting enough that the amnesia barely changed the lawyer's character. Even more interesting was the implication that his earlier swerve to the dark side was far from inevitable. Instead of selling his talent to the highest bidders and bolstering them by manipulating and exploiting the intricacies of law, he could easily have ended up using the same skills to protect the powerless.

Another point that A New Life makes very vividly is that, while the law plays such a crucial role in our lives, most of us are barely able to understand its complexities - which makes us extremely vulnerable to powerful people and organisations. Without a guy like the lead character on their side, none of the victims featured in the show - not the rape victim, the ripped-off investors, or the SMEs brought to the verge of bankruptcy by the own banks - would have seen even a glimmer of light in the darkness.

How is Stranger not in this list 😅

I am a sucker for legal dramas (and books). I remember following Law & Order (and spin-offs) and for a time avidly read John Grisham, Scott Turrow, etc.) so I naturally gravitate to this genre. For Kdramas, I enjoyed Forest of Secrets, Law School, Diary of a Prosecutor.

For real life, I am even drawn to the (gasp!) Amber Heard - Johnny Depp trial. 🤪

Of the five dramas at the head of the article SUITS (2018) is the only one I have seen and of the four Park Hyung-sik dramas I have seen I think he gives his best performance in SUITS. It was also my first Jang Dong-gun drama. Both leads were excellent.
Both Yoon Shi-yoon and Lee Yoo-young were terrific in YOUR HONOR.
(2018) (Viki US). The first two episodes were quite a shock because of YSY’s portrayal of twin brothers but it settled down to a fine drama but was definitely impacted negatively by the episode cut.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (2014) (Viki US) has a special place in my heart because it was one of my early Kdramas and introduced me to a number of fine actors including Choi Min-Soo, and Choi Jin-hyuk.
CONFESSION (2019) with Junho has already been mentioned. Highly recommended.
One drama might not technically qualify might be the recent and excellent THROUGH THE DARKNESS (2022) (Viki US). The way Kim Nam-gil as profiler Song Ha-young interviewed bad guys and extracted information out of them that’s they certainly did not want to reveal would have made any prosecutor proud. I am hoping for a season 2.
So those are my five recommendations.

Law school, dairy of a prosecutor, suits ar this point