Idol I (Dec. 2025 - Jan. 2026) is a legal-themed murder mystery Korean drama with a touch of romance that intricately blends the personal story of a Korean music Idol accused of murder, played by Kim Jae Young (Love In Contract, 100 Days My Prince, film Golden Slumber), with the impressive story of a highly successful, young female attorney, played by the beautiful and charming actress Choi Sooyoung (Fanletter Please, If You Wish Upon Me, Second Shot At Love) who is dedicated to defending him against the murder charges, which she fully believes are false accusations. The series is well directed by Lee Gwang Young (Call It Love, Puck) and written by a relatively new screenwriter Kim Da Rin.

 

Idol I is not just an ordinary courtroom drama series but it also conveys a profound message about judging others prematurely, especially prior to any real evidence against an accused person or persons. The pressures of being a music Idol celebrity in the Korean entertainment industry are well depicted here, and the series clearly shows that celebrities, despite being famous and loved by fans, can have their whole lives and careers fall apart due to a false accusation of a crime or a scandal. I loved the way the various differing layers of the two lead characters' life stories were cleverly revealed in this drama, brilliantly showcasing how their lives had intertwined unexpectedly when they were younger. I hope to see more dramas in future from this writer.

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The Story:

Mang Se Na (Sooyoung) is a highly talented young defense lawyer who has a reputation as the "Villain's Lawyer" because she dares to take on difficult and complex cases that others in her Cheon Un Law Firm don't dare to touch because they assume the accused is guilty by default. In her professional life Se Na is a person whom no one dares to mess with, but in her personal life she is secretly a huge fan girl of the famous Idol boy band Gold Boys. Not only does Se Na follow every concert they give, but she can recite every song of the band and she knows every detail about the members. She is particularly, silently, in love with the band's lead singer named Do Ra Ik (Kim Jae Young). It is soon revealed that he had helped her out emotionally through his music when she was a young teen, when her loving Dad Mang Ji Yong (Park Won Sang) had been accused of a crime and had died too soon. She had become determined to be a success in life, to overcome all obstacles, and she had studied hard to attend law school and graduate with honors.

One day Se Na disguises herself to track down an illegal ticket scalper who was selling tickets for outrageous prices to Gold Boy concertgoers, while at the same time Ra Ik the lead singer was trying to escape from a belligerent, obsessive former fan. They run into each other, literally, outside the concert hall. Se Na is shocked by the encounter, and even more by his touch.

Later that day Ra Ik has fights with his Goldi Entertainment manager Geum Bo Sang (Jeong Man Sik, King 2 Hearts), and another member of the Idol band group he's never really gotten along with well, named Choi Jae Hee (Park Jeong Woo). In order to comfort themselves over the growing discord in the Gold Boys' Idol group Ra Ik and his best friend in the band, Kang U Seong (An Woo Yeon, King The Land), spend some time together eating and drinking at Ra Ik's apartment, trying to cheer themselves up by discussing the concept for their next music album. However, the next morning Ra Ik wakes up in his bed and discovers in shock that his dear friend is dead in the living room, obviously attacked in the chest! Who did it? Ra Ik is inconsolable, weeping over his dead friend's body.

Because they had been drinking hard together he has no memory of what could have happened after he had crashed into bed that night. The press and the justice system determine without physical proof that Ra Ik was the murderer because the security camera had been dysfunctional and therefore unable to detect anyone entering the apartment that night. Could the murderer have disabled the security camera? Could the murderer have wanted to actually kill Ra Ik and thought in the darkness that U Seong had been Ra Ik?

 

Se Na's legal firm has Goldi Entertainment as a client and so Se Na ends up being Ra Ik's defense attorney for the murder accusation. The two of them have to work hard together to come up with proof that it was not Ra Ik that committed the dastardly crime. Issues of trust have to grow between them, as Ra Ik sometimes seems reluctant to admit serious issues that had happened in his past, such as problems he had with a former girlfriend named Hong Hye Joo (Choi Hee Jin, Heavenly Ever After) who obviously still has not gotten over him.

He also continues to have problematic career issues with fellow band member Choi Jae Hee and to rile up his impatient manager. Ra Ik's fans also begin to desert him, which negatively affects the popularity of the Idol band. Could Gold Boys possibly be abandoned altogether by the Goldi Corporation?

In preparation for the trial Se Na has some testy but sometimes revealing encounters with the prosecuting attorney in the case, named Kwak Byung Gyun (actor Jeong Jae Kwang, A Hundred Memories). To help her with all her troubles she has a devoted supporter named Park Chung Jae (Kim Hyun Jin, Crushology 101) who even sometimes helps her out with the case. As time goes on Se Na and Ra Ik grow closer and their fondness and trust in one another becomes quite touching to watch.

 

This series shows the dark side of the entertainment industry, how the popularity of performers can collapse in the blink of an eye over a scandal. Both Sooyoung and Kim Jae Young give excellent performances in their respective roles. Both a strong lawyer and a gentle fan girl, Sooyoung as Se Na can switch between these two personality traits smoothly and flawlessly. In the scenes where she has to defend Ra Ik in the courtroom we can see her determination and ability to argue brilliantly the facts of the case, but in the scenes where she stays at home and watches the Gold Boys on home video, we can also see how cute and excited she is as a fan girl when she sees her idol Ra Ik perform. Kim Jae Young as Ra Ik is realistically portrayed as a singer who faces condemnation and despair, while also impressively conveying the emotions of people who are fighting to protect their reputation and purity of character.

 

For a drama of only twelve episodes, Idol 1 is gripping, fast paced, fascinating and well worth your time. It can be watched on both Viki and Netflix. Enjoy!

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