A pleasant yet compelling slice-of-life legal drama, with a great ensemble cast, the kind of drama that South Korea truly excels at producing, Law And The City (2025) proved to be quite captivating from the first episode to the last. I suspected going into it that the two main leads would have nice, sweet chemistry together, and I was not disappointed. They were adorable together!

Actor Lee Jong Suk beautifully graces every drama I have seen him in over many years, including my top favorite I Hear Your Voice, and also dramas such as the brilliant Doctor Stranger, Romance Is A Bonus Book, Pinocchio, Secret Garden, Prosecutor Princess, Hymn Of Death, Big Mouth, While You Were Sleeping, and the sexy short drama special When I Was The Prettiest. Actress Moon Ga Young I have been watching for twenty years, even when she was cast in classic dramas as a child, such as Bittersweet Life, Bad Guy, Friend Our Legend, Heartstrings, and Merry Mary, plus newer dramas such as My Dearest Nemesis, Find Me In Your Memory, Jealousy Incarnate, Live Up To Your Name, and short dramas Waltzing Alone, An Ordinary Love Story, and always my personal sentimental favorite, Mimi.

The director of this cool sentimental legal drama was Park Seung Woo (Kairos, W) and the writer was Lee Seung Hyun (classic 2000 film Il Mare). A supporting cast member I was thrilled to see again was the beautiful Jung Hye Young (below) whom I had really loved in some early classic dramas such as Phoenix, East Of Eden, Lovers, 90 Days Time To Love, Playful Kiss, and later masterpiece dramas Gu Family Book, The Crowned Clown, and Snowdrop. She looked and acted warmly brilliant in this drama! I grinned with pleasure during every scene she was in. She is poised, smart, with a hint of amusement in her eyes during ironic scenes; what a great actress and scene-stealer she is!

Also I was pleased to see actress Yum Hye Ran (below) in the supporting cast, who definitely made a name for herself appearing in such popular hit dramas such as Goblin and Dear My Friends. She is yet another wonderful Korean thespian who can play either serious or funny scenes equally well. I am always so happy to watch the Korean dramas that give good parts to the older actresses, instead of just the young ones!

THE STORY:

We meet a hard-working group of young lawyers working in the Seocho district of Seoul, which is home to most of Seoul's top courts and law firms. This group of lawyers are in their thirties and most have been working as lawyers for about a decade after finishing law school.

Stoic lead attorney Ahn Ju Hyeong (Lee Jong Suk), and fellow lawyers, handsome Cho Chang Won (Kang You Seok), often stressed-out female married lawyer Bae Mun Jeong (Ryu Hye Young), and rather chubby and affable Ha Sang Gi (Im Seong Jae), all work in the same building, called the Hyungmin Building. They take on a wide variety of legal cases, both civil and criminal, sometimes over twelve cases a week! (Whew!) Some of the cases were quite interesting to watch develop, cases about cyber currency fraud, debt forgiveness matters after a loved one's death, lost property issues, broken relationship cases including divorce and a rather passionate landlord-renter fight, community banking crimes, college student personal attacks, and even a murder case.

The lawyers' main boss is named Na Kyung Min (Park Hyoung Soo) and he is a rather stern, cold type of business manager who doesn't allow them to wiggle out of cases too often that they feel uncomfortable in handling. In some ways this is good for them, it teaches them some clever ways to work through difficult cases. In other ways it isn't positive for the firm for it creates ill feelings between Kyung Min and his hard-working lawyers and support staff, and this does not make for a harmonious working place. A probable merger with another firm might help relieve some of these stresses because the three mature women in charge are much nicer than manager Kyung Min, including wise Kim Kyung Min (Yum Hye Ran), serious Kim Ryu Jin (Kim Ji Hyun) -- who takes a liking to chubby Sang Gi -- and compassionate Kang Jeong Yun (Jung Hye Young) who takes a liking to EVERYONE. Yet the amount of law cases thrown at them is not likely to dissipate even with a merger.

These young attorneys become close friends over time and come together most days for lunch and dinner, to share their experiences with their individual legal cases, and to relieve the stresses of their long and busy days through their love of fancy food. In time a new rookie young attorney is hired, named Kang Hui Ji (Moon Ga Young), and it appears obvious that she and Ahn Ju Hyeong had once been a romantic couple during their law school days. At first the tentative Ju Hyeong keeps her at a distance, but she is simply too beautiful and kind to be ignored for long! Soon old feelings reappear and they find themselves falling in love all over again. 

Then the other female attorney, Mun Jeong, becomes pregnant with her restaurateur husband's baby, and she begins to worry how she will have enough time to spend with her baby after it is born. How will she be able to handle complicated legal cases while caring for a newborn at the same time? She inquires about the law firm's position on maternity leave to the stern manager Kyung Min, but he is cold to her and doesn't clearly answer her questions. The stress almost brings on a miscarriage but help is soon to come for her from her dear friends at work. (Must say that this actress Ryoo Hye Young gave an excellent performance throughout the drama, hope she wins acting awards for her efforts!). Current maternity and paternity leave law in South Korea.

As time goes on associate attorney Cho Chang Won has finally had enough of manager Na Kyung Min's unkindness and he abruptly decides to leave the firm. Will others follow after him? Could even lead attorney Ahn Hu Hyeong decide to leave and start his own law firm, something he had always avoided considering in the past? What will happen to his relationship with rookie lawyer Kang Hui Ji; could he even consider marriage to her while at the same time considering starting his own law firm? What about any financial instability that might result? Plus Hui Ji has financial issues of her own related to her Dad's (actor Kim Tae Hoon, Operation Proposal) cyber-currency business failing. She doesn't want to add to her beloved's own future financial pressures.  

Many viewers online were hoping for a season two for Law And The City. I confess I sure would love to see a season two because I already miss these nice characters now that I've finished the drama. I really enjoyed this ensemble cast, their camaraderie was exceptional. They all seemed like true friends in real life as well! Each lawyer character received equal time in the series, which was unusual. Enjoy this series! It's available to watch on VIKI.

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