Slice of Life Treat
I normally don't have much interest in slice of life genres but finally found one that gave a similar feel to The Fiery Priest with lesser dramatics. You wouldn't think a series following prosecutors living their day-to-day jobs would be interesting enough to pull off a 16-episode run but if a season two came out, I'd jump on it. Not only was the cast and their comradery fantastic, the cases based on real life that impacts regular people such as ourselves has the advantage of hitting close to home when it comes to empathy.It's difficult to describe what makes this series great without it coming across as boring for those who are used to more action or romance heavy plots. All I can say is that it provides a great prospective on what prosecutors have to deal with or shoulder, while trying to balance the black and white facts of a case and humanizing the people involved. There's no dramatic tear-jerks but there is plenty of literal laugh out loud moments as well as warm and fuzzy moments.
All of the actors had great chemistry with one another that only continued to grow with each passing episode. There are some morals to learn and some self-reflecting triggers. Highly recommend for anyone who needs a break from heavy action, needs a good laugh, or just wants to watch something that manages to stay intriguing without the enhanced drama (other than some hilarious silliness). There's thankfully no romance other than a very adorable and lighthearted development between a young couple. Not sure why some reviewers felt the early episodes were slow when it was a good in-depth introduction of the team. I surprisingly never felt the desire to skip through any scenes or conversations.
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Tomorrow, won't the world be a little better than today?
Slice-of-life drama about a team of prosecutors in the South Korean province, whose office branch is so insignificant that the top-most official forgets to visit them.This show is not at all flashy or fast. It delves into the everyday lives of some prosecutors, shows how they struggle to make the best possible case before they go into court.
Whoever was responsible for the sets did a great job in underlining the day-to-day of office life. I noticed that the paperwork in the offices never looks the same over time.
Regarding the cases, there are some which seem very mundane (but are important to the victims), and I liked that they are taken very seriously by the team. Usually, there are several cases which belong to a similar topic per episode -- there's no trial shown though, so we usually don't know what the sentence is going to be. The focus is on the process that comes before the trial.
Having said that, the drama is not all serious and sombre. There are a lot of hilarious scenes, that had me chuckling or even laughing loudly. The humour more prominent in earlier episodes but it's still there until the very end, unlike in some other K-dramas.
I loved that all of the team (and other people in the branch) get their own character and their own share of time during the drama -- at the end, I felt that I'd grown close to all of them.
I've seen comments on VIKI which called them a family -- it's not quite that, I think, just a very good team with people who like to spend the odd evening together, who are interested in the ups and downs of their lives -- but normally don't get actively involved in each other's private or family lives.
(If there is one flaw in this show, it's that the family lives are only brought up in one episode per prosecutor -- which is especially noticable in the case of the mother, who has altogether too much time to hang out with her colleagues, considering she has two small children at home.)
These characters are first and foremost --- people.
People have strengths and weaknesses, they might be warm-spirited or cold-faced, all of them struggle in some way or the other.
But what counts is how you face your struggles: Will you bend to pressure? Will you keep your moral compass? Will you learn from your experience? What will make you compromise? Will you be able to look at the humorous side of things?
There are no heroes; there are only people trying to do what they think is right. And if you can say "Tomorrow, won't the world be a little better than today?" (cf. ep. 16, 1:08h), I think that you've lived your life well.
I had hoped to be able to add this show to my "No Romance!" collection -- but there is just enough of a romance arc (barely) that it doesn't fulfill my rules. Still, even so, the romance is cute, nicely developed, and really only a very minor part of the whole drama.
Very much recommended!
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Not sure what this drama was trying to be
Nice cast, with well known supporting actors.It didn't actually feel like there were main male & female characters at times (not a bad thing).
It had an ensemble feel, with the lives of all the characters in the 'team 2' of this small provincial Prosecution Service, taking centre stage, at some point.
There are 2 characters, which more of the scenes revolve around, however, and their strained relationship with each other.
The dynamics of a small, close, often overworked, under pressure group of colleagues, is interesting.
We get to see the cases they have to handle, from less significant fallings out, to more serious crimes.
The effect a new team member, transferred from Seoul, has on all of them, but mostly on the main male character, is also interesting.
The ML is a fairly gentle, principled person, good at what he does and intuitive. He doesn't seem particularly ambitious, nor does he suffer the politics sometimes involved when dealing with high profile, well-connected suspects, easily. He is likeable and personable.
His feathers get ruffled, however, with the arrival of the transferred female prosecutor.
She takes an immediate dislike to him and he cannot work out why.
Their bickering, barely concealed, sometimes out in the open, animosity towards each other, which fuels his competitiveness, is a central theme; as is the slow reveal of why she dislikes him so much.
There are light and amusing parts to the plot, including a totally bizarre side one that involves 2 members of staff and an online game. Sadly, it just didn't fit for me, and I found it totally odd, to say the least. Perhaps the writers were going for quirky, but for me, it really didn't work at all. It just made the drama seem a bit all over the place.
The central female character of Cha Myung-joo, is also the only reason that I couldn't watch multiple episodes in one sitting. I absolutely loathed her, so I just couldn't stomach more than 2 eps at a time, and couldn't even watch every day! That meant I took ages to finish this, but I didn't want to drop it just because of that.
I found her stuck-up attitude, arrogance and petty vindictiveness, really hard to watch.
She's great at her job too though, but because of how riled up she gets Sun-woong, he often jumps to the wrong conclusions and gets paranoid at times, which affects his judgement and usually good intuition.
She is completely unlikeable for me, even when more of her background is revealed, or when she shows a rare, softer side. It's not enough. I suppose the actress did well, seeing as I reacted that way, even though she's not a favourite!
I can't believe for one minute, that this is in any way a remotely accurate representation of the prosecution service and if it is, God help them! ? So if you're looking for realism, give this a wide berth.
The usual mistreatment of subordinates, money and power providing protection, looks the other way and outright incompetence, is all in this drama.
It isn't memorable, but an OK watch. There are, however, far better legal dramas out there, both in terms of wit and characters.
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Life Lessons in a Drama
"Some moments shake our lives entirely, even then we must get through today. So we won’t regret the coming future and this moment." This is a line in the drama that makes a lot of sense to me these days.This drama was a breeze for me. I am not sure what it is with prosecutor-lawyer-court drama that somehow gets to me and it is one genre that I truly enjoy. Since the ML from this drama is from My Mister is the very reason why I didn't hesitate to watch.
Is this truly how it is in South Korea? I wonder what's the average budget for an office worker on food alone. As I watched how they get to enjoy every meal from different restaurants or takeout meals...or how they unwind over booze..soju...and karaoke...Korean culture is at its best.
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Lee Sun Gyun, oh, Jeez! Jealous of your voice, enough to watch your dramas and movies. The rest of the cast, sorry can't recall the names, were superb. There isn't even a support role in a sense that each one has been given a story and importance. The drama also deals with matters from gender inequality and patriarchy to bullying due to organisational hierarchy. The drama doesn't depict the story of typical lead actors who achieves their goal at the chapter ending but showcases the plus and minuses of each person compromising their star status.
Over all, it was a sweet treat for me.
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This review may contain spoilers
I have been hooked on Korean dramas since July 2020. Didn't know they existed until then. I love the action dramas and have been leaning on the legal dramas as well. This is about the 4th legal drama that I've watched and every legal drama that I've seen haven't disappointed me.
This one didn't disappoint. Even though it was slow paced, it still was enjoyable to watch.
The cast was great. Unfortunately each drama that I've seen I end up hating a Korean female and yes, I didn't care for the prosecutor who got transferred to another office. I found myself rooting for her twice though.
I laughed a lot while watching this. There was even moments that had me a little jumpy.
There were two scenarios that this episode focused on: the carpenter's ruler, and room 309. The carpenters ruler was solved but not the story behind room 309. I wanted that story to finish out but it was left hanging.
The last few episodes had my blood boiling though. The one thing I can't stand is bullies and the way it was handled was also left dangling.
As I mentioned before it was a slow paced series but there wasn't a episode I didn't enjoy. Now I'm going to be hooked on Korean legal dramas as well.
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An unexpected drama
A very underrated drama which is really good, i can say it's drama about slice of life in office , you aren't gonna stuck with the carchter but or have the past of the charactersWhat i really love about the drama
. Every episode is dependent not every espoide is a detached but it have it's own story
.the actors were in thier place
. The story is sometimes funny and there no deep dark side
. Its a light drama so it doesn't make you in rush to watcn other espoide
Fisrt i didn't understand the drama or it's type then i really love the way of it
The drama doesn't have any really romantic relationships
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Don't Be Fooled by the Pacing: This Character-Driven Drama Delivers
I have to admit, I wasn’t planning on watching "Diary of a Prosecutor." It sat on my watchlist for ages, gathering virtual dust while I binged through all the more talked-about dramas. But, one lazy weekend, I found myself out of new shows and thought, "Why not give it a shot?" And wow, am I glad I did! This drama turned out to be an unexpected gem.Let’s start with the pacing. Yes, I know, the first few episodes are a bit slow. I almost gave up, thinking, “Where is this even going?” But hang in there! By episode four or five, the show finds its groove, and trust me, it's worth the wait. It's like warming up to a new friend—awkward at first, but soon you can't imagine life without them.
"Diary of a Prosecutor" isn’t your typical legal drama. If you're expecting high-stakes courtroom battles or convoluted plots, you might be disappointed. Instead, this show gives you a peek into the everyday lives of prosecutors in a small seaside town. Think less "Suits" and more... well, real life. And that's exactly what makes it so special.
The cast is phenomenal. Lee Sun Kyun, oh man, he’s the petty king of the office, and I loved every minute of it. His deadpan delivery and subtle humor had me laughing out loud more times than I can count. And the office dynamics? Pure gold. They tease each other mercilessly, yet the support and camaraderie are so heartwarming. It’s like being part of a big, dysfunctional family. You’ll find yourself wishing you could join their team dinners and office banter.
Speaking of characters, Cha Myung Joo, played by Jung Ryeo Won, started off as pretty obnoxious. But watching her grow and adapt to the new environment was satisfying. By the end, I was rooting for her just as much as anyone else. And let's not forget the supporting cast—each character brings something unique to the table, making the whole ensemble shine. Jeon Sung Woo and Ahn Eun Jin, in particular, caught my eye. Their side storyline was unexpected but totally worked.
Now, about the episodic structure—some might find it a bit disjointed since there isn't a continuous, in-depth plot. But I found this format refreshing. Each episode dives into different societal issues like domestic abuse, fraud, and school violence, giving you multiple perspectives. It’s a reminder that even small, seemingly insignificant cases matter a lot to those involved.
One episode that hit me hard was episode 8. It deals with the role of women in the workplace, especially within a patriarchal culture. It was tough to watch, but it was so well done. The way they showed different points of view, without being preachy, made me reflect on my own biases.
Oh, and the soundtrack! It perfectly captures the small-town vibe. Even though it’s not my usual taste, it felt just right for the setting.
So, if you’re looking for a high-octane legal thriller, this might not be your cup of tea. But if you want a heartfelt, funny, and profoundly human slice-of-life drama, give "Diary of a Prosecutor" a chance. Don't make the same mistake I did by putting it off. Dive in and enjoy this delightful journey. You won’t regret it!
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Not your usual suspense legal drama
LIKEHow everyone interacted together like a family
Funny at times
DISLIKE
Did not really focus on cases but the title already suggested it's on prosecutors daily lives
MUSIC
Not to my liking
REWATCH VALUE
It doesn't matter if I re-watched or not
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