9
37
15
unterwegsimkoreanischenD
unterwegs-im-koreanischen.de
You can look forward to a spicy mixture of fun and seriousness
For all the law-and-order series that the KDrama Orbit has so far produced in 2022, Law Café romps on the more witty, hilarious rom+com side. A web comic served as a template.
Nonetheless. For all its playful wit, it is also a production that has its serious moments as well. In the background wafts an ugly (as usual) Jaebeol mess at the expense of the honest simple people. In the foreground, the protagonist fights for the rights of ordinary people with a lot of passion, intelligence, courage and the active support of old and new friends as well as her (after all) love interest. The legal cases dealt with are close to everyday sorts of topics and provide an up-to-date overview of perennial issues such as bullying, child abuse, sloppiness in construction, etc.
The idea of setting up a Law Cafe away from the usual law firm business is unique. There visitors can get professional legal advice in addition to barista coffee in a comfy atmosphere. All of the characters are originals, and their quirks and idiosyncrasies are cheerfully staged here and there. You can literally feel the underlying comic.
The focus is on the 'four-dimensional' personality of Kim Yu-ri. (4D in Korean standards means a particularly eccentric, freaky, quite special character. 4D is generally considered a compliment, especially in the teen and KPop milieu.) She meets the ingenious, former public prosecutor Kim Jeong-ho, her school friend from back then and also son of a rich family. He lately indulges in idleness, enjoys his life in tracksuits - as a writer and real estate owner. There's some harmlessly sweet, romantic flirtation of the Korean decent kind, but also concentrated intelligence and creativity in solving some intricate cases. The evil, powerful business bosses and their crazy doings find an appropriate expression in the phrenetically perfidious, exalted, almost insane boss of the Dohan construction company.
Bottom line: You can look forward to a spicy mixture of fun and seriousness. To a love story. To a cast in good mood. To lively entertainment. However, I have to admit that 2 (sometimes 4) episodes a week was quite enough for me. I could easily wait for the new episodes. Thus, I wouldn't call the KDrama gripping. It is rather shrewed and witty in places. Rather harmless. However, it is not completely banal.
Overall, special care was taken to ensure that everyone in the audience understood the seriousness of the legal cases being dealt with. The deliberately sincere, almost missionary approach to e. g. the topic of sexism and "Yes means Yes" is remarkable. The KDrama obviously wants to be more than just good entertainment. And I think that the production succeeds in this mission quite well: A rom+com K-Drama, derived from a comic, that gently but firmly grabs society by the collar, in a good mood and optimistically presenting creative ways, how despite all the existing corruption business surrounding the machinations of the powerful, justice could actually be possible. It wouldn't be due to the law, because that would at least actually be available...
Nonetheless. For all its playful wit, it is also a production that has its serious moments as well. In the background wafts an ugly (as usual) Jaebeol mess at the expense of the honest simple people. In the foreground, the protagonist fights for the rights of ordinary people with a lot of passion, intelligence, courage and the active support of old and new friends as well as her (after all) love interest. The legal cases dealt with are close to everyday sorts of topics and provide an up-to-date overview of perennial issues such as bullying, child abuse, sloppiness in construction, etc.
The idea of setting up a Law Cafe away from the usual law firm business is unique. There visitors can get professional legal advice in addition to barista coffee in a comfy atmosphere. All of the characters are originals, and their quirks and idiosyncrasies are cheerfully staged here and there. You can literally feel the underlying comic.
The focus is on the 'four-dimensional' personality of Kim Yu-ri. (4D in Korean standards means a particularly eccentric, freaky, quite special character. 4D is generally considered a compliment, especially in the teen and KPop milieu.) She meets the ingenious, former public prosecutor Kim Jeong-ho, her school friend from back then and also son of a rich family. He lately indulges in idleness, enjoys his life in tracksuits - as a writer and real estate owner. There's some harmlessly sweet, romantic flirtation of the Korean decent kind, but also concentrated intelligence and creativity in solving some intricate cases. The evil, powerful business bosses and their crazy doings find an appropriate expression in the phrenetically perfidious, exalted, almost insane boss of the Dohan construction company.
Bottom line: You can look forward to a spicy mixture of fun and seriousness. To a love story. To a cast in good mood. To lively entertainment. However, I have to admit that 2 (sometimes 4) episodes a week was quite enough for me. I could easily wait for the new episodes. Thus, I wouldn't call the KDrama gripping. It is rather shrewed and witty in places. Rather harmless. However, it is not completely banal.
Overall, special care was taken to ensure that everyone in the audience understood the seriousness of the legal cases being dealt with. The deliberately sincere, almost missionary approach to e. g. the topic of sexism and "Yes means Yes" is remarkable. The KDrama obviously wants to be more than just good entertainment. And I think that the production succeeds in this mission quite well: A rom+com K-Drama, derived from a comic, that gently but firmly grabs society by the collar, in a good mood and optimistically presenting creative ways, how despite all the existing corruption business surrounding the machinations of the powerful, justice could actually be possible. It wouldn't be due to the law, because that would at least actually be available...
Was this review helpful to you?
