La giudice (2022)

Interesting for the juvenile crimes approached, tedious for the adults storylines

This legal K-drama provides an interesting take on the justice system in South Korea by focusing on the treatment of juvenile crimes. The format remains quite standard for the genre, each case being handled over the course of 2-3 episodes. Some stories are more captivating than others but overall I found the show pretty compelling when the focus was on the young offenders. However, my interest dropped a lot regarding the storylines involving the adults: the intrigue became a bit tedious to follow when they were concerned because of too much pathos and some plot devices a bit too coincidental.

Regarding the casting, it is overall pretty good. There is no obvious weak part and the main actress does a suitable job. Most of the young actors playing criminal or victim roles are convincing. It is thanks to their skills that some of the cases were so gripping to follow. I would have loved to see the script centred more around them and their psyche than the adults characters who did not show enough growth and evolution and were often unlikable.

The music was good with one particular song fitting really well with the thematic of the show. The filmmaking was dark and well-done with some scenes tough to watch...At the same time, it was for some aspects more consensual with some "moralizing" scenes than I expected given the context of the story. In my opinion, it would have been even better if the screenwriter and the director had take an even darker road. There are grey areas approached but not that much and a bit in a superficial way.

I would recommend this to people that love legal shows and are looking for a new take on the genre with cases not often seen. It is clearly not a binge-able drama because of the difficult topics approached as well as its format and structure. It might be very triggering given its inner nature, so be mindful.

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Minor Law that too simple

This is the story about the judge who doesn't like if the criminal is a child that is underage which is the law can't punish them because they are underage. That's why in this K-Drama, the main character (The Judge) wants to strengthen the law for underage so that they didn't do the same mistake and understand how serious the law is. For example, is what punishment should be given to a child that killed someone and destroy the victim's family? The law for minors is really easy and that didn't make the child understand what He/She has done. That's why when they grow up, they can do the same things as a criminal even worse than before.

The effect of this K-drama is not much but it is more realistic than what happens in real-life cases.

If you love the law, then you might like this one!

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'Anyone can be a victim'

Now I get why this drama is said to be underrated because its first episode did not disappoint.

This might a fresh plot for law-related dramas since it sheds light on the juvenile cases or delinquency. How crimes committed by young offenders are something to still be tolerated rather than be corrected from the start.

You might hate Judge Sim for being a maxim court judge and her skeptical attitude but going through the episodes you will know why her personality is vital in keeping the courthouse impartial.

This drama really talks about the pressing issues on adolescence, the conditions or household that pushes them and facilities that rectify their mistakes.

I recommend you to watch it and learn from it that having a child is a responsibility for anyone who chose to have them.

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My Review for Juvenile Justice

For a drama that relates to Juvenile Delinquency, I was not expecting the story to be this good. As mentioned from the synopsis, we can see at the start that Sim Eun Seok hates juvenile offenders, and is often harsh when handling cases. This drama has her cover on each case that deals with many juvenile offender issues from different aspects in South Korean society. Impressively, each case have managed to top the others previously, building not just the story but the characters involved.

After watching the final episode, the season finale is as jaw-dropping as when the first episode debut. Many times while watching, I had goosebumps from how unsettling a case was and the question of true justice is often posed to us viewers. The writing is superb and there is so much attention to detail that goes into each case (the cinematography is often quite symbolic as well). Definitely a recommend for anyone who is interested, as it manages to tell such a meaningful story in a short 10 episode-run.

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A dark and gritty series on crimes and social issues involving juveniles. Gripping cases with an overarching story from beginning to end.

Children don’t have a developed enough brain to be able to understand the consequences of their actions. But then what if that action involves a loss of a human life? Or when the action is horrific… inhumane? How do we balance understanding the perpetrators as well as the victims? How do we determine the appropriate punishment for a juvenile in order for them to understand the pain and suffering their actions have caused and to deter them from doing something similar or even worse in the future?

That is what each of the cases in Juvenile Justice address. I think the series does a wonderful job of presenting cases where the juveniles are a product of their environment, are still redeemable and can be saved. And then the juveniles who are so horrific that they need to be caught and appropriately punished. While the series is extremely dark and horrific, they do so in a respectable manner. They show just enough of the events that you can use your imagination to fill in the rest of the scenes. I wish more shows would do this.

I think the only drawback the series has is that it addresses the issues AFTER a juvenile commits a crime but not so much on the prevention of it in the first place. I think one of the stories attempts to do that, and I hope that message got across to viewers. That the quality of family life is important. That running away and homelessness can be dangerous. And that we need better social safety nets to protect the vulnerable.

The MC said one thing in the beginning that took me aback and to be honest, turned me off. “I hate juveniles”. But by the end, I understood what she meant with a broken heart that is terribly sad for her character.

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My Concern about this show

"Jo teenager fairytale ke colourful world se asliyat ke grey world mein apne aapko dhalna shuru kar chuke hain, unko ye adbhut show dekhna chahiye. Conspiracy, Politics, Ethics, Morality, Business - in sabki acchi samajh hone ke baad, woh ye show samajh sakte hain ya in saare factors ko samajhne ke liye woh ye show dekh sakte hain."


Content :- Sim Eun Seok is an elite judge with a prickly personality who hates juvenile offenders. After she gets assigned to a local juvenile court, she tries to balance her aversion to minor offenders with firm beliefs on justice and punishment, as she goes out of her way to break custom and administer her own ways of punishing the offenders.

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Children need attention

This series has become one of my favorites, without any effort. I have always appreciated the detective, detective and investigative series, but above all series that take place in court. This series amazed me, the best I've seen.

The protagonist, Judge Shim (played by Kim Hye-soo) is simply perfect, she has a very interesting approach to dealing with "young criminals" and gives them the right lesson to grow at their best. The backstories of the various characters are treated very well and manage to make you empathize with each of them, from the protagonists to the tertiary characters.

I highly recommend this series, it is very interesting and is perfect for a marathon.

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High Mighty Judge

The drama was interesting to watch. But come on now what judge is going to do what the leading female does in a real-life scenario. She was so vocally about her boss removing himself from his son case, although he did cross the line, but she does the same not willing to remove herself. She had a high and mighty attitude about her, she right and no one else, opinions matter but the female judge. The system is shown how it truly is, it not as equal has people think. The law does always serve justice. The other lead male judge had a good heart, but he is a rare find in the court system. I like how even after she treat her boss the way she did, in the end he still tried to help her. Because she could have gone to him and not just forced her way into seeing him at the hospital.

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Family is the basic unit of society

“They say it takes an entire village to raise a child. In other words, a child’s life could be ruined if the entire village neglects the child.” - Shim Eun Seok.

What a great show! Great story, excellent casts and I think we need this series to show us how every decisions, actions and words, could affect not us but the people around us. That every actions there's a corresponding responsiblity included.

We should always take into consideration the things that we will decide to do. That as an adult, we should always reflect how it would affect younger generation. Also, that family is really important and that when you become a parent, you are responsible in shaping your child on how to become a responsible member of the society.

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Hard topic done well

I found this drama highly realistic and truly informative about a problem most first world countries have - juvenile delinquency, and the inadequacies of the legal system to combat it. I myself retired from DSS which is social services in the US - and I had teens coming in for help with medical (pregnancy too often!) & living help. Kids who came thru the foster system & were flung out on their own at 18. Kids from bad or indifferent parents. Kids who were thrown out of their homes for not conforming to the morals or religions of their parents. Just heartbreaking.
This drama had as the central character a woman that I did not like at all. She had no business being a juvenile judge in the SK system as portrayed, because of her constant 'I hate juvenile offenders' spiel. Nope, nada, not acceptable. However, her journey was imminently worth watching. She overcame her prejudices and gave fair & impartial judgements, trying her best to help these kids on a path away from crime towards being productive citizens, despite their parents and their home situations. I very much enjoyed the way she went after the truth, like a terrier, thru-out.
Now, I do have a huge problem with that first case. A young teen (13???) who is schizophrenic???? WTF???? That psychopathic older teen used and manipulated this vulnerable, MENTALLY ILL child, and he had no business being put in the penal system at all. He needed psychiatric care, pure and simple. However, this really highlights for me the big problem SK seems to have in regards to mental illness - somewhere reform is needed. Lord knows, the US has areas (huge ones) where a ton of reforms are needed, BTW. In fact I'd say it's possible that the SK legal system overall is more efficient than the one here in the US (not a huge achievement). But the way mental illnesses are ignored is just insane.
I did not like the way the chief judge was treated by the main character, BTW. At no point did she ask him when he found out about his son - which makes a big difference. She exhibited a very holier-than-thou attitude thru the entire drama in fact, which made me long for someone to slap her down. Her boss was going to have his career ruined, as he knew when he found out about his son - despite the fact he hadn't a clue the kid & his wife had disobeyed him. That's another problem with SK - the way mere proximity (as in a family member, or someone you know/work with) to a criminal, or to scandal, can wash over one and destroy YOUR career etc! The way the families of criminals, who often have been victims of said criminals themselves, are demonized! This is something shown really well in the drama Come Hug Me.
I really loved the ending case - it showed what her problems were, and wrapped them up well. I could have done without her ridiculous lecture to her superior, which really had no truth in it whatsoever (throwing 11 year olds in the penal system does not 'teach them' anything except how to be better criminals next time). Those kids needed actual counseling and the kinds of consequences that children need - ie education and a sense of responsibility. Their parents failed them woefully, and it's not the job of the justice department, nor the schools, to give kids this. Both those boys looked to be sociopathic from the start, which is not going to somehow 'go away' by throwing them in jail or juvenile detention. Anymore than schizophrenia will somehow disappear using the same method. However, the older judge did slap her down a peg at least, and both seemed to learn something from this experience.

All in all this was a very worthwhile watch. Acting, of course, was top-notch.

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