Law and the City: Legal Dramas Have Never Been This Comforting

A couple of weeks ago, The Korea Times published an article entitled “Law and the City proves quiet dramas can travel, too“. tvN’s Law and the City, a 12-episode series that just came to a close last Sunday, can only be described as a “legal slice-of-life” as it follows the everyday lives of five associate lawyers working in Seoul’s Seocho-dong legal district (the place which gives the show its original title: 서초동, lit. Seocho-dong).

Despite the familiar premise, Law and the City ranked in Viki’s Top 5 for viewership ratings in 144 countries and the finale scored an average nationwide rating of over 7% in Korea. Finding this success quite “surprising,” The Korea Times then brings in pop culture critic Jung Deok-hyun to explain the reason behind its appeal:

“This trend toward portraying the human side of professional life is gaining traction,” Jung said. “And international viewers are now embracing this quieter, more relatable type of storytelling, not just high romance or adrenaline-pumping genres.”

This “more relatable type of storytelling” makes for a soothing, welcoming experience — and that’s the goal of Law and the City as written by Lee Seung-hyun and directed by Park Seung-woo.

This review is spoiler-free. But if you don’t have time to read it all, why don’t you pin our summary? It’s at the bottom!

Law and the City: An Enchanting Story About… Life

Law and the City feels like a blend of tvN’s Hospital Playlist and JTBC’s Miss Hammurabi, taking the sense of profound camaraderie from the former and mixing it with the sharp social critique of the latter. The absence of any kind of exaggerated drama gives room for the ordinary to shine, celebrating the little pleasures, the challenges, and the helping hands that surround us.

There’s something very comforting about Law and the City as this is a story about… well, life. With every instalment, the narrative becomes progressively warmer, shedding a superficial layer of legal terms and technicalities to show a more humane, tender side of its characters.

At first, Ahn Ju-hyung (Lee Jong-suk), Kang Hui-ji (Moon Ga-young), Cho Chang-won (Kang You-seok), Bae Mun-jung (Ryu Hye-young), and Kang Sang-gi (Im Seong-jae) are introduced as lawyers. There isn’t much more to them, except that they always eat together. Even over lunch and dinner, they talk about work. They drown behind piles of paperwork and attend trials that have nothing of the melodrama that we often see on TV. The characters have distinctive personalities, but they seem to be mere cogs in the legal machine that keeps Seocho-dong moving.

But slowly, Law and the City allows the personal and professional lives of its protagonists to intertwine naturally. These five lawyers slowly turn into five individuals, with history, values, and emotions. We’re brought closer and closer to them and taken to their homes, their families, and into their memories.

Soon, Law and the City becomes a story populated by different backgrounds and realities. It often breaks convention by simply (yet successfully) making the characterisation a tad more realistic than usual: Mun-jung is happily married. Ju-hyung and Hui-ji have a solid romantic background that doesn’t consist of just their “unforgettable first love”. Sang-gi comes from a poor family, and even though he had to work his way through law school bit by bit, he never uses that as an excuse to be bitter or to play the victim. Chang-won has always had a comfortable life but is still figuring out what he truly wants for himself. The series is full of little things that make its characters different from their traditional drama counterparts, allowing them to feel more like real people — someone who could be your friend, your neighbour, or even yourself.

Episodes aren’t defined as much by the case of the week as they are defined by the peaceful rhythm of our characters’ existence. They go to work and have lunch together. They have parents to take care of, partners to share their lives with, and old classmates who need some advice. They laugh and complain over drinks. But, most importantly, they always support one another. The dynamic between Ju-hyung, Chang-won, Mun-jung, and Sang-gi is characterised by the comforting familiarity, sincerity, and banter that you’d find between long-time friends. Hui-ji, the last one to join the group, instinctively and quickly blends in, and before long, these five individuals establish a bond of care charged with effortless chemistry.

Almost in the background, romance unravels gently but resolutely. In the best way possible, there isn’t anything magical about romance in Law and the City. We see two ordinary people falling in love as they work together, take the same bus, and spend time with each other. There are no poetic declarations, no life-threatening falls or heart-stopping rescues. New romances blossom quietly, avoiding clichéd love triangles with absolute finesse. Meanwhile, established ones — between Mun-jung and her husband, the utterly marvellous Kim Ji-seok (a perfectly sweet Yoon Kyun-sang) — are portrayed with heart, tenderness, and patience. Mun-jung and Ji-seok are adorable together and it’s beautiful to see how they keep reaching out to each other despite their personal challenges.

Law and the City resonates thanks to these five wonderfully rounded characters who guide us through their universe. With every meal and every case, we realise how kind our protagonists actually are. We realise how much meaning they find in their jobs, and how much responsibility they feel for the individuals who hire them. The narrative actively illustrates the distance they would go for each other, their loved ones, their jobs, and their clients. Despite their different backgrounds and personalities, there is a common thread linking them together. They want to do their jobs well, they want to help others, and they want to make the world a more just place for everyone.

Blending Social Critique & Character Development

However, life is not all roses. These people aren’t perfect. They don’t always win. Things aren’t always fair for them. Exercising the law isn’t all black and white. After all, society is full of exceptions, explanations, and conditions. Law and the City subtly presents the complexity of the social fabric — it doesn’t preach, it doesn’t give us answers, but it offers a lot of questions. It asks its protagonists to look at the world around them through different perspectives, encouraging us to re-evaluate our own beliefs and attitudes alongside them.

The script always allows a difference in morals to be the foundation for most interpersonal conflicts. Besides their diverse clients, Law and the City uses our protagonists’ managing partners as effective foil characters (that is, they often contrast with our leads to highlight their qualities). With its wide range of lawyers, clients, workers, as well as the curious landlady Kim Hyung-min (the wonderful Yeom Hye-ran), Hyungmin Building makes for a bustling, nurturing setting. Their interpersonal dilemmas ignite internal conflicts, allowing these characters to grow. Our five protagonists are constantly changing, but just like in life, their growth happens serenely and can only be seen in hindsight.

Ju-hyung’s Character Arc

This process becomes especially clear with Ju-hyung. In earlier episodes, we understand that rookie Ju-hyung was once a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed lawyer. He believed in people and the power of his goodwill. As the years went by, his innocence was replaced with scepticism. Ju-hyung learned — the hard way — that people can be self-serving and uncaring. They can lie to get what they want, and as an associate lawyer, he won’t always be defending the “good guy”. The Ju-hyung we meet, now a nine-year veteran, takes time to trust others. He’s detached himself from his work, believing himself to be just another “office worker”. He goes to work, does what he’s told to do in the most efficient way possible, and returns home.

Ju-hyung has lost faith in humanity, willingly stifling his good intentions, noble goals, and honest kindness to survive. But, throughout these 12 episodes, he slowly regains that faith. Towards the end of the series, he’s seen actively choosing to listen to his more emotional side, allowing it to complement — and not overrule — his more logical half. Inspired by the courage of his friends and Hui-ji’s determination and generosity, Ju-hyung decides to stand up for himself and what he believes is right. He breaks the shell of his scepticism to grow into a more optimistic and outspoken — yet cautious and experienced — professional.

Secondary Character Arcs

Chang-won, Mun-jung, Sang-gi, and Hui-ji are also given their own character arcs. They aren’t as bold as Ju-hyung’s, but they are just as important. Throughout Law and the City, Chang-won, Mun-jung, Sang-gi, and Hui-ji discover who they are, what they believe in, what they are capable of, and what they want. The idea of “self-discovery” always sounds a bit grandiose, but Law and the City proves the opposite. Their journey of self-discovery is ignited by ordinary challenges, happening almost casually as these characters take one step after another towards an unknown, but inevitable, future. But gradually, their new ways of seeing themselves and the world around them allow for more mindful decisions. They make more conscious choices, betting on changes that will continue to shape them into the people they want to become.

A Legal Drama? Not Really.

Strangely enough for a “legal drama” (technically), Law and the City is structured and presented as an authentic slice-of-life. As such, the series is a character-driven story organised in an episodic format, making use of their development arcs and their meal sequences to move the narrative forward. The script seamlessly transitions us from one character to another, portraying our five protagonists as a cohesive unit, as distinct pairs, and as individual characters.

Food is a vital element of Korean culture and it’s fully used throughout the series as a tool for socialisation, emotional connection, and care for mental well-being. Through their meals, we see the similarities and differences. Through food gifted, we see attention and care, but also distaste.

Socialising over food complements the familiarity the series proposes, contributing to the establishment of an overall mellow tone. The colour schemes and lighting setups are often muted and soft. Compositions tend to be more realistic than overtly artistic. Director Park also offers some fantastic direction of actors: the supporting and guest roles are delivered with precision while our main cast does an excellent job at giving profoundly nuanced performances with admirable subtlety.

Should You Watch Law and the City?

A breath of fresh air, Law and the City isn’t your typical drama — exactly because it bets so earnestly on the emotional resonance of our common routines. Charming, witty, and warm, this is a story about ordinary people who do their best to become better individuals every day. With a dash of romance, a healthy dose of friendship, and a total lack of melodrama, the series is an accurate and tender portrayal of our everyday lives with its joys, struggles, victories, and injustices. 

Law and the City would make for a perfect companion for those who enjoy healing fiction novels or who are looking for a comforting slice-of-life that isn’t afraid to comment on the social challenges that mark our society.

You can watch Law and the City on: