As more and more viewers have started falling in love with crime thrillers, courtroom dramas emerged as a prime genre that provides all-around entertainment for thrillers while showing what goes on behind the scenes. Both the Chinese and Korean industries have taken a liking to the genre, and in recent years they have developed various highly entertaining courtroom dramas that will leave you struck by their intricacies. Following are 10 of the same.
1. Law School
Law School is a drama that gets as courtroom as it can get. The story is set in a law school where all students navigate their way through various trials and tribulations of being sleep-deprived and overworking college students, constantly competing against each other. The mock court scenes are especially entertaining. However, the twist is the fact that they encounter various real-life situations that require them to realise and bring forward the crimes that happen around them. One of those crimes includes murder at their very university. This is a very straightforward courtroom K-drama that is easy to watch.
2. Suspicious Partners
If you love mysteries, then you will love this one. Suspicious Partner follows the story of a girl whose cheating ex is found murdered in her apartment, making her the prime suspect despite her innocence. She also gets involved with a hotshot prosecutor along the way, who loses his position by trying to defend her in vain. This story is everything you would expect in a crime thriller. It is engaging and exciting, and the romance is hot too. The two leads constantly bicker between each other, but when in court, they are an excellent pair. In the end, the male lead can return to his position as a prosecutor, and the female lead's name is cleared. If you prefer a crime thriller K-drama that is less intense, then this is the one for you.
3. Court battle
This is a classic Chinese courtroom drama. The leads include Yu He Wei, Karlina Jung, and Sophia Hu. The characters fight to eradicate the rampant corruption in their area. The main action of the plot takes place between prosecutors and lawyers from a prestigious firm. As shown in most crime dramas, the criminals exist inside the very system that prosecutors belong to. Many government higher-ups themselves are associated with corruption. The drama shows how the prosecution exterminates these characters and restores peace.
4. Juvenile Justice
Many Koreans have expressed how very evil individuals get an easy way out of punishment for their heinous crimes just because they are minors. Korean juvenile laws try to safeguard the futures of criminal but underaged individuals. The law gives chances for improvement to the underaged criminals instead of sentencing them for life. While inherently based on good faith, many criminals misuse their knowledge of this law. Juvenile Justice is a drama that highlights these happenings. It is intense, sad, and often frustrating to watch. However, all that is a testament to how realistic the scenes are. The main character herself is a judge responsible for juvenile trials; however, her story is sad. She lost her child to one such underage criminal who remained unpunished for his age, and she dedicated her life to taking revenge.
5. Through The Darkness
Although not entirely in the courtroom, a part of the drama surrounds the formation of an investigative department necessary in all prosecution systems: profiling. This K-drama showcases how the lack of enough people capable of psychoanalysing criminals leads to misjudgments. It brought out faults within the prosecutor system with their limited power and how necessary it becomes to figure out the mentally ill criminals to proceed with a proper trial.
6. The Justice
The Justice is a C-drama with a twist. It is also a costume drama taking place in Shanghai in the 1930s. This drama is primarily about revenge, justice, love, and taking people to court for their corruption. The main character, Yi Zhi, gets hired by a man for his excellent skills in finance. However, he discovers some dark secrets about the boss, which leads to feelings of revenge.
7. Black Lighthouse
Black Lighthouse is the story of a freshly graduated court intern. Initially, she is inexperienced, but throughout her internship, she falls in love with investigating and bringing justice to people. This experience rouses her determination to become a judge. The four main characters of this C-drama are Janice Wu, Eric Le Yang, Zhang Ya Wen, and Dai Xu. The story is inspiring and moving and shows the ups and downs of becoming a person capable of delegating justice.
8. Divorce Attorney Shin
Divorce Attorney Shin is all things enjoyable in crime thriller K-drama. It has secrets and hidden identities, lawyers and complex cases, sensitive issues brought to light, revenge and competition, and even some romance. Shin Sunghan is a man who was once a top-rated lawyer, but for mysterious reasons, he decides to confine himself to a small divorce firm. The first case of the drama becomes the highlight and moves the story forward. It is a case of unconsented filming and a high-profile divorce case resulting from it. It is heartbreaking, but as we see the pieces join, we can't help but find the ending warm.
9. Heirs
This story revolves around the love story between a hotshot inheritance lawyer and a woman who gets cheated out of her entire inheritance. Although serious at times, the drama is full of the cute bickering between the main couple. Tang Ning, the woman who lost everything overnight after returning from the USA, decides to become an assistant to Zheng Hao, the attorney, and she realises that only he can help her regain her lost fortune. The story is sad in places but warm in others. As the main cast leads to the romantic subplot, in the end, they can win back her inheritance.
10. Extraordinary Attorney Woo
Perhaps the most successful courtroom K-drama of 2022, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, won the hearts of fans worldwide. It is unique as it revolves around the story of an autistic lawyer who slowly experiences her way around courtroom situations, her new workplace, and the handsome co-worker who seems to be showing interest in her. She also earns herself a rival and a supportive boss. The story is loved for its autistic representation and the awareness it creates about the disorder and how it is an unpredictable spectrum. It shows the various hurdles a person with such a disability faces and how easy it is to dismiss them in professional settings. However, it also shows how they are just ordinary people trying to live life. The courtroom scenes were all executed wonderfully, especially those where Woo Youngwoo is the presenter. It is truly a lovely and heartwarming must-watch.
