Miss Hammurabi (2018)

Never in my life have I imagined myself to finish this type of drama and actually enjoy it so much. Definitely a Kdrama gem of 2018.

Initially, I heard that this series is very intriguing, but not quite popular outside of Korea. I understand why: this drama depicts main social problems lingering around in Korea that we, as mostly westerners, might think of as a bit weird. Especially sexual assault and lack of leadership of being a woman. Miss Hammurabi - an eye-opening drama that lets you peek inside of the wonderful and tiring world of judges. The characters: unique, a small little family that you'd want to be a part of. Each character of the department has their own little story and problems. But I'm guessing my favorite characters were from Department 44, especially Oh Reum and Ba Reun - two completely different individuals who come to respect, love and rely on each other. There wasn't a lot of romance which is a bit of a bummer, but it didn't ruin the whole show watching experience. It had to be work and case-solving based and not romance. The highlights of this drama had to be and still are all of those little cases and the victims with their unique stories + the stunning cinematography and the ear-blessing OST.

Once again, this drama was really eye-opening and sweet. Maybe a bit too heavy to watch on a hot summer afternoon, I'd say watch it during fall when it's rainy outside to create the best vibe to watch Miss Hammurabi. It's something I'd re-watch myself too, maybe when the weather gets a bit chilly!
(Edit: the ending is very well though-out and quirky, love it so much)

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Before starting my review this is my first time writing while being watching Asian dramas for about more than 10 years, where my friends always used to ask me how can you watch it and also read subs at the same time, well they are now addicted to it, at last, they can get to know now why I always have a new crush ='D ,
ok so now starting with my review on the drama, I am writing my review on it because I just finished it yesterday, I had great an expectation from this drama, And the start was actually great, I don't know what happened in between the storyline or it was just me.
it was not my blockbuster list ( you can blame Laughter in Waikiki / Eulachacha Waikiki, it was such THE drama for me this year)
Well, the drama was not bad, I will say it was OKAY, it was nothing like you should not watch it, you will not sleep on it or something like that, I guess after watching so many dramas you start looking for something new, a suspense that can shook you, while this drama was an easy roller coaster, predictable I will say.
Talking about actors they were amazing, the role line they were given was amazing. Male Mainlead, was not perfect which I liked. I think the writer could have made the suspense of the character hinted more impactful.
I loved the bickering b/w Sung Dong Il (Han Se Sang) and L (Im Ba Reun).
While Sung Dong Il and Go Ah Ra, led me to watch the clips of Reply 1994 once again.
The second lead were amazing.
I will say Kim wook (Lee Ga On) led me to google about him right away when the camera rolled on him in episode 11. Wonderful work he did, hopefully, he gets more roles.
Overall if you are finding any drama with a good actor and are new to dramas world give it a watch, every one have a different view you might love it, well I am in love with the characters though, found a new crush of the week so am happy about it. Peace

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A drama about contemporary societal problems not only in South Korea

Topics in this court drama are sexism, corruption, greed, power imbalance and the question of how to make a just and lawful decision.

I think as a European person, I probably was not able to understand the intricacies fully. South Korea is still young as a liberal democracy, but within an old, patriarchial and strictly hierarchical society. So, some themes, like how the old order between younger people (and people in lower status) and people with more seniority (higher status) clashes with a new system of ethics, where everyone is equal in front of the law, are things I will probably never really understand.

What I liked:
* I loved the team dynamics, and that every one of the recurring characters had their own personalities.
* The romance between the judge of court 43 and the secretary was cute. I liked that they both changed for the better during their courtship, and neither of them -- especially not the female character -- lost their core personality traits.
* The cases were, for the most part, interesting.
* It was also fascinating to see how the judicial system in S.Korea works. According to Wikipedia, the script (and the book it was based on) was written by a senior judge himself, so I don't expect there to be any glaring inaccuracies.

What I did not like:
* The last episodes were too cheesy for my taste. That happy ending felt too forced for me. Two main points:
* Especially the relationship between Ba Reun and Oh Reum could have remained platonic -- until the second to last episode, I loved their dynamic, and how they were learning to listen to the other. Sometimes love remains unrequited, and men and women can work together as nothing more than colleagues.
* They could also have left the story arc about NJ group more ambiguous. In real life, you don't have this kind of closure.

All in all, I don't regret watching it, although the last episodes made me change my rating of a solid 9 to a disappointed seven.

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I don't care what anyone says. This is one of those dramas that doesn't need to be romance-centric for it to be interesting. Sure, they are interested with one another especially on Im Ba Reun's part but they told the story in the eyes of a struggling newbie judge coping around a justice system who mostly favors those in power. I believe that this drama needs more attention. Don't look for the romance part but rather focus on the the central plot line. For me, this should be categorized as slice of life.

Go Ara, Kim Myung Soo, and Sung Dong Il's chemistry together easily became one of my fave trios in KDramaland. They had this synergy that I liked very much. I honestly hated Go Ara's character so it means she did a good job. I also liked the fact that everyone had character development and of course that Sung Dong Il never disappoints, as usual.

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Well...

I finished Ms. Hammurabi yesterday and...
The drama impressed me. It's very fast to watch, the episodes are usually in the same metric and it doesn't have a lot of things to pay attention to it. So it's great if you just want to watch something. The cast is good and have a lot of chemistry together. The thing is that you won't see this chemistry in a romantic level between the main characters. I'm sorry, but that's not the focus of this drama! Ms.Hammurabi brings to this giant round table very important topics such as: Domestic Violence, Sexual Violence, Corruption, Depression and male chauvinism doing a great job. The girls in this drama are such strong characters that it makes this 100% better!
Do I recommend it? Yes! The topics are very important and very hard to see in dramas.

Characters that deserve attention:
-Chief Judge Han Se Sang (One of the best for me)
- Lee Do Yeon (She's just amazing)

And that's it!!
MoonPride

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Wonderful law show

I love romance shows and this wasn't one. However, it was so well-written, full of interesting characters, and one that I got completely engrossed in. The actors were all wonderful. Go Ah Ra and Sung Dong Il were especially effective in this. I saw this a few years ago and realize I had never rated it, maybe it's time to go back and watch it again. I do remember wondering why they all kept their coats on when they were at work - they must keep the sets really cold! I usually don't have a problem meeting the required word count, but here, I'm at a loss.

All I can say is, take a chance, I think you'll really enjoy it.

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Overall: 8/10

Miss Hammurabi is the most realistic Law drama I have ever seen. And it is great.
Honestly I'm not a fan of law but I enjoyed the drama, but at the same time, it was a bit boring...
Also, it is a drama in which I enjoyed reading the comments from other people ;)
->Story: 10/10
Like I said, the drama is super realistic. Every episode will touch your heart and play with your feelings and emotions. Also, the drama has the perfect amount of drama, romance and comedy. But it is not focused in the romance, the romance between the leads is very slow. The drama gives us a totally realistic perspective about Judges and how people are. I absolutely loved the end, it is the kind of ending that I love!
->Cast: 8/10
All characters are very natural.
Go Ah Ra- I'm not a fan of her, I dislike her in "Black" and "Hwarang", but I like her in "You're all surrender" and here. This role is so her, the strong character fits her so well. Her character is amazing, it is sad that in real world there are no people like that. Her facial expressions were ok.
L- What a lovely surprise seeing him here. What I find interesting about his character is his perspective and thoughts. And also, how quiet and honest he is.
Sung Dong Il- This guy is in everywhere and I love his presence.
Ryu Deok Hwan- This guy stole my heart. He's so innocent, funny and lovely.
Lee Elliya- Her acting is just cool. And her character is just cool.
->OST: 8/10
Was good and emotional.
-> I give a Rewatch Value so low, because as I said, I'm not a fan of law, I watched the drama because of L and the realistic story. It's a drama that you can only watch once.

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I enjoyed watching this drama .It has everything with little romance . As it is subject oriented drama ,subject about the life of judges in the court. For us judge is just judge we even don't know that their is a hierarchy exit between the judge also ,this drama shows that not only police and lawyer investigate the case but judge also do that ...How hardship they also faced in everyday life ....This drama emphasize that though "Power"rule the world but in the court powerful person is the judge ,their decision is the final decision.
I like both the lead couples but so sad to see that their is no romantic scene between them because of it I felt that end is incomplete.I like the friendship . Drama has funny scenes also which balance the drama.
Even some dialogue is good that touch my heart
1. We can't stop the rain but we can soaked together.
2.inside the court is judge is powerful.
3.something related to wheat grain I forgot but it goes like this one grain of wheat can grow the wheat plant means every cloud has silver lining ,one hope ...
Loved it ..... But some parts of drama bored me because of the terminologies they used freaked to law.

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Decent show needs label “Trigger Warning: SA”

From an analysis of the story and it’s uniqueness in kdrama world, this drama meets the mark. It is of an intelligent female judge, Judge Park (played by Go A-ra) who fights unwaveringly for the law to be as nuanced and considerate as the every-day man may need. Why? Because she’s lived life with a silver spoon and without—she knows that behind every person is a story. In many ways, this drama is a literary romance that makes you want to champion for change. Furthermore, the drama takes a very hard look at the working and sometimes personal lives of people of varied social status, so you appreciate a plot that is not filled with clichés and product placement (though there is the mandatory karaoke scene) for the sake of familiarity. As a social justice drama (not to be mistaken with a courtroom drama), every victory, even the minuscule ones or missed ones are high stakes, and in reality, these circumstances are always high stakes to someone. The drama is, at its essence, different by being heavy on the heroine’s journey and light on the leads’ romance, but most times it’s well-written enough that the lack of romance is okay.

Acting:
When we delve into the acting, this drama gets harder to review. There are some incredibly strong (and seasoned) supporting characters—both men and women— who pull you into their lives and love journeys with almost no hesitation. They are definitively crafted and their growth is reasonable (though accelerated... but it’s a drama). Quite frankly, the second leads carry far more than their weight of this dramas as they too deal with gender roles, harassment, and romance. I wish I could guarantee that my review for acting of the leads is unbiased, but this is not true. You’ll either love or be unimpressed/ unbothered by the male lead, Kim Myung Soo who plays Judge Im. The ticks of his character are often overdone, but fortunately they are short lived and only serve as comedic reminders about Im’s discomfort. Kim Myung Soo really excels by playing with the camera... so perhaps this is the work of the director and composer, but every moment our male lead finds himself love struck is completely endearing and cute. In many ways, our female lead is equally as cute when romance is on her mind, but as this is really her story, we see her more frequently deal with the constant trauma of civil and criminal cases more than love. Generally, Judge Park responds the same way but with varied sequence: Furiously, curiously, and empathetically. Go A-ra deserves a commendation here: She can cry on cue. The number of cues, though are... so, so, so, many.

A few thoughts:
If you are a kdrama viewer who watches with more than your heart, I hate to say it, but you have two choices: 1) Suspend reality in a way you never have before, and/or 2) Do NOT watch this drama with the comments on. The suspension of reality is NOT for time traveling parallel universes, but for meeting yet another female character who lacks the intelligence to apply new information; It is for the sheer volume of liberties taken by the heroine in a high stress and high profile job; It is for this social justice drama thinking it is dressed as a courtroom drama. Also, do not watch this drama in a platform with real time comments because, while you may go to the comments for clarity, you will leave focused on many other aspects of production for which your subconscious was doing tumbles to help you avoid, and now these distractions will be all you will see.

Story:
It’s worth noting that the plot can feel slow at times. This may be because of the slooowwwwwwwwww progress of romance between the main leads and the repetitive nature of some of the court cases; obviously, for our heroine to grow she must deal with a specific type of case before she overcomes the trauma of her own past, but the sheer amount of sexual misconduct addressed (NOT shown), while realistic, may be very triggering for some.

Conclusion:
Truth is, it is rare to find a perfect drama: There are few perfect dramas (despite the liberal scores of 10s given). The heart of the writer is bleeding and each case is compelling. Unfortunately, the writers felt we’d only sympathize if they used the actors to model how we viewers should feel. At this, Go A-ra becomes exhausting because despite this being a drama where her character is to grow—she flatly does not though every one else does. There are some characters where it’d be nice to excuse, but foolish to excuse (No. I will not be gaslighted to think the alcoholic father’s bleeding heart redeems him for failing to support his OWN very-struggling family.). STILL, the individual moments of justice soar where the characters, and romance do not.

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Enjoyable Courtroom Drama

"Miss Hammurabi" revolves around three judges. Park Cha Oh Reum (Go Ah Ra) a new appointed judge, Im Ba Reun (Kim Myung So) and Chief judge Han Se Sang (Sung Don Il) assigned to 44th Civil Affairs Department of Seoul Central District.
Im Ba Reun is a cold-headed, logical and nonsense judge. On the other hand Oh Reum is always on a lookout for injustice and overly sympathetic to cases. Chief Judge Han Se Sang appears non chalant, short tempered but is really warm. Their journey is reflected through court trials. Determined to deliver justice they face many obstacles. Can they make the right judgements from the court arguments?
This drama is for those who want to enjoy strictly courtroom dramas. The supporting roles added much needed eliments. Jung Bo Wan (Ryu Deok Hwan) was a supportive friend. His journey of persuing Lee Do Yeon (Lee Elijah) is pretty enjoyable. Lee Do Yeon is a strong, smart, independent woman who seems mysterious at first. Day to day in the courtroom brings new challenges. They all strive to deliver justice in the court and make efforts to change the internal judiciary system for better.

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Let me give you a heads up. This was a review of a person who is a fan of Go Ara and L. For me this series was somehow a dream come true. If I would sound bias in my review so be it.

STORY/PLOT:
It was mentioned in this series that the best selling stories are those stories which came from the heart. Multiple stories were being shown in this series since the setting was in a trial court and those stories will surely crumple your heart because of its depth and genuineness. The story was wonderfully told and amazingly executed. I keep on repeating in every review I made that a series or a film can be considered as a good film once it was able to serve it's purpose and for me this series undeniably showed how important the lessons that we can get from a film was. This series depicts the realities of life in Korea. There are some breathtaking scenes which will make your heart stops from beating for almost 5 minutes. Honestly this film gave a rollercoaster of emotions to me. Episode 1 made me laugh like there's no tomorrow but my tears won't stop from falling after watching Episodes 2 and so on but here's the catch I end up smiling after watching all 16 Episodes. Wonderful stories! That's what this series brings.

CASTS/ACTING:
As an opening statement I've already disclosed that I'm a fan of both leads so let me express my enthusiasm about them. Ladies first, my dear Go Ara! I've seen most of her films and series and I became so used to her. You guys don't know how many times I pushed the pause button just to observe her beauty and her hazel eyes, they're not human... Huhuhu. She did well in this film though I understand how awkward it would be for her to have a younger leading man so you can't really expect some serious public display of affection in this series. For me she was simply amazing. Next, Kim Myung Soo or most popularly known as L. What I love about him in this series was his Charm. He was so cute that everytime he smiles I love to poke the hole in his cheeks...Grrrr. He played a somehow serious role in this series so his acting skills was forgivable. But you know what? I don't know that you can still be cute while crying and this guy was really cute, so cute that even though tears where running out from his eyes still he looks cute. The man who played the second lead, L 's bestfriend here, undeniably his acting skills showed that years of experience would surely made you a better actor. He was a veteran in terms of acting same as with the man who played the role of Presiding Judge Han. Elijah, the woman who played as Do Yeon, she was stunningly beautiful. Though she's new to acting she was able to act wonderfully. She's really beautiful. I think I don't need to praise the the guy who played the role of Presiding Judge Han because as what I have said he was already a veteran in terms of acting.

MUSIC:
Great choice of music. Don't You know that everytime a good scene was shown on the screen and then the English background music kicks in I keep on saying
"WAAAAA!" and if I were an Ice cream I guess I'm already melting, lying on the floor. Grrrr... I really love those scenes which was accompanied by background music. I happen to observe that New Korean series are starting to use English background music nowadays just like on the series Something In The Rain. :-)

REWATCH VALUE:
Na, if this was just a movie I would already watched it a hundred times...chaarrrr. Bit since it was a series I can't rest watch the whole series over again but what I'm doing was.....re watching those scenes which I live the most. Especially the scenes where they kissed each other. Though that was just an ordinary kiss the music made it so romantic.

OVERALL:
IT WAS AN AMAZING SERIES!

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Underrated drama of the challenges/decisions of Court Judges

8/11/2021

I am pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoy watching this drama. I don't think this drama is recommended enough. First and foremost, this is NOT a crime or legal drama about court cases. You will be disappointed if you are expecting well-thought out criminal investigations or legal battles. The court cases serve as a means to tell the stories of court judges. This is why the drama is so unique, as we don't often hear the behind-the-scene career crises that judges face, whether you are a rookie judge or a senior judge.

The cases are those that happen in real life for normal people. Trigger Warning - the drama covers sexual assault/rape cases, as well as depression, family expectations, inheritance battle, custody battle, and teen drug use. I read that this drama is written by a real life court judge. No wonder those challenges faced by the judges felt so real.

I really like the character development of our ML. He went from an introverted, anti-social, logical and rational judge, to be come a more "human" judge through the influence of FL and his colleagues. I like the FL fine but find her character a little unprofessional and immature to be a judge in the beginning of the series. And this is why I didn't give this drama a 9 rating instead of a 8.5. Even though I understand her character has to be unique and vastly different from our ML and other judges to make a difference, it's still unrealistic for her to be that emotionally unprofessional in the beginning. I also love the bromance between our ML and 2ML. They are frenemies to start but really develop a strong bond throughout the show. They are so funny together. The supporting cast of judges, court employees and aunties provide many comedic moments as well.

Romance plays a very small part in this drama, so don't expect a rom-com/fluffy romance from our main leads. Instead it's a slower romance that develops naturally and very understated. I do love seeing the shy smiles from our ML. He's such a cutie with those adorable pimples! He's the reason why I chose to watch this drama to begin with. The second lead romance is a lot funnier and fluffier. They provide such good comic relief.

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