Title: 슈츠 | Syucheu | Suits
Genre: Drama | Legal
Episodes: 16
Broadcast Network: KBS2
Broadcast Period: April 25, 2018 to June 14, 2018

Synopsis:

Kang and Ham is a prestigious law office partly owned by Kang Ha Yun and the best lawyer in the firm is Choi Kyung Suk, a former prosecutor who has not lost a case. Being promoted as a senior partner, he was given the opportunity to hire his own associate. Unwittingly, he hired Go Yun Woo, a guy with photographic memory and a genius but has a complicated past and didn’t even finish studying law or took the bar. Nonetheless, together they successfully solve legal cases brought on the firm and hid Go Yun Woo’s secret until it catches up on them.

Characters:

• Jang Dong Gun as Choi Kyung Suk
• Park Hyung Shik as Go Yun Woo
• Jung Yoo Geun as Child Yun Woo
• Jin Hee Kyung as Kang Ha Yun
• Chae Jung Ahn as Hong Da Ham
• Go Sung Hee as Kim Ji Na
• Choi Gwi Hwa as Chae Geun Shik
• Kim Jung Ho as Lead Counsel Ham
• Lee Tae Sun as as Seo Byun
• Lee Sang Yi as Park Chul Soon
• Lee Shi Won as Se Hee
• Ye Soo Jung as Jo Sook Hee | Jo Gwi Sim
• Choi Yoo Hwa as Jae Yi
• Hwang Tae Kwang as Lawyer Hwang
• Kwon Hyuk as Director Nam
• Seo Yoon Ah as Yoon Se Mi
• Lee Yi Kyung as Park Joon Pyo
• Jang Shin Young as Na Joo Hee
• Jung Ae Yun as Sung Yoo Jin
• Bewhy as Himself
• Son Suk Goo as David Kim
• Jun Noh Min as Deputy Chief Prosecutor Oh Byung Wook
• Nam Ki Ae as CEO Shim Young Joo
• Kim Hak Sun as Director Bang Chu Sung
• Jang In Sup as Jang Suk Hyun
• Lee Jung Hyuk as Kim Jin Kyu
• Jang Yoo Sang as Park Joon Gyu
• Son Yeo Eun as Prosecutor Kim Moon Hee
• Jo Seung Yun as Prosecutor Heo
• Baek Sang Hee (백상희) as Eun Young
• Jung Doo Gyum (정두겸) as Judge
• Kim Jung Pal

My Review:

I watched this k-drama because I was interested on how the director and writer will execute “Suits”, a popular tv series in America, into a Korean adaptation. “Suits” is one of my favorite American television series and, of course, I would like to watch the Korean version. I’m curious to see if it will not fail, in my opinion, like “Criminal Minds” Korean adaptation which was a pale comparison to the US original tv series.

So, What do I Like About this K-Drama?

(1) The 2 leading male actors, Jang Dong Gun and Park Hyung Shik had hit the nail on the head with their portrayals of their characters as Choi Kyung Suk and Go Yun Woo, respectively. They successfully emulated their American counterparts yet retained a modicum of uniqueness in Korean style and made their roles truly their own. They still made it entertaining to watch even to an audience like me who more or less knows what will already happen as the Korean adaptation didn’t stray far too much away from the original US version.

(2) Both in the US and Korean versions, I’ve always love the affinity and bromance of the lead male characters and the bond of love between a grandson and the grandmother. Both versions connected initially to the audience because of this arc.

(3) I like that they made the script concise and chose the integral parts from the US version to be the ones tackled and adapted to the Korean version. It avoided the pitfalls of being a drag and boring as what the Korean production adapted is really applicable in their society and culture.

(4) There are some supporting characters I really love particularly Ye Soo-Jung as Yeon-Woo’s grandmother. Her scene with Park Hyung Shik as Go Yun Woo at the last episode was very emotional that I can’t help but get teary-eyed.

(5) ”Life will not tell you where the destination is. Therefore, what changes your life isn’t a coincidence but your choice.” Surprisingly, it is the same message I got after reading the recent best selling book “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck”. I always appreciate when the things I watch or read or listen to doesn’t only entertains me but also provide certain wisdom about living this so called “life”.

What I do Not Like About this K-Drama?

(1) I think they got the lead male actors right for their roles in comparison to their US counterparts but the actresses, Jin Hee Kyung as Kang Ha Yun who represents Gina Torres as Jessica Pearson; Chae Jung Ahn as Hong Da Ham who represents Sarah Rafferty as Donna Paulsen and Go Sung Hee as Kim Ji Na as Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane don’t seem to exude the essence and strength of their adapted characters. However, Go Sung Hee as Kim Ji Na has improved quite a bit at the latter part of the episodes but for the other 2, they kinda irritated me that their characters act weaker than they should be.

(2) They didn’t put too much attention to the fashion of the women. If you will look at their US counterparts, the female characters dresses with confidence and reflects their personality.

(3) It is truly difficult to imitate or even adapt something that has been so successful because the audience can’t help but compare the 2 versions. Though I did enjoy this Korean adaptation of “Suits” better than the one done with the Criminal Minds, but, still it didn’t really fully capture my heart to fully love it. It was just okay. For me the strength of K-dramas is really doing their own original style as I find them more engaging and beautiful to watch rather than them adapting someone else’s work especially a westernized and much modern culture than theirs.

Would I recommend this K-Drama? Yes.

My Rating to this Drama
( See My Rating System: ) 4/5 Stars

OST:
01. When I’m With You – MLC

Play Me:

02. When The Wind Blows – Jung Eun Ji

03. You In My Dream – Mamamoo

04. Rainy Street You and I – Kang Min Kyung & Kisum

05. Now – Vromance

06. Propose – GB9

07. Calling You – Laura

08. Dream – DK

For Lyrics in English, Romanization and Hangul, CLICK HERE