Brief encounters
As Korean legal romance drama Law & the City finds audiences around the world, director Park Seung-woo explains why this isn’t a typical courtroom drama, outlines his approach to filming the drama and reveals which US sitcom proved to be a key inspiration.
Since its debut in June, Korean legal romance drama Law & the City has captivated audiences across South-East Asia and beyond.
On tvN Asia, the CJ ENM-produced show topped the charts in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines, and achieved the same feat on global platform iQiyi. It also reached the top five in 144 regions on Rakuten Viki, including in the US, Brazil, France and India, and on U-Next in Japan.
Such has been the popularity of the series that last month the show’s stars took part in a Law & the City KL Star Tour in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Described as a compelling portrayal of the everyday lives of a group of associate lawyers who commute daily to the Seocho-dong legal district in Seoul, the drama follows Ahn Ju-hyeong (played by Lee Jong-suk), a seasoned ninth-year associate, and Kang Hui-ji (Mun Ka-young), a newly appointed lawyer, as they navigate complex cases and workplace dynamics.
Unfolding through present-day challenges and reflective flashbacks, the story also includes moments set in Hong Kong, where Joo-hyung and Hee-ji first met.
From writer Lee Seung-hyun and director Park Seung-woo, the 12-part series also stars Kang You-seok, Ryu Hye-young and Lim Seong-jae as fellow associates Cho Chang-won, Bae Mun-jeong and Ha Sang-gi respectively.
Here, director Park tells DQ more about the series, creating characters viewers want to care for and why he was worried the show wasn’t sensationalist enough.
Introduce us to the story of Law & the City.
Seocho-dong, the main setting of the drama, is a district in Seoul where many of the nation’s key judicial institutions are based, including the courts and the prosecutor’s office. Inevitably, it has become a ‘legal town,’ packed with law firms, offices, lawyers and their clients. Our series follows five young associates – each attached to a different law firm housed in the Hyungmin building – as they work, eat and wind down at the end of the day. At its heart, it’s a slice-of-life workplace drama as well as a coming-of-age story about these five characters.
How did you join the project?
After a run of mystery and fantasy titles, I wanted to tackle something more realistic. While considering several ideas, I came across the initial concept for Law & the City. Even though all I had at first was something closer to a logline than a full synopsis, I immediately felt it was a story I could tell well. After a short deliberation, I met with the writer and we quickly agreed to make the series together.
What was the appeal of taking on a legal drama?
It wasn’t the attraction of a typical courtroom drama. What struck me was how different this one felt. Across all countries, the essential draw of a legal drama tends to be high-stakes cases – villains exposed, shocking truths revealed, cathartic victories won. Law & the City does not trade in that currency. Here, the characters simply go to work, defend clients, then meet for lunch or dinner. At first you may wonder what the story is, but gradually you feel as though these are your own friends. That everyday familiarity, that warmth, is what makes it special.
What were your first thoughts on how to film the series?
Casting was my first priority. The essence and strongest appeal of Law & the City is its characters – not only the five associates, but also the heads of each law firm with their contrasting personalities, and even the building’s landlord, who still clings to old dreams. Each character expressed in the script was so distinctive that I wanted actors who could embody them with real chemistry. I’m proud we managed to bring together this ensemble, and it’s something I’ll always look back on with gratitude.
How does the show blend legal drama with romance, and how did you want to visualise this?
We wanted to evoke the freshness of youth and the excitement of first love. When viewers see Kang Hui-ji and Ahn Ju-hyeong’s scenes in Hong Kong, I hope they smile at memories of their own, or, if they are younger, feel inspired to look forward to such moments. For that reason, their romance became the only “fantasy” in an otherwise highly realistic series – and that contrast felt right. Nostalgia is always distant, bittersweet and beautiful.
Did you use any other legal shows as references, or were there other points of inspiration?
Not legal dramas, but personally I’m from the Friends generation. I grew up watching it as each season aired, and when it ended I cried as though I’d lost real friends. Since becoming a director, I’ve always dreamed of creating something that could offer that same companionship. Law & the City gave me a similar experience: when the series ended and the Hyungmin building was left empty, I felt such a pang of the same emotion. Just as I still sometimes wonder how the Friends characters are doing, I hope our Law & the City ‘friends’ remain in someone’s memory for years to come.
How do you like to work with the cast on set?
Unlike most K-dramas, which are typically driven by a male and female lead, Law & the City has five associates at its heart. Throughout the production, I cared deeply for all five characters and I was constantly attentive to maintaining their harmony and balance. Their dynamic was crucial, especially in the meal scenes, which form the core of the show. Working with the five associates was always a joy. At some point, their chemistry became so natural that little direction was needed – they were simply real friends. Beyond the leads, we also carefully cast supporting actors, each of whom carried their episodes with conviction. Since the series presents new cases in each story, their performances were vital, and thanks to them viewers praised Law & the City as a drama with “no weak links.” It was a powerful reminder of how essential good casting is.
How did you want to use locations in the series?
Again, realism was the guiding principle. In practice, it’s rarely possible to film every scene in the precise locations scripted; there are logistical issues, scheduling conflicts and so on. But I asked myself: is it really acceptable not to film in Seocho-dong? Even if viewers cannot pinpoint exact streets, the textures, colours and atmosphere of a place carry their own authenticity. Thanks to the production team’s commitment, we overcame the difficulties and filmed the majority of the series on location in Seocho-dong itself – something I’m deeply pleased about.
What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
From the outset, I worried: in a world overflowing with sensationalism, would our story resonate? I had to be determined to protect the identity of the series. While many described it as calm and heartwarming, if you look closer, the cases are not so light – a spouse killed in a car accident during an affair, tenants evicted after a housing scam, an elderly woman forced to end her sibling’s suffering, victims of school bullying at breaking point, or someone jailed after a voice-phishing scam. These are painful realities. Yet I never wanted them to become mere devices for shock value. My hope was that anyone who had lived through similar experiences might find not further hurt, but comfort and solace. That is the identity we held on to.
Why do you think the series has been so popular?
Because the characters are not fantastical heroes but people who feel like they could be your neighbours. They face problems your family might face, speak words your friends might say, wrestle with dilemmas you may have. I thought it would be nice if viewers felt a strong sense of empathy with the five associates and their world. As a director, you can never be sure reactions will follow intention, but as the series progressed and audiences laughed and cried with our characters, I felt enormous joy and exhilaration.
K-drama is proving to be incredibly popular around the world. Why might Law & the City continue this trend?
Even when I heard the series was ranking highly overseas, it felt surreal. Only when I learned about a group screening of the finale in Malaysia did it truly sink in. Of course, much credit goes to our cast’s popularity, but also to the broader momentum of Korean drama globally.
At the end of the day, people’s lives are not so different across countries, and I think viewers abroad connected to that universality in Law & the City. We hadn’t anticipated its popularity, but knowing it is going to be aired worldwide, we paid special attention to details like food scenes and street views to portray the everyday lives of Korean office workers as vividly as possible. I’m glad those efforts were worthwhile.
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tagged in: CJ ENM, Law & The City, Park Seung-woo, tvN Asia