Confession (2019) 자백
Directed by Kim Cheol-kyu and Yun Hyeon-gi, starring Lee Jun-ho, Yoo Jae-myung, Shin Hyun-bin and Nam Gi-ae.
Watched 8 - 20 May 2025 — 16 episodes (KISSKH)
*This series had been sitting on my watchlist for a long time already but it's not available to stream on the sites where I (or my sister) hold a subscription so I could only go the bootleg route. I could finally play KISSKH again without the annoying pop-ups, so watched it there in a good print. (Dramacool clones work on and off but they don't have an extensive library with old titles anymore.)
*This is a good drama with a compelling storyline and I had a really good time with it. There's a lot going on and I love how everything is connected. Fortunately the writers didn't make the plot too confusing.
*Lee Jun-ho's character Choi Do-hyun is mostly serious. He gets playful on the rare occasion and cracks a smile now and then when he is working together with the detective (Yoo Jae-myung as Ki Choon-ho). I love their bromance and they have good chemistry.
*There is no romance between Choi Do-hyun and Ha Yoo-ri (played by Shin Hyun-bin), not even a hint at. They are just good friends with a connection. I think they probably met at the hospital, where he was admitted and her father as well, both waiting for a heart transplant.
*I didn't understand the inclusion of the female characters (Ha Yoo-ri and Madame Jin) at first, and thought Madame Jin was maybe Choi Do-hyun's mother. Both women just wandered into the lawyer's office one day and it wasn't clear right away what their part in the story was. It was quite a revelation to find out about their connection with Choi Do-hyun. (SPOILER AHEAD!) Yoo-ri's role gets more depth with the reveal of her dad dying right before he could get his heart transplant and Do-hyun receiving the heart instead, being next on the waiting list. Episode 10 had another surprising reveal at the end. It turned out that Madame Jin was the doctor who performed the operation of the heart transplant and that her murdered son was the donor. It was then that the level-headed Choi Do-hyun cracked and cried.
*I've only seen Lee Jun-ho in Just Between Lovers where he plays a more vibrant and outgoing character than here. Choi Do-hyun is calm and rather subdued, with a strong sense of justice. I love his role in the team working together with Ki Choon-ho, Ha Yoo-ri and Madame Jin. I also love his relationship with his dad, Choi Kwang-il as Choi Pil-soo. The scene where his dad asks his son to represent him in a retrial was emotionally charged and made me teary-eyed.
*I was glad they didn't kill off prosecutor Yang (played by Kim Jung-gi), friend of Madame Jin's son. Also Jang Jae-ho as Detective Lee didn't die after being stabbed. I loved the police team of 4 detectives and also like Jung Hee-tae as Detective Seo.
*This is another drama where the higher-ups are corrupt. At times these corruption dramas get a bit tiresome but this was really well done with a likeable leading cast. Glad I watched this, in case they plan to shut down KISSKH.