Beyond the Bar (2025) 에스콰이어: 변호사를 꿈꾸는 변호사들; lit. Esquire: Lawyers who Dream of Becoming Lawyers
Directed by Kim Jae-hong, starring Lee Jin-wook as Yoon Seok-hoon, Jung Chae-yeon as Kang Hyo-min/Kang Hyo-ju, Lee Hak-joo as Lee Jin-woo, and Jeon Hye-bin as Heo Min-jeong.
Watched 19 - 24 October 2025 — 12 episodes (NETFLIX)
*I had high hopes for this legal drama series as it was so well received, and fortunately it didn't disappoint. It has a good and intelligent script, with well-written and well-developed characters.
*Lee Jin-wook as Yoon Seok-hoon, the head of the litigation team, is strict but just, and I liked him right away. I thought he was going to be cold and difficult to get along with, but he was more soft-hearted than I had expected and he wanted to get the best out of the members of his team. I liked his character and the way his professionalism contrasted with the vulnerabilities in his personal life. I had never seen Lee Jin-wook in a series before but will check out the time-travel classic Nine: Nine Time Travels.
*Jung Chae-yeon as the rookie lawyer Kang Hyo-min is a very likeable character with a strong sense of justice. (I also like the actress.) Hyo-min is honest and direct, and I love how smart and well-spoken she is and how she holds her own in the courtroom. Like her colleagues of the ligitation team say, she's awesome and genius.
*Lee Jin-wook and Jung Chae-yeon have good chemistry. The romance (or clear hint at) between their characters Yoon Seok-hoon and Kang Hyo-min is a slow-burn. I never mind age gaps (which is 11 years here) but normally I'm not too fond of a romance with a power balance between a superior and a subordinate. Fortunately here it's not an instant attraction or infatuation. What starts as a purely business relationship between a mentor and his junior develops into something deeper and it happens organically. Seok-hoon and Hyo-min start having meaningful conversations about life, their families and backstories, and really get to know each other and begin to feel comfortable in each other's company. There is mutual respect. You understand why they fall for each other and I truly love their time spent together and their long talks. And this slow build-up is laying the perfect foundation for their blossoming relationship. I also felt for Yoon Seok-hoon and wanted him to find love again. Love the scenes where Seok-hoon and Hyo-min take care of the twin sisters, siblings of their team member.
*I like the second couple Lee Jin-woo and Heo Min-jeong, though I found Jin-woo too pushy at times. Min-jeong in her younger years, before losing weight, looks awful. The fake chubby face was badly done. (For instance, in Oh My Venus, it was done right.)
*I liked the side characters: Hyo-min's roommates, the ligitation team. I also love the relationship between Hyo-min and her mother, and Hyo-min's twin sister making a short appearance towards the end of the series.
*The cases are all interesting but my fave case is the child abuse case. Yet I wasn't really interested in the law firm management politics, and I also didn't fully understand them.
*The last episode is satisfying. The writers gave us a case dealing with marriage and love, where the court ruling views love as the essence of marriage. It ties in well with the personal stories of the two main couples. Jin-woo proposes marriage to Min-jeong. And in order to get custody of his dog, Seok-hoon is looking into matchmaking agencies (his ex-wife wants him to co-parent the dog with someone) and he ends up having a blind date with Hyo-min. I really wanted them to go all the way with the romance, sharing a kiss, confessing their feelings, but the open ending is probably the best option here with a potential romance on the horizon. You know as a viewer how Seok-hoon and Hyo-min feel about each other. I seriously hope there will be a second season where they can explore their relationship further, developing into full-blown romance.
*The show has a pleasant OST and great sets and production values.