"Juvenile Justice" (소년 심판) & My Spoiler(ish) Impressions of this KDRAMA on Netflix

"Juvenile Justice" (소년 심판) is a 10-episoder South Korean drama series centered on Juvenile Crime, and the Justice met out according to the law on South Korea. The synopsis below is as heavy as the series is, and asks the questions and assumptions folks might have youths, wayward or otherwise. I watched the entire series in English dubbed, and wondered how I'd fare as a "parent", or indeed I would know what a teenager might think, much less a "delinquent".

Scroll thru to find out a bit more of the series, and for more of my SPOILER Impressions, cheers.

SYNOPSIS: "Juvenile Justice follows the story of Shim Eun-seok, an elite judge with a cold and distant personality, who is known for her dislike of juveniles, as she becomes a newly appointed judge of a juvenile court in the Yeonhwa District. There, she breaks customs and administers her own ways of punishing the offenders. She has to deal with and balance her aversion to minor offenders with firm beliefs on justice and punishment as she tackles complex cases while discovering what being an adult truly means. The court-room drama sends a message of how society is also responsible for juveniles’ acts."



Directed by Hong Jong-Chan, Writer Kim Min-Seok, the series stars Kim Hye-Soo (as "Sim Eun-Seok"), Kim Moo-Yul, Lee Sung-Min and Lee Jung-Eun. They are surrounded by a splendid line-up of character actors, including the young girls, and especially a shout out to actor Lee Yeon, who played the role of "Baek Seong-U" in the first eps, whom you'll recognise as the "male student".

Right off the bat, there's not a whole lot of "laughter" or comedy here. I mean they do try with the hyper-gossipy office assistant, but that irked me more than it ever will impress, cheers.

The mood is consistently sombre, though not menacing, and there never really is anything to "cheer" about. Whatever victories presented is tinged with heavy doses of sadness and tragedy, you cannot really "air-punch" any specific moment - and when you do see that enacted on-screen, after a "positive" ruling - the effect is fkn sad too.



This series is less about "tears" and more of the silent shivers of fear and lack of comprehension in what the "youngsters" had chosen to do and engage in - from rape, to porn, to prostitution, violence unfettered, there are perhaps more trauma and triggering situations than I could even imagine ... The very first "crime" presented (in the first episode) was of a 6/7/8-year old kid killed and body chopped up, internal organs discarded.

The following scene is of the abusive father in court over domestic violence, enacted on his daughter and his mother. The father insists he was just doing his fatherly job by punishing his daughter. What is not shown in the video below is the flashback reaction of what happened.



The series did not feature any "idols" or specifically pretty faces (my sincere apologies for everyone on the show I might have offended with this comment, but you know what I mean), which allowed it to focus unto the acting and scripted situations unfolding.

The pace was decent, and as mentioned before: "Bingeable". The multiple story and plots drag you into their situations, and you stay to watch and see if they'll recieve "justice", and it is not a easy journey, hence the watch-interest, IMHO.

I'd not imagined of this series was a weekly 2-episoder (like SK series are these days), and whether that would've kept me coming back for weekly-fixes, and my immediate impression is "No".



The benefit of the entire season streaming at a go allows you to binge-watch this, which is greatly satisfying but harder to digest due to some of the issues and situation, but ultimately doable within a weekend.

It is precisely bingeable and that I had the time to do so, that made for a satisfying watch, hoping each time "justice" could be served, and that does not happen all the time though, so do not go in expecting rainbows. It felt as if you would be "lucky" enough to be able to wake up the next day to continue. Living your mundane lives :p



A mixed part social-commentary, documentary drama, with tragic-backstories and brimming vendetta at the edges for drama-quota, and that makes a good watch, IMHO.

I watched the entire series in English dubbed, and quite frankly I regretted it the moment they opened their mouths, but the story was strong enough to not relinquish my impatience to watch, and a weekend later I am sorted.

I will not comment on "acting" as the series I'd devoured, did not sound anything remotely close to the emotions I hear in the trailer posted here - and while I do not understand a lick of South Korean, I would've been able to better emote with said acting if I could've just heard their original voices, IMHO. But looking at the various clips featured here, and especially at the power-delivery of Kim Moo-Yul, the acting was astounding all around, methinks.

As much as I enjoy my watch, I'd felt it was a one-and-done, and not necessarily something I'd choose to (re)watch, even if I had a chance and time to watch it in it's original language - which I'd highly recommend you do so in your watch, and be able to enjoy it more than I already had.

Watch "juvenile Justice" here on Netflix (Singapore).