Korean courtroom dramas dominate home screens

Feb 06, 2026, 07:33 am

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A scene from Honor: Their Courtroom. / KT Studio Genie

The momentum behind Korean courtroom dramas that captivated viewers last year is carrying into 2026, reinforcing the genre’s status as a staple of prime-time television. The catharsis of injustice being resolved and the stark moral clashes unfolding in courtrooms continue to drive strong audience engagement.

On Feb. 4, Disney+ joined the competition with the release of Bloody Flower, a mystery courtroom thriller centered on a serial killer who can cure incurable diseases and the lawyer and prosecutor who confront him based on their respective beliefs. The series features a tense three-way dynamic among the killer Lee Woo-gyeom (played by Ryeoun), defense attorney Park Han-joon (Sung Dong-il), and ambition-driven prosecutor Cha Yi-yeon (Geum Sae-rok).

Earlier, ENA released Honor: Their Courtroom on Feb. 2, a mystery investigation drama that foregrounds the solidarity of three female lawyers. The story follows longtime friends unraveling a massive scandal tied to their pasts, led by distinct performances from Lee Na-young, Jung Eun-chae, and Lee Chung-ah.

Meanwhile, Judge Lee Han-young, which premiered on Jan. 2, has drawn attention with a plot about a judge who time-slips back ten years and teams up with a prosecutor to take on powerful forces after once yielding to a major law firm. Marking actor Ji Sung’s return to MBC after a decade, the series debuted at a 4.3 percent nationwide rating and climbed to 10.9 percent as of Jan. 31, signaling the genre’s box-office potential.

Last year’s steady performers—such as Seocho-dong, Esquire, and Pro Bono—also laid the groundwork for this year’s expanded lineup. By blending office-worker relatability, rookie lawyers’ growth arcs, and varied narrative twists, these shows helped broaden the genre and cement it as a long-term fixture rather than a passing trend. Production teams are now increasingly experimenting with new courtroom-centered narratives.

Notably, today’s legal dramas extend beyond simple good-versus-evil gratification. Their growing appeal stems from storytelling that prioritizes interpretation and judgment over declarative notions of justice.

Cultural critic Park Song-ah said that Judge Lee Han-young, Honor: Their Courtroom, and Pro Bono move away from binary moral frameworks to explore how law intervenes in individual lives and where its limits lie. “Viewers experience catharsis through courtroom arguments that channel emotions via words and logic, and they find relief in worlds where fair procedures are seen to function,” she said.

She added that legal dramas with clear narrative structures and multilayered episodic storytelling continue to earn sustained support by delivering both satisfaction and polish. “Participatory narratives that invite viewers to judge the rightness of verdicts for themselves are evolving courtroom dramas into one of the most contemporary genres on Korean television,” she said.

#Korean legal dramas #courtroom drama #Honor Their Courtroom #Judge Lee Han-young #Bloody Flower