The Devil Judge


The Devil Judge is a South Korean television series starring Ji Sung, Kim Min-jung, Park Jin-young and Park Gyu-young. It aired on tvN from July 3 to August 22, 2021, for 16 episodes. It was also available for streaming on Viu and iQIYI in selected territories, and on Netflix from December 24.
A 48-chapter webtoon adaptation was serialized on Comico from July 11 to August 18, 2021.

Synopsis

The series is set in a dystopian version of South Korea, where people harbor hatred towards their leaders and live in chaos. Trials are held through a courtroom live show aired on television, where three judges come together to bring justice and peace.

Cast

Main

  • Ji Sung as Kang Yo-han, a chief judge who punishes the dishonest with no mercy, thus earning himself a reputation as a hero of the people. However, he maintains a mysterious background and conceals his true motivations and ambitions.
  • * Moon Woo-jin as child Kang Yo-han
  • Kim Min-jung as Jung Sun-ah, Yo-han's greatest rival. She was born in a low-income family and used to be a servant in Yo-han's mansion, but now works for the Social Responsibility Foundation and holds enough power to influence the leaders of society.
  • *Kim Ga-yoon as young Jung Sun-ah
  • Park Jin-young as Kim Ga-on/Kang Isaac
  • * Park Jin-woo as child Kim Ga-on
  • *Seo Woo-jin as child Kang Isaac
  • *Cha Yoo-jin as young Kang Isaac
  1. Kim Ga-on: An associate judge on the Live Court Show, he believes in obtaining justice through constitutional means. His parents died when he was 16.
  2. Kang Isaac: Yo-han's deceased older half-brother, who perished in a fire. He had a striking resemblance to Ga-on.
  • Park Gyu-young as Yoon Soo-hyun, Ga-on's childhood friend, she is a lieutenant in the Regional Investigation Unit, who tries to expose Kang Yo-han's secrets. She is a brave lady who believes that justice should be obtained by constitutional means. She has a crush on Ga-on since childhood.
  • * Yoon Byul-ha as child Yoon Soo-hyun

    Supporting

  • Jeon Chae-eun as Kang Elijah, Isaac's daughter, and Yo-han's niece. She always acts like a tough girl outside, but she has a fragile heart and trusts others very easily. She is the only survivor of her family from the church fire alongside her uncle Kang Yo-han.
  • * Kim Su-ha as child Kang Elijah
  • Jang Young-nam as Cha Kyung-hee, the Minister of Justice, an ambitious former elite prosecutor, whose goal is to become the President of South Korea.
  • Kim Jae-kyung as Oh Jin-joo, an associate judge on the Live Court Show, who idolizes Yo-han
  • Ahn Nae-sang as Min Jeong-ho, an associate justice and Ga-on's former professor
  • Hong Seo-joon as Min Yong-sik, Chairman of Minbo Group and one of the country's leading billionaires
  • Baek Hyun-jin as Heo Joong-se, a former actor and the current President of South Korea
  • Lee Seo-hwan as Park Du-man, Chairman of Saram Media and owner of the TV channel which broadcasts the Live Court Show
  • Jeong In-gyeom as Seo Jeong-hak, Chairman of the Social Responsibility Foundation
  • Lee Ki-taek as K, Yo-han's middleman
  • Lee So-young as Jae-hee, Sun-ah's assistant
  • Joo In-young as Kim Sang-sook, Min Yong-sik's wife and one of the Directors of Minbo Group
  • Jung Ae-youn as Do Yeon-jung, Heo Joong-se's wife and the First Lady of South Korea
  • Yoon Da-gyeong as Pi Hyang-mi, Park Du-man's wife and the Financial Manager of Saram Media
  • Park Hyung-soo as Ko In-guk, Ju Il-do's former attorney
  • Kim Moo-chan as Jo Min-sung, Chief of the Regional Investigation Unit
  • Hwang Hee-jung as Han So-yoon, an aspiring actress who works for Yo-han
  • Yoon Ye-hee as Ji Young-ok, Yo-han's former nanny and his current housekeeper, who helps take care of Elijah
  • Moon Dong-hyeok as Lee Young-min, Cha Kyung-hee's only son and the Vice President of Joongwon FNB
  • Nam Sung-jin as Lee Jae-kyung, Cha Kyung-hee's husband and CEO of Joongwon FNB
  • Seo Sang-won as Ji Yoon-sik, the Chief Justice
  • Joo Suk-tae as Kang Ji-sang, Yo-han's father
  • Lee Hwa-ryong as PD of the Live Court Show
  • Kwon Hae-sung as prosecutor
  • Lee Hae-woon as Jukchang/Kim Choong-sik, an YouTuber
  • Kim Kyoung-il as Secretary Kim, Cha Kyung-hee's secretary
  • Lee So-geum as police detective and Soo-hyun's partner
  • Seong Seung-heon as Live Court Show's announcer

    Others

  • Jung Jae-sung as Ju Il-do, Chairman of JU Chemicals
  • Lee Yang-hee as Doctor Yu Jong-baek
  • Cha Gun-woo as Jang Ki-young, also known as Dr. Safety, an employee at one of JU Chemicals factories
  • Hong Jung-min as Sae-in, Yo-han's childhood classmate
  • Kim Song-il as priest
  • Lim Yong-soon as Director Yoon
  • Myung Suk-geun as Jung In-seok, a temporary judge on the Live Court Show
  • Shin Kang-kyun as elderly scavenger
  • Yook Jin-soo as Kim Man-ho, a furniture maker
  • Bae Eun-woo as Lee Young-min's girlfriend
  • Joo Boo-jin as restaurant owner
  • Shin Hee-gook as Lee Ji-hoon, restaurant employee and one of Lee Young-min's assault victims
  • Jang Ho-jin as Kim Sung-hoon, restaurant chef
  • Jung A-yeon as part-time waitress
  • Yoo Yong as Lee Young-min's attorney
  • Jung Chung-goo as former firefighter
  • Kim Kwang-sik as Detective Park
  • Kang Seo-joon as Nam Seok-hoon, a top actor
  • Yoon Jong-goo as child abuse defendant
  • Ki Hwan as prosecutor
  • Myung Jae-hwan as Nam Seok-hoon's attorney
  • Jung Min-gyul as actress
  • Bret Allan Lindquist as Texas official
  • Yeo Woo-rin as nurse
  • Park Jin-soo as foundation girl
  • Jung Eun-pyo as Doh Young-choon, a con artist
  • Kim Jung-moon as fake Doh Young-choon
  • Jung In-tae as prosecutor, Kim Ga-on's university friend
  • Jung Young-keum as Lee Myung-ja, Kim Choong-sik's grandmother
  • Choi Hwa-young as Park Doo-sik
  • Kang Suk-won as KU Security's employee
  • Suk Yoon-ho as barber
  • Hwang Joo-ho as Nam Si-woo, a prison warden
  • Seo Dong-hwa as police officer
  • Cha Jae-hyeon as Jung Joseph
  • Yoo Young-bok as Yoon Soo-hyun's father
  • Kim Joo-ah as Yoon Soo-hyun's mother
  • Min Dae-sik as Dr. Yoon Myung-jin
  • Min Ku-kyung as Yoon Chan-il, Kim Choong-sik's attorney
  • Park Soo-jin as app voting participant
  • Min Jung-sup as detective
  • Kim Jong-soo as Lee Jung-seok
  • Seo Myung-chan as committee member
  • Seo Young-sam as committee member

    Production

Development

The drama, which was originally planned to run for 20 episodes instead of 16, is written by former judge Moon Yoo-seok. In June 2018, during the airing of the second half of his first drama, Ms. Hammurabi, Moon began to think about what it would be like to write about a judge with completely opposite tones and ways. He then talked about his idea with actor Ji Sung, imagining a judge who would join Batman and Joker together.
The setting of the series was inspired by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and by the "terrifying" changes that occurred in the world, defined by Moon as scarier than the virus itself: after seeing patients in hospices in Spain die because they were abandoned by nurses, the global economy collapsing in an instant, the world population struggling to make ends meet, the advent of fanatical groups attacking Congress, and the president of the United States of America treating doctors' advice as fake news, he decided to do a "thought experiment" similar to Black Mirror and V for Vendetta about what the world of the future would have been like if such a chaotic situation continued.
The characters of The Devil Judge moves in a hypothetical dystopian South Korea in which, two years after a mysterious epidemic, the deterioration of the economy, the rapid growth of unemployment and the feeling of not being safe have accelerated the polarization of the city and transformed the suburbs into slums destined for the collapsing poor class, while the center of the city is inhabited by the wealthiest social classes. Amplified by the media and political power, the anger of the population has led to a society dominated by violence, extremism and hatred towards its leaders, and it has become impossible to think of uniting in solidarity to find a solution; for this reason, the "devil" judge Kang Yo-han, who punishes evil without scruples, is designated by the population as the hero who will save them and through whom to vent discontent and anger.
The series has been defined by the writer as "chaotic and full of heterogenous elements", in which dystopian cartoon setting, classic tragedy narratives and theatrical dialogues are exasperated. Believing that "Dystopia is where authority becomes religion and religion becomes authority", Moon inserted religious overtones "to add a tragic feeling": the three judges who preside over the media tribunal, with their robes, resemble the Trinity, while the courtroom itself refers to an amphitheatre, and the name of the app used by the public to vote, Dike, to the homonymous deity of the Greek religion. References to Christianity are present in the crucifix worn on the wrist by Kang Yo-han, in the cross-shaped scar on his back, and in the names of the members of the Kang family, which recall those of the prophets of the Old Testament.
The script also merged some of the writer's favorite novels, such as Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Rebecca, Beauty and the Beast and Faust, and a tribute to The Dark Knight Rises; the opening scene of episode 12, in which Yo-han's aide, K, tells Ga-on that he'll lose everything if he stays with Yo-han, was written while thinking of the movie Let Me In, and in particular to the characters of Håkan, a middle-aged man who dies miserably living next to the lonely vampire Eli, and of Oskar, a child who bears the same fate. Other occurrences in the series draw inspiration from real events, such as Donald Trump's presidency, Brexit, Duterte's regime in the Philippines, and the tweet published by terrorist Anders Breivik before carrying out the attacks of July 22, 2011, which is recalled in episode 10 in the first sentence of extremist Jukchang's manifesto, "One person who has faith is equal to the power of a million people who pursue only profit."
The Devil Judge addresses the growing popularity of series featuring dark heroes battling evil with evil, such as Vincenzo and Taxi Driver, and questions why they are so loved by the public. The final message, conveyed by Kim Ga-on who wonders what needs to be done to create a world that doesn't need Kang Yo-han, is that, through everyone's joint efforts to change the system, it's not too late to prevent the social and political situation told by the series from transforming in reality. Through the death of Yoon Soo-hyun, a character who represents the only person who has ever loved Kim Ga-on unconditionally, giving him the will to go on living, and who continues to worry about him despite being dying, the writer also wanted to highlight how love is the final form of redemption, and the belief that the world would be different if everyone had at least one person who truly loves them.
Moon, however, made it clear that, in writing the series, he focused more on the relationship between the characters rather than on conveying his own message, believing that, in telling their stories in certain situations and with certain narratives, the message would naturally arise as by-product. The relationships between the main characters are of three types: Kang Yo-han and Jung Sun-ah's relationship is expressed by the key phrase "I want to have you", Kang Yo-han and Kim Ga-on's by "I want to know you", and Kim Ga-on and childhood friend Yoon Soo-hyun's by "I want to protect you", although these three wishes are sometimes one-sided. The relationship between Yo-han and Ga-on has been described as a "bromance" in which the two characters attract each other like magnets due to their differences. Speaking of how he wrote the characters, Moon stated: "When I created the characters, I completely ignored the genders. Cha Kyung-hee is simply a powerful and ambitious figure, and Yoon Soo-hyun is just a detective who wants to protect her first love. They are both familiar characters who often appear as men in Korean dramas. In contrast, the role of Kim Ga-on is often given to female characters. Characters trapped in conventional gender roles are obvious and monotonous, and I think the prejudice that all women must be autonomous and men can be flat is also artificial. Every human being is an individual."