“Juvenile Justice” ~ Don’t Mess With Judge Max

“Juvenile Justice” is 2022 Korean drama series, with 10 episodes, and can be categorized as Action, Legal and Courtroom drama with a Strong Female Lead, streaming Only on Netflix.

SUMMARY: “Juvenile Justice”, Sim Eun-Seok is a judge in the juvenile court system and has a nickname: Judge Max. That’s because when she is making the final judgment regarding cases involving young offenders, she will apply the maximum punishment and penalty.

♦ I HATE Young Offenders. Really? You Sure Don’t Act Like It!

“Juvenile Justice” is about Judge Sim Eun-Seok and the various cases she handles in juvenile court. The series begins with people protesting. They want an end to the juvenile justice law because young offenders are taking advantage of the system. Because these young criminals know that the law will grant them leniency and shorter sentences they dare to break the law. Why not? The punishment won’t be that bad because they are minors. During an interview, Sim Eun-Seok was asked why she chose to work in the criminal juvenile justice system. She said she was motivated by hatred. Hatred? Does this mean she won’t be objective and fair in her judgment?

The irony is that although the judge says that she is motivated by hatred, her actions show something completely different. What judge actually tries to catch the offender on her own because the police didn’t properly investigate and almost let them get away? That’s just one case. She chased the offender, caught them, and had them locked up! It was important! A child had been murdered. The police didn’t investigate the crime properly and the real murderer almost got away with it. Even so … tracking down the perpetrator on your own and bringing them to justice … do judges do that?

Sim Eun-Seok works with Judge Cha Tae-Ju. At first he doesn’t agree with her methods or her attitude toward young offenders. He believes they can be rehabilitated and if given the opportunity they will contribute good to the society. He also believes that many of them are in their distressful situation because NOBODY CARES. They have to struggle and survive any way that they can because they are living in HELL! Most criminal offenders come from broken families. Many have been abused by family members. Some of them just hook up with the wrong people, make the wrong decisions, and follow a dark path. It seems as if nobody wants to help them.

Cha Tae-Ju thinks Judge Sim doesn’t show any mercy and doesn’t want to give these kids a chance to change. As he continues to work with his colleague, he realizes that he was wrong about her. Not only does she care and want to help but she goes out of her way to help young offenders live a better life. However, if they break the law, they will be punished! But she doesn’t just punish them, she tries to fix what broke those kids, in the first place.

Kang Won-Jung is the chief judge and Judges Sim Eun-Seok and Cha Tae-Ju are his subordinates. Sim Eun-Seok does not disrespect her boss. It’s just that if he’s wrong, she is willing to do her duty as a judge and get yelled at later, for disregarding his instructions. Kang Won-Jung plans to resign and enter the world of politics. There’s nothing wrong with having political aspirations. But when the chief judge is assigned to a case and he does not recuse himself because the case involves his son, Sim Eun-Seok is determined to stand up to him because he’s WRONG! He is interfering with the case and she won’t sit back and just let him do it!

Sim Eun-Seok is a judge, with strong ethics and a moral conscience, who believes in doing her duty. She doesn’t concern herself with protecting her reputation and image or worrying about what others might think of her. If others try to interfere with the course of justice, she will take the risk of losing her job to ensure that justice is served.

Main Characters:

• Sim Eun-Seok (played by Kim Hye-Soo, “Under The Queen’s Umbrella”, “Hyena”)
• Cha Tae-Ju (played by Kim Moo-Yul, “Sweet Home 2 and 3”, “Grid”)
• Kang Won-Jung (played by Lee Sung-Min, “Shadow Detective 1 and 2”, “A Bloody Lucky Day”, “12.12: The Day”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 7.9 out of 10 stars
• MyDramaList: 8.6 out of 10 stars
• Common Sense Media: 3 out of 5 stars
• Letterboxd: 4 out of 5 stars
• Rotten Tomatoes: 5 out of 5 stars

My personal rating is the same as Rotten Tomatoes.

I can tell by the number of ratings and reviews published for “Juvenile Justice” on the Internet that this Korean drama series was soooooooo good, that a lot of people wanted to weigh in on it. When it comes to playing strong female leads Kim Hye-soo deserves a bazillion gold stars. From the first episode when she said she said she wanted to be a juvenile judge because he HATED young offenders … I a all in. Her character was so admirable. If only judges were like that in the real world.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Juvenile Justice and why it is a must watch. : REDDIT/KDRAMA

Juvenile Justice: Not a show for the faint-hearted | The Business Standard

K-drama review: Juvenile Justice on Netflix – Kim Hye-soo proves an indomitable force amid series’ legal thrills and strong cast | South China Morning Post

Juvenile Justice Is Painfully Raw And Deserves More Hype | hallyureviews

Juvenile Justice review: A court drama about child criminals | YAHOO! Entertainment

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

Netflix K-Content. “Juvenile Justice | Official Trailer | Netflix [ENG SUB].” YouTube Video. YouTube, February 9, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJpPCkFHitM.