Witch’s Court – Look at Me, Mom! I’m a Success!

“Witch’s Court” (aka “Witch at Court”) is a 2017 Korean drama series with 16 episodes, categorized as Legal drama, Crime, and Romance; and streaming on KOCOWA+.

SUMMARY: A woman who grew up to be a prosecutor was told that her mother abandoned her when she was a teenager. Her mother simply left a note saying she would come back home. But she never told her daughter that she had evidence that could incriminate a corrupt policeman and that she was going to meet with a prosecutor to give it to them. All she knew was that her mother never came back home.

♦ I Need to Become Well-Known

In “Witch’s Court”, Ma Yi-Deum is a prosecutor. Each step she takes up the career ladder of success is purposeful and intentional. Although some may think her decisions and actions questionable and unethical. But her attitude is “ALL’S FAIR AS LONG I WIN THE CASE!” The person she’s defending may desire secrecy and confidentiality, but if the other side is going all in to win, she’s going to pull out all of the stops too!

A woman filed a sexual assault charge against Ma Yi-Deum’s boss. She knew that the accusations were not false, because she witnessed the assault. Yes. She was an eye-witness. Even though she knew the truth, her boss promised her a promotion and she was willing to lie and cover it up. But then she found out her boss had no intention of promoting her and decided to testify against him. It was not an act of bravery. It was pure selfishness and revenge. Afterward, Ma Yi-Deum tried to transfer to a different department but was assigned to a unit she had tried to avoid: a special task force, Crimes Against Girls Unit (CAGU).

Yeo Jin-Wook had also been assigned CAGU. Ma Yi-Deum believed the assignment was a downgrade and it was payback for testifying against her boss so that she could not advance in her career. She mistakenly believed Yeo Jin-Wook had also been assigned there as punishment because he represented the woman who had brought the charge of sexual assault against her boss.

But he corrected her. He told her that he requested this assignment because he wanted to work on the special task force, Crimes Against Girls Unit (CAGU). Yeo Jin-Wook and Ma Yi-Deum would be working together and even physically in the same office. Their prosecuting skills, style, work ethic, and personalities were as different as night and day. How were they ever going to work together?

Min Ji-Sook is the head of the Crimes Against Girls Unit (CAGU). She wasn’t happy that Ma Yi-Deum was a member of her staff because she knew of her “by reputation”. Min Ji-Sook immediately warned Ma Yi-Deum that her unethical tricks and theatrics would not be tolerated. At this point in time, Min Ji-Sook and Ma Yi-Deum don’t realize they have a “connection”.

Cho Gap-soo is as corrupt as they come. He rose through the ranks in law enforcement and now has his eyes set on the mayor’s office, his doorway into the political arena. Cho Gap-soo had been accused of sexual crimes. Min Ji-Sook was in charge of investigating, however she failed to prove the accusations for a number of reasons and he was set free. One day Ma Yi-Deum’s mother contacted Min Ji-Sook and told her she had evidence to prove Cho Gap-soo’s guilt.

Her mother left a note for Ma Yi-Deum saying she would be back home. Min Ji-Sook was confused because the lady who called her about the evidence did not meet up with her as they had agreed. Neither Ma Yi-Deum nor Min Ji-Sook knew that, by chance, Cho Gap-soo ran into Ma Yi-Deum’s mother on the elevator in the building where she was supposed to meet Min Ji-Sook. That was the day Ma Yi-Deum’s mother disappeared.

Ma Yi-Deum’s mother never told her daughter anything about the evidence she had incriminating Cho Gap-soo. People told her that her mother abandoned her and she just needed to accept it. Someone else told her that since her body had never been found, it was highly probable that her mother had abandoned her and was still alive. Ma Yi-Deum latched on to the part about the possibility of her mother still being alive. She decided to become a well-known prosecutor, in the hopes that her mother would see her or hear about her, and would want to come home to see her again. After all, her daughter had done well without her.

Eventually, these three people – Ma Yi-Deum, Min Ji-Sook, and Cho Gap-soo – would realize how their lives are connected. But what would happen when that happened?

Main Characters:

• Ma Yi-Deum (played by Jung Ryeo-Won, “The Midnight Romance in Hagwon”, “Castaway on the Moon”, “Wok of Love”, “May It Please The Court”)
• Yeo Jin-Wook (played by Yoon Hyun-Min, “My Holo Love”, “Tunnel”)
• Cho Gap-soo (played by Jeon Kwang-Leol, “King Maker: The Change of Destiny”, “The Royal Gambler”, “Remember: War of Son”, “Jung-Yi, Goddess of Fire”, “Jumong: Prince of the Legend”)
• Min Ji-Sook (played by Kim Yeo-Jin, “Vincenzo”, “Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung”, “My Secret, Terrius”, “Lee San, Wind of the Palace”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 7.4 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 8 out of 10 stars
• Dramabeans: 9 out of 10 stars
• Google users shared a public rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

My personal rating is the same as Dramabeans.

The #MeToo movement was founded by an activist in 2006 but gained widespread attention in October 2017. The hashtag #MeToo went viral on social media when Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual abuse. “Witch’s Court” is a series released in 2017 and it is no coincidence that it addresses the topics of sexual harassment and sex crimes.

I like the actress Jung Ryeo-Won. She and her male lead, Yoon Hyun-Min, won the Best Couple Award at the 2017 KBS Drama Awards for “Witch’s Court”. There are two (2) more K-dramas on my watch list where she is the female lead. One is historical, “Princess Ja-Myung” (2009) and the other is another legal drama, “Diary of a Prosecutor” (2019). Have you watched any Jung Ryeo-Won Korean dramas?

LINKS OF INTEREST:

A thoughtful participation in #MeToo: Witch’s Court [Contains spoilers] | Reply K-Dramas

“Witch’s Court” Hits Series High in Korean Drama Ratings | Kdrama Kisses

“Witch’s Court” Ends With Its Highest Ratings Yet | Soompi

[Drama of the Week] Witch at Court | The Accidental Drama Qween

TRAILER/TEASER:

KOCOWA TV. “[Official Trailer] Witch’s Court.” YouTube, Video, 28 Sept. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5FSJXPrb_I.

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