The highly rated Yoo Yeon-seok–starring 'Shin I-rang law office' is causing viewers to become overly absorbed.
The SBS Friday-Saturday drama 'Shin I-rang law office,' airing every Friday and Saturday, has seeped into living rooms with its distinctive warm humanism amid works with sensational subject matter.
The SBS Friday-Saturday drama 'Shin I-rang law office' (directed by Shin Jung-hoon, written by Kim Ga-young·Kang Cheol-gyu, produced by StudioS·Mongjakso) has been praised for upholding the lineage of the so-called "reliably watchable SBS genre drama," while solidifying a genre of an entirely new direction within it. Instead of blood-spattering revenge or destructive developments, it proved its value as a "human drama" that the whole family can sit down and watch together.
The reason viewers deeply empathize with this drama lies in Shin I-rang's (Yoo Yeon-seok) warm humanity toward the dead. What gives new vitality to bereaved families and the deceased—who would have lived trapped in sorrow for life if not for Shin I-rang—is not only resolving injustices but also comforting both the living and the dead so that they can live new lives again; Shin I-rang's way of resolving cases comes across as the drama's greatest significance.
This sincere side of Shin I-rang shone in last week's episode as well. He willingly lent his body to allow the child spirit Yoon Si-ho (Park Da-on) to eat the food she liked, and patiently taught how to lift a possession. Beyond the professional calling in which he defined himself as "your lawyer" to ghost clients, it was a scene that well represented Shin I-rang's unique humanism.
Particularly, Shin I-rang's warm gaze toward subjects even endears viewers. Watching Shin I-rang genuinely pity and grow attached to the deceased, viewers likewise root for them with the wish, "I hope they really lived well." The moment each episode when he burns talismans as he sends off the deceased, and why viewers are moved together, is because they reflect on their lives with the same feelings as Shin I-rang.
In this way, 'Shin I-rang law office' has solidified a unique genre position by offering harmless comfort to viewers tired of stimulation. The warm way Shin I-rang defends—embracing the painful wounds left by the deceased so those left behind can finally walk toward tomorrow—elicits obsessive immersion each episode and is why it draws praise as a "life drama."
Meanwhile, in last week's episode, while searching for clues related to the child spirit Yoon Si-ho's death, they discovered another child's confinement site. Shin I-rang prioritized the child's safety over his own and, in the end, faced a life-or-death crisis when he was shot by kidnapper Jo Chi-young (Lee Sang-woon) while rescuing the child, falling into an unconscious state. Interest is focused on what story will unfold in this week's episode, where Shin I-rang, his soul separated and teetering between life and death, and those desperate to save him collide.
The production team said, "Shin I-rang's gaze is always directed at 'people' and 'vitality.' We hope that heartfelt comfort, which exerts greater power than sensational catharsis, will be delivered intact to viewers' living rooms," and added, "This week's episode 13 will depict another miracle and consolation Shin I-rang will face at the crossroads of life and death. Shin I-rang's warm communication that connects the living and the dead will once again touch viewers' hearts," raising expectations.
[Photo] StudioS, Mongjakso
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