Suits Korean Drama Review in One Question

Should I write a Suits Korean drama review or should I not?

I was strongly debating whether or not to write one because of how biased it might be toward the American version of the show.

I watched the American version way before watching the Korean version. During each episode in this kdrama, I couldn’t help myself but compare the Korean version to the American one. So if I were to write a review, it would be how the American one was better than the Korean one. But if you don’t plan on watching on the American version, my review wouldn’t be of much help.

I did have this one question in my head that I could base my Suits korean drama review on – “Would I recommend this show to you?“.

The simple answer is no. (I hate to say it so bluntly…but it’s true 🙁 )

While most of my reasons are related to the American version of the show, I will share some that are just related to the kdrama itself. If you want the reasons, continue reading below.

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW!!!

The quick synopsis

Suits is a show about lawyers. It specifically revolves around two lawyers – one whose the ace in a big firm and one who gets hired by the ace; however, the one who gets hired doesn’t have a lawyer’s license. He uses his gift of having photographic memory to work as a “fake” lawyer in various cases.

My issues related just to the kdrama

1. The romance between Yun Woo & Ji Na felt super rushed. There was no build up – it just happened. The interactions between them felt super minimal. And then somehow, after maybe 2 dates, he decides to put a ring on her finger?
2. Most of the lawyer to lawyer interactions felt watered down. I felt like most of the interactions were “here’s an offer. oh no wait here’s a threat. okay fine I’ll take the deal”.
3. Similar to the second reason, I thought a lot of the character relationships were kind of bland. The character dynamics were a little boring. For example, Geun Shik’s competition with Kang Seok was pretty lackluster. The drama introduced Geun Sik and Kang Seok as rivals, but all Geun Shik did was put in small jabs here and there and give Kang Seok some snickering facial expressions.
4. The music selection was meh. No songs really stood out. When scenes got intense like when Yun Woo’s identity got exposed in the last episode.

To be quite frank, I had trouble staying focused or interested in some episodes.

Why I thought the American version was better

I must mention this: most of these reasons here are culturally based.

For example, American dramas don’t produce 1 seasons 16 episode dramas; your average American drama will last multiple seasons with some seasons having at least 20 episodes. The American version of Suits was 9 seasons so more detail could be added to plot and character development.

I felt like the kdrama version was trying to shove as much of the American version into one season as possible. So things like Yun Woo & Ji Na’s relationship felt really rushed.

Some other reasons:

1. The portrayal of practicing law is much better represented in the American version show. It’s not just about showing the long hours every lawyer puts in, but it’s also showing how dangerous and intense fighting for your client can be. And when it comes down to taking a show scene or act to an intense level, American shows do a much better job than korean dramas. You need that intensity in a courtroom and amongst lawyers. I mean. It’s an intense job in real life.
2. The American show does a much better job of portraying character growth and personalities. Geun Shik’s character is probably by far the most complex and the character who does the most growing over the drama. The American show does this way better than the korean drama. The same goes for Donna. She just felt so watered down in the korean version, but that could be because of how korean dramas portray a secretary.

But what about the good? Any good points for the show?

Yes. There were several things I liked about the show.

1. I liked how the show incorporated the Joker card as a way to connect Yun Woo’s friendship with Kang Seok. It honestly made the mentor mentee relationship so much more wholesome and relatable than the American version. Yun Woo was living his life like the Joker. He was the wild card at the firm in that he could at any point just corrupt the firm by exposing his fake identity or save the firm with his memory (luckily it ended up being the ladder). So him trying to find what “card” he wanted to be was enjoyable to watch.
2. Gi Taek’s second attempt at taking over the firm. For his first attempt, the korean drama version pretty much followed the American’s version. I won’t spoil it there but his second attempt was a refreshing take. He pretty much said “If I can’t have my own firm, I’ll put it into the ground”. That generated a lot of chaos in the end that I felt like the show desperately needed. I was paying way more attention to what happened in the last episode.
3. There no raunchy sex or nudity scenes. Any scenes of romance were cleaner in the korean drama version.

Quotes quotes quotes!

Can’t finish this review without leaving some good quotes from the drama.

1. “Life will not tell you where the destination is. Therefore, what changes your life isn’t a coincidence, but your choice.”
2. “The moment you fly up with wings called lies, you will not be landing.”
3. “If you have blind faith about your ideals, you’ll be betrayed by the reality”
4. “A choice always comes with a consequence”
5. “if we don’t know what pain is, how would we understand the person next to us?”
6. “I don’t want to be a card held in someone’s hand. I want to be the person who plays the game with those cards.”

If you had any thoughts you’d like to share on this kdrama, let me know in the comments below. I hope this Suits Korean drama review helped you in deciding whether or not to watch it.