The Law Café: Light-Hearted Romance or Breaking Stereotypes?

KBS2’s trending drama The Law Café has been viral among drama fans from the start, gaining a 7.1% national rating for its debut episode, and its most recent episode (episode 12) is again at sixth place, with a rating of 6.5%. So, what is the key to success? While The Law Café appears to be a lighthearted romantic comedy featuring prominent faces like Lee Seung Gi and Lee Se Young, it is different from similar rom-coms for several reasons.

The Storyline

The story revolves around a female lawyer named Kim Yu Ri who takes cases to fight injustice. Yu Ri suddenly quits her job as a lawyer in a law firm, one of the highest paying jobs in Korea to make a bet with her life like you can do in CaptainCooks casino Canada. She starts a ‘law café,’ where she is meant to provide legal advice over a cup of coffee. She decides to rent a floor in a building owned by her close friend Kim Jong Ho. After lots of problems, she finally starts taking up customers and solving their cases. She quickly gains popularity, making her venture profitable. 

Sweet Romance

In just 2 episodes we get to know that Jong Ho has a 17 years-old crush on Yu Ri. As is the rule of romance dramas, Yu Ri starts catching feelings for Jong Ho. With her careless and reckless attitude, she quickly tears down Jong Ho’s walls and pushes him to surrender to his long unrequited love. 

Issues Raised 

Many issues are presented gradually, much like the fluttering romance that surrounds the whole story.

Protectiveness vs. Trust

As Yu Ri makes enemies with the high society people, Jong Ho gets anxious about her safety and wants to protect her by staying with her 24×7. Yu Ri gets annoyed and tells him to trust her rather than being anxious and as a strong woman, she can handle herself. Jong Ho understands the meaning a few days later and decides to trust her and let her live an independent life. In the second couple, Do Jin Ki and Han Se Yeon, we can see this too.

Intimacy

Yu Ri’s bed regulations written in a contract paper may sound funny, but these rules are about the way you can talk about mutual pleasure with your partner freely.

Consent

Yu Ri kisses Jong Ho rashly, but after handling a case involving consent and sexual harassment, she apologizes to Jong Ho for not obtaining his consent and asks him not to take legal action.

Keys to a Healthy Relationship 

Though it is okay to take romance dramas as it is, the subtle changes in the usual love trope are always interesting and a sign that society is changing its viewpoint on a relationship. The very real relationship between Jong Ho and Yu Ri can be your alternative to the dreamy romances of previous times.