Joseon Attorney: A Morality (2023) Episode 3-4

We open with a flashback, rewinding to the late king’s death. A young Yeon-joo had been the first to find her father’s corpse, and she’d cleverly squirreled away a book that he’d left behind — a book of the law — from under Councilor Yoo’s nose. Even back then, she’d known to be wary of him.

In the present, Yeon-joo gives the book to Hyul, urging him to gather loyal followers and use the law as his sword. She knows just the perfect weapon — Kang Han-soo. The only problem is: how can she win him over?

 

Since a leak has sprung on their boat, making it uninhabitable, Han-soo and his assistant DONG-CHI (Lee Gyu-sung) end up moving into a room in the merchant house, oh-so-kindly provided by Yeon-joo. (She’s very delighted about this, of course.)

Han-soo’s hilariously innovative solution nets him an easy income from his first client, but it doesn’t make him any more receptive to Yeon-joo’s wish for him to take her under his wing. In the face of her persistence, Han-soo presents her with a test.

Holding up his coin pouch — a keepsake from his late mother, though he doesn’t reveal that — Han-soo proclaims it his reason for becoming an attorney. He challenges Yeon-joo to make her own pouch and determine what she wants it to hold, leaving her baffled. Neither Yeon-joo nor Lady Hong are particularly good at needlework, ha.

Meanwhile, Han-soo continues his quest for revenge. In an effort to curry Councilor Yoo’s favor, a freshly-demoted Commissioner Park hosts an extravagant banquet, which Han-soo sneaks into after stealing the clothes off a servant’s back. Notably, Ji-sun is also in attendance at the banquet due to his father, but he’s clearly displeased by the Hungu faction’s blatant corruption.

Though Han-soo gets close enough to spike the drinks of his enemies — Councilor Yoo, Commissioner Park, and Judge Choo — he quickly abandons the tempting prospect of his poisoning plan. Mere revenge isn’t sufficient for him, since he needs to uncover the reason his parents were unfairly framed.

We get our case of the week in the form of LADY YEON (Bae Hae-sun), a lodger at the merchant house. She’s the wife of Commissioner Park, who doesn’t even bother to hide his adultering ways. Despite the humiliation, Lady Yeon endures his cheating — until she finds out that he’d caused her diabetic father’s death by offering him sweet confectioneries.

That’s the last straw for Lady Yeon, but her attempt to stand up to Commissioner Park only earns her a vicious beating. By the time Yeon-joo finds out, Lady Yeon has already lost all hope. She can’t even seek legal recourse, because divorced women are viewed as utterly shameful — worse than the lowest rung of society.

For Han-soo, who has been searching high and low for a chink in Commissioner Park’s armor, Lady Yeon’s case comes as a golden opportunity. Despite his initial rebuffs because it’s near-impossible to win the case, once Han-soo realizes Lady Yeon’s identity, he’s practically tripping over his feet to defend her.

Furthermore, Yeon-joo ends up making her pouch out of Lady Yeon’s torn sleeve. Just as Lady Yeon must have wiped her tears with it countless times, Yeon-joo tells Han-soo that she wants to fill the pouch with people’s tears — so that she can put a smile on their faces instead. Wahhh, my heart.

Yeon-joo entreats Han-soo to be like a handkerchief to those who have been wronged — after all, that’s what the law is for, isn’t it? Her earnest plea moves Han-soo, and he officially takes on Lady Yeon’s case.

However, a clash of principles soon threatens to tear our duo apart. Han-soo’s willing to take any measures necessary — including breaking Lady Yeon’s leg — to guarantee his chances of a win. Naturally, Yeon-joo refuses to subject Lady Yeon to even more pain.

Yeon-joo insists on keeping their hands clean and their conscience clear by going through the appropriate legal channels, but Han-soo points out that the institution of marriage itself works out overwhelmingly in the husband’s favor. With such an uneven playing field, how can Lady Yeon possibly win simply by following the letter of the law?

Their contradicting stances lead to a fallout, with Yeon-joo firing Han-soo from his position as Lady Yeon’s attorney. The two resolve to investigate on their own, hoping to build a solid case with their own methods.

Realizing that Commissioner Park’s mistress — the gisaeng MYUNG-WOL (Roh Haeng-ha) — is a key witness in this case, both Han-soo and a cross-dressing Yeon-joo seek her out (separately, of course). They attempt to bribe her with gifts, though she seems resolute in her loyalty to Commissioner Park.

Worse yet, Commissioner Park is no easy target. First, he has Lady Yeon framed and arrested for adultery. Then, with Judge Choo’s backing, he sends an attorney out to “help” Yeon-joo. On top of that, Commissioner Park also arranges a meeting between himself and Han-soo, which the latter quickly realizes is actually a trap.

 

Han-soo pretends to be intimidated by Commissioner Park’s status, acting subservient and enduring a dinner table full of misogynistic husbands. Plying Commissioner Park with a steady stream of alcohol, Han-soo plants a seed of doubt in the cheating man’s mind. Is Myung-wol truly as trustworthy as he thinks? Why, just the other day, he saw her with Lady Yeon’s attorney!

Han-soo’s words successfully incite fury in the drunken man, and Commissioner Park lashes out at Myung-wol, inadvertently choking her to death. In the face of Han-soo’s horrified shock, Commissioner Park insists on covering up the crime scene and disguising it as a suicide — inadvertently revealing the methods he used on Han-soo’s late mother.

In the wake of this incident, the spy lawyer finally strikes, running off with all their painstakingly collected evidence. This, coupled with the tragic death of Myung-wol, pushes Yeon-joo to her breaking point. She’s realized that her idealism is no match for this cruel world — Han-soo had simply been playing by its twisted rules all along. Realizing that she and Lady Yeon need his help, Yeon-joo releases paper lanterns into the sky in a bid to call Han-soo back.

So, where is Han-soo? Well, after Commissioner Park left the murder scene in a huff, Dong-chi carried the limp Myung-wol out while Han-soo furiously scrubbed the blood away. Unfortunately for him, he got caught by the suspicious Master Jo. Now, Han-soo awakens tied up on his own leaky boat, adrift out at sea. With a bit of determination, he manages to get out of his rope bonds, but there’s nothing he can do about a boat that can’t sail.

Just as Han-soo is about to accept his untimely end, Yeon-joo’s lanterns reach him. Knowing that he has to get back to shore and defend Lady Yeon, Han-soo jumps into the water while clutching a gourd as a makeshift buoy, though it takes him forever to actually muster up enough courage to make the leap. (“One! Two! Two…two…two! Two…”)

There’s just one problem — Han-soo can barely swim. Oh, and there’s a hole in the gourd. HAHAHAHA. Flailing desperately, Han-soo can’t quite manage to keep himself afloat. The stab wound in his chest, inflicted by Master Jo, doesn’t help matters. Gradually, Han-soo loses strength, sinking into the ocean’s depths.

But never fear, Yeon-joo is here! Having noticed the gourd bobbing on the surface, as well as Han-soo’s frantic signal flare from the previous night, Yeon-joo bravely dives into the water to rescue her attorney. With that, Yeon-joo and Han-soo arrive at the trial in the nick of time, sopping wet but determined to see this through.

Thankfully, incorruptible judge Ji-sun is the one presiding over this case. He isn’t swayed by Commissioner Park’s retinue of noblemen testifying in his favor, instead maintaining fairness as he hears Lady Yeon’s side out.

Although a divorce suit seems like a losing game, Han-soo has a trick up his sleeve. The state can mandate a divorce if one spouse has committed a conjugal betrayal — and with that, Han-soo accuses Commissioner Park of violating his duty of filial piety to his in-laws. Commissioner Park splutters in indignance, but who should arrive to back Han-soo’s words up than Myung-wol, seemingly back from the dead.

Myung-wol exposes Commissioner Park’s attempt on her life, his hand in his father-in-law’s death, as well as his greed for Lady Yeon’s house and land deeds. With his crimes laid bare for public scrutiny, Commissioner Park ends up flying into a rage, revealing his true colors as he desperately tries to justify his selfish materialism.

Faced with the irrefutable evidence against Commissioner Park, Ji-sun’s decision is clear — Commissioner Park is guilty. Not only did he frame Lady Yeon in order to steal her assets, but he’s also culpable of murder. Commissioner Park is hauled off to prison, and Han-soo wins his case.

 

In the wake of the trial, Lady Yeon and Myung-wol have a touching moment of forgiveness and closure. Myung-wol also expresses her gratitude to Yeon-joo, since it was ultimately Yeon-joo’s sincerity that swayed her over to their side.

Sure, Han-soo’s strategy may have saved her life — it turns out that the fake blood had been a ruse suggested by Han-soo, and her “death” had awakened her to the awful nature of her lover. However, what truly inspired Myung-wol to testify was Yeon-joo’s gift of a business permit. Yeon-joo had urged Myung-wol to pursue her passion and open a cosmetics business, so that she could be self-sufficient rather than relying on a fickle and disloyal man. Aw, I like that Myung-wol’s story ended on a note of empowerment, validating Yeon-joo’s earnest idealism.

Afterwards, Han-soo pays Commissioner Park a visit in prison, but he’s one step too late. Commissioner Park is already dangling from the rafters, in an eerie echo of Han-soo’s mother.

Once again, a member of the Evil Triumvirate meets his demise. It may seem a little morbid to say this, but I’m enjoying how poetic their deaths are, mirroring the atrocities they committed on Han-soo’s parents. Having beaten Han-soo’s father viciously, Master Jang was bludgeoned to death; having staged the suicide of Han-soo’s mother by hanging, Commissioner Park dies with a noose around his neck. It’s a visual representation of their crimes causing their own downfall, and I’m eager to see what else karma will bring.