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| Actors Kim Min-jung, left, and Ji Sung pose for pictures during a media conference for the tvN series "The Devil Judge," Friday. Courtesy of tvN |
By Lee Gyu-lee
TvN's new dark protagonist series "The Devil Judge," starring Ji Sung and Kim Min-jung, has kicked off to a good start with its first two episodes scoring above a 5 percent viewership rating.
The series premiere, aired Saturday, saw a 5.6 percent rating nationwide, followed by a 5.1 percent rating for its second episode, Sunday.
Scripted by former judge, Moon Yoo-seok, who is the creator and scriptwriter behind the JTBC series "Ms. Hammurabi," the new drama is set in a fictional dystopian Korea.
Two years after the country has been swept by a mysterious plague, it implements a new justice system in which court trials are broadcast live to the public. Viewers can access an application to vote whether they think the defendant deserves sentencing or not, for judges to take into consideration in their rulings.
Kang Yo-han (Ji) is the star chief judge of the new system, who is merciless in punishing the "bad." Though many see him as a just, ruthless judge, his true face as a cold-hearted, evil-minded man surfaces when social foundation director Jung Sun-ah (Kim) and rookie judge Kim Ga-on (Jin Young) come into his life.
Actor Ji said he was drawn to the role when he read the script. "Kang Yo-han is a judge who punishes evil with evil. I was fascinated by such concept, and wanted to play the character," he said during a media conference for the series, Friday.
"Writer Moon had been telling me that since he covered stories about good judges in Ms. Hammurabi, he wants to portray an evil judge, acting like a Batman or Joker, set in a fictional world. And he finally made it into a series."
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| A poster for "The Devil Judge" / Courtesy of tvN |
Director Choi Jung-gyu, whose work includes the MBC mystery series "Children of Nobody," noted that the series questions the growing popularity of shows about a dark hero, such as recently wrapped "Taxi Driver" and "Vincenzo."
"Most dark hero series have action and are about fighting bad with bad. But with this series, the writer is making us think, 'Why are people crazy about dark heroes," he said. "The central theme which will be laid out through Ji's character is the biggest difference between our drama and previous series."
Ji said that he had a hard time studying the role at first. "I had trouble understanding the character… (at first) I thought of the character as a good person who embraces evil. But he is just evil," he said. "Depending on the perspective, the evil character wasn't just fascinating but was depressing and agonizing."
Ji and Kim have reunited with this work about 13 years after they co-starred in the romance series "New Heart." The two expressed their chemistry has gotten better than the last time they worked together.
"I've always thought I wanted to work together again," Kim said. "We have grown a lot since the last time. Even with the complex scenes, we would just exchange few words and be good to go, which gives me huge satisfaction."
Ji added: "I was so happy (to work) with her again. It was nice how we could rely on each other throughout the production."
"The Devil Judge" airs on Saturdays and Sundays at 9 p.m.
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