First of all, I think this is one of the (if not the only) dramas that I have watched where you can learn something that you can apply in real life. I really really cannot believe this drama has been around for almost 4 years now and I've only decided to watch it now. To be completely honest, the main reason why I wanted to watch this is because I am currently obsessing over Lee Jong Suk after completing W, and boy was I not disappointed at all.
At first, it seemed kinda dragging, but it's not the drama's fault at all. The problem was with me. I was looking for something that would compensate for what was lacking in the latter episodes of W, which was romance. But then I realized, this was a 2013 drama, where knives had to be censored and people were a lot more conservative then than now.
I may be biased, but I think Lee Jong Suk was perfect for this role. He had conveyed the emotions effectively. Overall, I'm giving this drama a 9.5 because though it is not perfect, I love how everything came together in the end.
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The story is original and unpredictable, however what really sucks you into are the characters. None of them is your typical hero or heroine. Obviously there's still a drawn line between protagonist and villlain, but you won't find perfectly moral and just people who always fight for the right. And that's what makes it so interesting, the inner conflicts of each character and their relationships with others and the law as well.
Lee Bo Young does an incredible work with Jang Hye Sung. I'll admit that I had a problem with her character in the beginning, but as I started to see her layers I started to appreaciate, and even like her prickly yet quirky personality. Also, althought the first drama I watched with Lee Jong Suk left a bad taste on my mouth, I still managed to like his skill and his character as well. He did a good job.
Kudos for Yoon Sang Hyun who did a good job as Attorney Cha haha Sometimes he was irritating and obnoxious, but in the end we all knew he was a good person. He also was a good contrast with Hye Sung's detached (at first) approach to her job. As for Jung Woon In, his villain at first seemed kinda generic and uni dimensional, however as the episodes went by we start to see his real self and motives. Obviously nothing excuses what he did, but at least you feel bad for the guy and even shed some tears.
My only problems with this drama were only two: the lack of both romance and a good represation of law. I know I'm not an expert, but some things were kinda cringy to watch, especially coming from people who are, supposedly, impartial and unbiased. As for the romance, I admit I'm a huge sucker for fluffy and squee-worthy moments, but I can kind of understand since the main focus of drama seems to be on the law/mystery/thriller aspect. Still, the small amount of moments was good.
Also, I don't have a problem with age gap, and even if you have don't worry too much because that isn't even the focus (althought focusing more on it would be interesting for the drama).
The music was good but forgetable. I like OSTs that not only are good, but also make me want to download it and listen, hence the slightly low (compared to the other aspects) grade.
Overall it's a very good drama. Not my favorite, but good anyway and I guess I'll rewatch it one day, more than once actually. It has a good feeling to it despite it's heavy themes, so it's pleasant to watch.
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Fun to Watch, Hard to Take Seriously
I really wanted to love this drama, I truly did. It actually starts very strong, with an interesting backstory and a premise that immediately grabs your attention. The pacing in the beginning is good, the cast is impressive, and the drama does a great job building tension and emotional intensity early on.However, as the story progressed, I started to feel increasingly frustrated with the mechanics of the plot, especially the legal aspects. For a drama that revolves heavily around court cases and the legal system, the lack of realism becomes very noticeable. Many of the cases simply don’t make logical sense from a legal standpoint, and it becomes difficult to stay invested when the courtroom situations feel so unrealistic.
One of the biggest examples of this is when Park Soo Ha is tried for murder even though the only evidence found is a severed hand. With modern forensic science, this kind of situation felt completely ridiculous and really broke my immersion in the story.
The drama also makes some questionable writing choices when it comes to the characters. The male lead searching for his “first love” by randomly following strangers in the street felt strange and unrealistic, especially considering things like the internet or simply searching by name would exist. It’s even harder to believe when the story expects us to accept that he could recognize her face after meeting her only briefly as children many years ago.
The female lead’s character development was also confusing at times. As a child she was brave and admirable, but as an adult she initially comes across as extremely rude and arrogant. She often behaves like a snob, even in simple situations where basic kindness would make sense. While her flaws could have been interesting for character growth, the way they were written sometimes felt exaggerated.
Another strange point is how she becomes a public defender despite being portrayed as a rather incompetent lawyer. The drama tries to justify this with her personal story, but realistically it would have made more sense if she had stronger professional credentials to support that position.
That being said, the drama is not without its strengths. The villain is genuinely compelling and creates a strong sense of tension whenever he appears on screen. His performance was easily one of the best parts of the show. Some emotional moments also land very well, particularly the death of Jang Hye Sung’s mother, which was one of the most powerful scenes in the drama.
The show also mixes in comedy and lighter moments, which helps keep it entertaining even when the plot starts to feel shallow. The actors do a good job with what they’re given, and their performances are often what keeps the drama watchable.
My biggest disappointment, though, was the lack of chemistry between the main leads. While I could clearly see the male lead’s devotion and love for the female lead, I never felt the same emotional intensity from her side. Because of that, it became difficult to fully root for their relationship.
The story overall isn’t terrible, but it relies heavily on common drama clichés, including things like amnesia, which didn’t really add much depth to the narrative.
In the end, I finished this drama mostly because I’m a completionist. If I had put it on hold, it probably would have stayed there forever or eventually ended up on my drop list. I managed to finish it, but it definitely wasn’t an easy watch for me.
Overall, I Hear Your Voice is a drama I would still recommend if you’re looking for romance, some action, and a few entertaining moments. However, if you’re expecting a serious or realistic legal thriller, this probably isn’t the best choice. With how many strong legal dramas exist today, there are definitely better options in that genre.
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Anyways, I really liked the story. You know, law and order, the boy trying to keep a childhood promise, and the girl becoming lawyer...It is sweet and touching.
No need to mention that all three leads' acting-chemistry was really good. Yoon sang- hyun, I love you! ^^
and Lee Jong Suk, he just cries so good that when I see him crying my eyes become watery,too. -.-
THe only problem is in the second half of the drama, the story kind of loses its' spark and we have long,unnecessary episodes..I think the writers wanted to show us Soo-ha's growing up and I admit that it was necessary for the plot.
But, that murder case and love interests between these three took slightly different twists than I expected so, honestly I had to skip some parts.
I have to give it to them though, I did like the final.....^^
One last thing is....there is one specific OST which I listen to at certain times...It is so emotional that I would love/want to meet the composer so much...That music fits the story so well...*.* Maybe that's why I keep remembering this drama.
P.S. The poster is very beautiful and meaningful,right?
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Shades of justice.
Drama, supernatural rom-com fictional story, don't count only on that. This story tells how hard is to forgive some one. If you think justice have only one shade, then you must watch all episodes. Stubborn nature of human for revenge, only take person to destruction, loneliness. How injustice can destroy the families, shown beautifully. Hope you guys love this series.Acting, direction, casting is fabulous. Key point in this drama is story. How story turn your view about all characters shown beyond the expectation.
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i just loved❤❤ watching it!!!!! must watch!!!!
anyone who is reading this i have only one thing to tell you.... you should totally watch this❤❤❤❤❤ … it just just a prefect mix of story acting music just everything it will keep you engaged and curious about it... I just love😍😍😍❤❤ watching it …. it exceed every expectation i had and just made me thing why didn't I watch it earlier …it is full with everything you want to see in a drama.... every character in the story is shown such beautifully and there was plenty of character development throughout the story it kept me engaged and it was interesting to was it.....
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The acting was impressive. Lee Jong Suk stole my heart! The first drama i have seen with him and for me it's his best drama even now at the end of 2016 it is still his best. The female lead is a great actress i love her, i love them both XD
The music 10/10 the OST is now 3 years later still in my head...lol.....
Rewatch Value- no comment,i have watched it more than 20 times... young or old just watch it if you are 28, 30,40,50,60,100 or more and think you are too old for K-dramas you are not... WATCH IT, YOU WONT REGRET IT!
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This drama was recommended and as I was open to recommendations, I went in with little knowledge of the story other than a brief summary indicating it would revolve around law. After episode six, I desperately appealed to people who have watched this with one simple question "does this ever get good?" I feel people who don't get the rave reviews asked the same question. The whole drama in general has a feel good lackadaisical aspect about it. The law is poorly done, the characters uninteresting and there is little to cling to. I was told the characters are very compelling. Yet, you have a pretty boy highschooler crashing on his "noona" who helped him like 10 years ago, I'm surprised he remembers her. Unsurprisingly, the "noona" happens to be a pretty lawyer who is hired for no reason at all. She is neither qualified nor has taken her job seriously prior to that point. Then is the innocent lawyer Cha who is actually, the only character I felt any affection towards. The acting though is decent, nothing worth raving about. I've seen them all in different dramas before and the feeling is the same.
The selling point could have been the villain, who is the best actor in this alongside the mom. However, he is such a nonsensical villain who up to episode 10 has no backstory hence rendering anyone who can't tolerate this anymore, disinterested. It starts with him committing a murder which is never explained. He then nonsensically wants to kill the girl/later woman who witnessed his murder and testified against him. What makes even less sense is that no preventative measures are taken by this little girl and her family to prevent any future mishaps. I'm just saying if I testified against someone and they yelled they were going to kill me. I would not only expect witness protection but I would appeal to the government and relocate somewhere! Plus, evidently, you can now burst into a courtroom and just testify.
It would have been great if the villain plotted his revenge well, but it's not that any of his actions are done well. It's that the officers and system is so terribly incompetent that I just don't get it. That is unintentionally incompetent. The drama doesn't portray it so but you find yourself wondering why no one is investigating shit or even finding very blatant evidence that I as a viewer could find...
I honestly have so much more I can write about especially in regards to how incompetent they are as lawyers and what a dumb law system that is that seems to pardon people based on reasoning rather than evidence. My 5 is generous.
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When I read the intro for this drama I liked the whole concept idea for a moment thought it would be a nice twist to the regular K-dramas with a hint of police work (You know something like CSI). But truth be told it was far away from my expectations.
The acting was well done, nice amount of humor, not enough "police feeling" and perhaps too much DRAMA. I don't regret watching it, but I would definitely not watch it again at least in like 20-30 years from now. This could have been completed on a 16 episode series 17 tops. The last one for sure it was a waste of Time.
But... I guess as a drama addict you must face all kind of dramas.
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Terrible Writing, Acting, Directing and Story...So, What Is There to Like?
“I Hear Your Voice” is a series that never seems to be able to figure out what it wants to be. Unfortunately, this becomes even true of the characters, who don’t know who they want to be either. The writer took many liberties for this story, even going so far as to make up things just to make the story work. This is one of the cardinal “sins” of writing. Always write about what you know. And never change a character for the sake of the plot.Many K-Dramas successfully blend various genres such as comedy, drama, romance, and even thriller-aspects. Most of the series I’ve watched do this extremely well. This is one of the few series that does this very badly. It uses comedy when something isn’t funny. It uses romance when things are cheesy and not even romantic, and it completely undervalues the killer of the story, causing him to tap-dance around in order to prolong his presence in the series for no real reason. At first, he seeks to kill. Suddenly, he completely changes tactics and wants to be understood. I've never even read about REAL killers doing things like this!
We also have some of the absolute worst acting performances from an ensemble cast that I’ve seen in a very, very long time. Everything from hamming up scenes to overacting, to being completely disingenuous are just a few of the major mistakes this cast makes. Usually, it’s only one or maybe two actors who are weak. In this series, only one or two actors are actually strong and believable.
The story is an intriguing one in which Park Soo Ha and Jang Hye Sung are brought together one fateful night when Min Joon Kook slams into Park Soo Ha’s car and proceeds to brutally murder Park Soo Ha’s father right in front of him. Park Soo Ha himself was about to be killed as well until a young Jang Hye Sung witnesses the crime and proceeds to take photos and be a witness to the crime. This brings about an ominous threat from Min Joon Kook who swears revenge upon Park Soo Ha and Jang Hye Sung, whom he attempts to strangle to death in the courtroom.
Years later, Park Soo Ha is a high school senior who has never forgotten Jang Hye Sung and what she did for him. It’s also obvious that he’s very smitten with her. Park Soo Ha is also a young man capable of reading people’s thoughts. Obviously, this can be very unnerving for anyone who knows of his ability. He trains hard in fighting, knowing that one day, Min Joon Kook is likely to come looking for him as well as Jang Hye Sung. Coming across her, he begins to follow her, especially after learning that Min Joon Kook has been released from prison on “good behavior.”
Jang Hye Sung becomes a public defender. Not because she feels any sense of responsibility, but because she feels she can do the job. And “doing the job” entails lazily arguing for a lighter sentence. She never believes her client and simply feels that her only “duty” is to get a reduced sentence for them. She’s incredibly immature, conceited, and believes that the whole world revolves around her. She’s vain and has no problem showboating when she’s defeated anyone in court. If something goes wrong, it’s always the other person’s fault. She loves playing the victim. If someone lies, she holds a grudge. If she lies, she feels justified. She’s a true hypocrite in every sense of the word. There isn’t much that’s likable about Jang Hye Sung.
Cha Kwan Woo is a mousy, sheepish man who’s dropped out of the police force in order to become a public defender. He seems to have high values despite being a very wishy-washy shell of a man. He constantly looks as though he’s on the verge of tears, and he’s immediately infatuated with Jang Hye Sung. A real head-scratcher is why anyone would be enamored with Jang Hye Sung! And we’ve got an absolutely ludicrous triangle involving these three characters, when none of them are worth it.
There are some serious plot problems in this series. At one point, Cha Kwan Woo feels compelled to defend Min Joon Kook when he’s caught for murdering Jang Hye Sung’s mother. Of course, Min Joon Kook comes up with a ridiculous story, and Cha Kwan Woo buys it. The real problem, however, is that at this point in the story, Cha Kwan Woo is dating Jang Hye Sung. And yet, at no point, is a “conflict of interest” raised by anyone! Mr. Shin, the veteran of the public defenders, cowardly removes himself from consideration rather than realizing that it’s his job to take the case. Of course, Cha Kwan Woo is so gullible, one has to figure out how this man could ever be a public defender, let alone a police officer. He also has zero police skills! At one point, he sneaks up on Min Joon Kook to capture him—from the side! Anyone with peripheral vision (and supposed police training) would never do that!
Another ridiculous point in the story is that Min Joon Kook cuts off his own left hand—with a 15cm knife! I’m not sure the writer had any notion of just how painful and difficult it would be for anyone to try and cut off their own hand with such a blade. They try to justify it with a pitiful demonstration that nobody with a brain would ever buy!
At one point, when Min Joon Kook is suspected of being murdered by Park Soo Ha, a witness claims to have seen Park Soo Ha, and yet nobody goes out to speak with the witness or even bring the witness to court until nearly after the fact. Talk about lawyers not doing their job! I had no idea they were so incompetent.
We have judges who roll their eyes and show emotion in court (something judges are not allowed to do!) during testimonies. We also have jurors who constantly nod their heads at every, single thing. I’ve served on juries. Jurors don’t do that, and certainly not all of them at the same time!
The courtroom scenes are just about the worst I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot in movies and TV shows. It all played out like a bad soap opera by directors and writers who haven’t a clue what really goes on in a courtroom and what court proceedings and protocols look like. I especially laughed at Jang Hye Sung wearing miniskirts to court. Somehow, I don’t think a judge would allow that kind of attire.
This is the first series I’ve seen with Lee Bo Young, and she is just plain awful. She can’t seem to find the fine line between being comedic or being dramatic. I understand that her character is supposed to be haughty, but she comes across like a spoiled high school prom-queen, constantly flipping her hair and giving snide remarks. In short, she’s just not believable in any aspect of her character. She’s absolutely clueless. She also has zero chemistry with anyone in the series. She reminded me of Denise Richards, one of the worst American actresses (or any actress!).
Yoon Sang Hyun (Cha Kwan Woo) is almost as bad. He often says his lines with a wooden expression as though he’s reciting a poem in front of a school class. I understand that his character likes Jang Hye Sung, but acting like a 15-year-old milksop is hardly the way to endear the viewer. He’s simply pathetic despite his ideals as a lawyer being very noble.
This is the second series I’ve seen with Lee Jong Suk (first being “Hymn of Death”). He’s easily the strongest of these three. He reminds us that his character is a good six or seven years younger than Jang Hye Sung, but he also comes across as easily the most mature of the three. While he’s prone to losing his temper, he’s also the most levelheaded. However, his age and lack of world experience prove to be his weaknesses. Lee Jong Suk juggled this complex character rather well.
I’ve seen Jung Woong In (Min Joon Kook) in a number of series. He’s good a playing the villain or the antagonist. However, he really hammed up and overacted his role in this series as he was obviously trying to find the line between a sadistic killer and a sympathetic victim. He’s prone to shouting way too much—especially when his character wouldn’t—and spewing ridiculous nonsense in his tirades. I would have preferred a calmer and cooler killer who revels in his intelligence rather than some madman.
Yoon Joo Sang (Mr. Shin) and Kim Hae Sook (Jang Hye Sung’s mother) were easily my favorite performers of the series. We had some peripheral characters, such as Park Soo Ha’s high school companions, who brought absolutely nothing to the story. I had a hard time figuring out if Kim Choong Ki was his friend or not, since they were constantly engaging in fist fights. So much for being friends.
The writer was clearly making it up as you go along without any notion or idea about how things actually work in the real world much less the courtroom. Perhaps the writer watched too many dramas and thought, “Hey, I can do this!” Wrong.
The music was equally bad, playing light, fluffy songs at points when something dark and sinister was about to happen. That made no sense either. The series failed as a romance, failed as a comedy, and only barely stayed afloat as a thriller. This “ship” should have been sunk before it ever left port.
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