Beyond the Bar (2025)
Review of Beyond the Bar / 에스콰이어: 변호사를 꿈꾸는 변호사들
If you’re new here, and stumbled upon this blog through the mythical powers of the Internet, welcome! I know a lot of visitors to my website are people who randomly come upon this website through search engines like Google, but I also do have a lot of visitors who come back. Regardless: my name is Ashley, and I started this blog in order to keep track of everything I’m coming across in the world.
For the longest time I was starting all of my blog posts with about how I was unemployed, but this is one of the first ones I’m writing where I am employed. I think I’ll end up doing a blog post about being a blogger with an 8-5 job and the time constraints that have come with that somewhere down the road, but it’s been interesting trying to find balance these days.
Anyways, this blog post is about a show I was watching right as I started my new full-time job. I spent a year off being somewhat unemployed (I literally applied to 300+ jobs throughout late 2024 to mid 2025 because I was looking to make more income than what I do as a content creator—I crave stability), and I was working on the blog a lot and watching a ton of television and movies during that time.
But when I started Beyond the Bar, I wasn’t at my job yet, and by the time it was finished I was wrapping up my second week in this job. I was learning how to find balance and catch up with my Korean drama episodes, as I wasn’t used to my time being so limited. I was very much used to the freelancer/contractor/self-employed kind of routine and being able to do whatever I wanted when I wanted.
Law Korean dramas can be hit or miss to me if we’re going to be honest. It can go either way, but I find that they can be really repetitive if you don’t find a happy balance between a unique storyline. That’s what made dramas like Extraordinary Woo so appealing, and others just tend to fall in a very comfortable rhythm that can get boring if you’re looking for something new.
Some I don’t finish, but Beyond the Bar was unique enough and caught my eye throughout each episode in a way that made me want to continue. Let’s get into the review now before I start rambling too much! I know introductions can get quite long.
A young rookie lawyer is brought into a new firm, where she finds mentorship in her new partner at the firm.
Our main character in this drama is Hyo-min, who, as a young hotshot lawyer, has been catching everyone’s eye ever since she started her professional career as a lawyer in school. On the day of the interview at Yullim Law Firm, everything seems to go wrong with her, and when she comes in late and disheveled, she’s dismissed immediately from the interview because of how unprofessional she seems.
However, she’s given a shining second chance and brought back into the room, then she charms the panel into letting her become a lawyer officially at the firm. When it comes time to pick in what kind of aspect of the firm’s legal side that she wants to work in, she finds herself in the same team as Seok-hoon.
She’s the only one who wanted this team as her first choice, but, as we see throughout the course of the series, her bright mind and go-getter attitude has some shaping up to do when it comes to actually being efficient as a lawyer. She’s eager to learn and do things at the firm, but she certainly has a lot to learn.
Each episode has a focus on a different kind of case. From a failed relationship and sexual exploitation to medical cases, there are a lot of different scenarios packed into these cases. Although I personally have watched a lot of Korean legal dramas and studied/lived in Korea (Busan + Seoul) throughout my lifetime, I would say I know a little bit about the legal system (beyond being turned into drama/entertainment), but several of the topics discussed I was not familiar with.
I think what was really interesting to me as a viewer personally was how this show reflected current ideals in Korean society. As someone who specifically studied Korean women’s issues and literature during the colonial period, it was fascinating to see these kinds of issues specifically being brought up, such as in the case where the ex-girlfriend of a more influential man finds herself in a case against him based on his behavior.
Personally that was one of my favorite episodes because of this, but each episode brought something new to the table for sure. Seok-hoon, whose back story we get to learn about throughout the episodes, is a character that we grow to love the more we elarn about him. He’s a bit of a tough guy at the beginning of the series, but we see why later on.
Overall Thoughts
I would say I enjoyed this drama a lot when I was watching it. Lately I’ve been in a mood where if I am not vibing with a drama, I tend to drop it after a few episodes. I always try to give a show a few episodes because the pace and story might pick up in a productive way for me, otherwise it doesn’t feel fair to just drop it after a singular episode.
What I’m trying to say is that because I didn’t drop this show exemplifies that there’s something interesting in it. It’s not just a show about Hyo-min’s journey of becoming a competent lawyer. There are other side plots about her, Seok-hoon, and the people they’re interacting with, which makes a comprehensive look at everyone involved in this world.
And that makes a fairly solid legal drama. If the focus were more tightened around the law firm I don’t know if I would have enjoyed this as much. I liked being able to see life and the cases beyond the main two leads. Pacing was fairly solid for this show in general, which is always nice to see.
I say give this one a chance if it interests you! In the United States it’s available here on Netflix, but I’m not sure where it would be available where you’re reading from (if you’re reading from somewhere else). With only twelve episodes, you could easily watch this in two weeks if you want to space it out as an episode every day before bed.
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