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The Devil Judge - Blog Posts
Top 10 K-drama Actors: Honorable Mention 2 Moon Woo Jin
The main reason why he’s not in my top 10 is because we have yet to see him flourish to his full potential, but I’ve known since The Beauty Inside that’s this kid is one of the most talented actors I’m going to see in my life.
We all know that if he’s listed in a tv show, there’s going to be some tragic past subplot and I can guarantee you, you will cry. That child can cry from his heart and make you cry along with him. And if he isn’t crying, his facial expressions and the way he tells the story will!
Just to list a couple of his works:
The Beauty Inside: Where he had to act like a grown up actress trapped in a child’s body. Hilarious and a great showcase of his talent.
What’s wrong with Secretary Kim? Where he portrayed the tragic past of Lee Young-joon (Grown up version portrayed by Park Seo Joon)
Psycho but it’s okay: Honestly, if you haven’t cried in at least one of the flashbacks or the combination of Moon Woo Jin’s acting with Kim Soo Hyun’s, you have my respect.
Come and Hug Me: Once again, playing the child version of the main lead, with an amazing performance. We also get the well known flashback combo of Moon Woo Jin (child) and Nam Da Reum (teen, btw, I should probably give him an honorable mention of his own, I actually considered putting the combo as an honorable mention).
This particular combo is also seen in What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, and pretty much any k-drama where the main lead has a tragic past that is well explored. Nam Da reum also has a bright future ahead of him as he’s headed into adulthood, and I hope I can see him in a lead role soon enough.
Top 10 K-drama Actors: Honorable Mention 2 Moon Woo Jin
The main reason why he’s not in my top 10 is because we have yet to see him flourish to his full potential, but I’ve known since The Beauty Inside that’s this kid is one of the most talented actors I’m going to see in my life.
We all know that if he’s listed in a tv show, there’s going to be some tragic past subplot and I can guarantee you, you will cry. That child can cry from his heart and make you cry along with him. And if he isn’t crying, his facial expressions and the way he tells the story will!
Just to list a couple of his works:
The Beauty Inside: Where he had to act like a grown up actress trapped in a child’s body. Hilarious and a great showcase of his talent.
What’s wrong with Secretary Kim? Where he portrayed the tragic past of Lee Young-joon (Grown up version portrayed by Park Seo Joon)
Psycho but it’s okay: Honestly, if you haven’t cried in at least one of the flashbacks or the combination of Moon Woo Jin’s acting with Kim Soo Hyun’s, you have my respect.
Come and Hug Me: Once again, playing the child version of the main lead, with an amazing performance. We also get the well known flashback combo of Moon Woo Jin (child) and Nam Da Reum (teen, btw, I should probably give him an honorable mention of his own, I actually considered putting the combo as an honorable mention).
This particular combo is also seen in What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, and pretty much any k-drama where the main lead has a tragic past that is well explored. Nam Da reum also has a bright future ahead of him as he’s headed into adulthood, and I hope I can see him in a lead role soon enough.
It's really hard to believe we now have korean dramas that doesn't focus on the romance, where you can ignore the romance if you wish and that the romance doesn't overwhelm the actual plot. For years I didn't have any interest in kdrama because it was always about "guy meets girl", if you see a guy standing next to a girl you already know where this is going, everybody is always falling in love all the time. Even when there was a good plot, it moved tangled in the romance, and it was really hard to watch if you are romance repulsed, don't like romance or are just really really tired of ships and couples. This is unprecedented.
gif: @dingyuxi
sorry if this has been said before, but from what we know now, yohan has been planning the move to switzerland since the beginning. in episode 4 is where the writer left the hint that ga on would be following yohan to switzerland and the overall meaning of it all is so romantic when you look at it. when i was watching, the camera/director never failed to show us that ga on never relinquished the watch, even when they were broken up or fighting. they always made sure to show us that the watch never left him.
and indeed, by ga on continually carrying the watch, he’s “living in the same time zone” as yohan; ga on never left yohan’s side. they were never apart and never will be again. so even if for now they are living in two different countries, they will always be in the same time zone as long as they have the watches.
i miss them like crazy
sunah and yohan
sunah is behind yohan because of her role in the story. she’s a bigger player than yohan initially realized. she’s behind his back and slightly above him, but he’s aware of her presence.
however, that’s also why she’s covering one eye. because yohan is blinded and cannot see the entirety of sunah’s plan. mainly because he didn’t know it existed in the first place. he only has one eye open because he can only see what he knows. she’s literally impacting his eyesight.
then, there’s the fact that she’s covering his right eye. the left has played a significant role in the show, with both gaon and yohan on the left. gaon, the precious sidekick who sits at the left, and yohan, who earns himself a scar on his left hand. soohyun was gaon’s right, but yohan is his left. this can also mean yohan has only had tunnel vision for gaon and his own plans for him.
gaon and yohan
their positions indicate one is more dominant than the other, but in this case, i think it’s more along the lines of gaon isn’t just a looming presence for yohan, he’s literally giving and the reason yohan has light on his face. but gaon’s back is turned away from the light and toward the darkness. this represent the story arcs each character goes through, with yohan walking into the light by the end of the show, and gaon having to walk through the darkness to get to a neutral, more hopeful place. he rises above despite the dark.
gaon and soohyun
similar to the middle poster, gaon’s back is turned away from the light while soohyun is facing it. she represents gaon’s hope, and she’s staring at gaon in judgment. gaon’s face is tilted down, almost as if he’s ashamed that she’s looking at him for choosing the side shrouded in darkness.
EXPERIENCE THIS GLORIOUS SCENE WITH ME.
yo han and elijah screaming for each other
jinyoung's range in devil judge rlly is so iconic they got that dude playing a orphaned high schooler troubled in the wake of his parent's violent deaths, a good-hearted stubborn judge who's got a weird hannibal thing going on w his boss, a gothic romance heroine mixed w belle from beauty and the beast, and saintly dilf kang isaac who's elevated to saint status by virtue of being the only semi-decent person in his family
The types of lawful husbands content we got in Episode 9 because we got fed a whole feast y’all!
I posted a fanfic for the first time in like 10 years if not more (it's more for sure, shhh), I'm very stressed. 👉👈 BUT The Devil Judge managed to get me to that level of obsession and I couldn't help it (also I started writing this before last weekend and I can't handle other eps airing and making me edit stuff ok).
Here's a lil Yohan/Gaon fic I guess?
Yohan calls him in many different, often infuriating, ways. There's only one that Gaon asks for. When he's ready.
The Devil Judge + The Five Homoerotic Love Languages (based on this tweet)
Kang Yohan: The Abyss
BRAIN SNIPPET……
*shaking screaming* (hootering and hollering) (a WIP that might be expanded on??? i haven’t properly written in ages idk if i can execute the vision)
HELP. Me. they are making me unwell 👆
and another lil segment. a treat.
(tagging a few people who i hope may be interested to see my writing maybe perchance >_< 🤞: @clawbehavior @gayautisticraccoon @gaylilsherlock )
toxic codependent familial dynamics this. toxic codependent romances that. what about toxic codependent coworkers. i can’t do my job without this guy here or i’ll kill myself.
yohan is Designed to be a morally questionable character. and if the audience is thinking about the context that gaon is given going into his position on the live court show, it makes complete sense that he holds a constant baseline of skepticism for yohan’s morality. from the very beginning, even when unprompted by min jungho, he questions why kang yohan would do things the way he does. the answer he’s given is “politics,” and honestly, if you think about the politicians yohan is surrounded by, the tactics they use, and the willingness yohan consistently shows regarding going to extremes to achieve his ends, it’s no wonder gaon never gains complete trust for yohan. the two of them start off from a place where gaon inherently distrusts yohan. while we can infer that yohan wants gaon’s approval deep down, he doesn’t necessarily prove to gaon that he’s totally trustworthy, nor does he really try or succeed at convincing gaon that there are lines he will not cross, and exceptions where he won’t do the extreme but potentially useful thing for his own benefit.
in any case, gaon does not blindly trust yohan, and this is as much the foundation for the initial success of their relationship (with yohan feeling uncomfortably seen and understood through gaon challenging his words), as it builds up for its ultimate deterioration (gaon suspecting yohan of killing soohyun and accidentally helping in framing him for her death). it’s a very real and human point of conflict between two individuals who obviously care for each other very deeply, but are unsure if they are totally aligned in their morals, values, goals. if anything, it’s a testament to the depth of their frankly-toxic relationship: they want so much to be able to trust each other / be trusted by the other, but being unable to reach that, in the context of surrounding limitations, leads them to (extreme?) behavior that they really don’t exhibit anywhere else. gaon — who has not only heard from others, but also seen first hand, how manipulative yohan can be — is trying very hard to not let himself be fooled, and so he holds extra paranoia and disbelief towards yohan that ends up skewing his judgment. gaon’s not perfect, but he is truly trying his best — especially with the consideration that he’s had it drilled into him by his long-time mentor and father figure that, in this position, he’s got the world on his shoulders.
The reason some people tend to find Gaon's reactions annoying, is because we as the audience always have information that Gaon doesn't.
Granted, we don't always know everything, but even what little what we do know, Gaon does not. Gaon is practically fumbling around in the dark throughout the show.
And when Gaon tries to find out anything, Yohan immediately shuts him down , Soohyun practically babies Gaon and tells him to stay out of trouble and Min Jungho is just a piece of shit.
What are obviously right choices to us is confusing to Gaon because the poor guy does not have all or even a little bit of any information at any point. And if he does, then someone manipulates or emotionally blackmails him into doing what benefits them.
If you look at it from Gaon's perspective the whole show is practically a horror tragedy instead of a thriller (with maybe a few days of peace in between before shit hits the fan. Again.)
why is skz hyunjin and chan’s new song “escape” genuinely So the devil judge gahan coded.
like. “by burning myself up i’ll melt your coldness,” “i can’t let you go ‘cause the world’s bout to break,” “i’ll take all this pain, can you promise me to give me all of you everyday?” LIKE. do y’all see that??? hello???
You’re hurting. You’re hurting so much you want to blame someone.
THE DEVIL JUDGE / 악마판사 (2021) dir. Choi Jung-kyu
Every time I'm mad at the government I put on The Devil Judge and I get instant catharsis. 10/10 would recommend this form of therapy.
no thoughts, head empty, only the devil judge ost playing in the background
this last addition is SO SO BARS i’m in love. yes, exactly; gaon chooses and thrives with the kangs from the start because that’s a place where he can comfortably act on his own based on what he wants and what he envisions. he has so much free will that he makes use of in that house, he has the chance to take charge in a way that he’s very comfortable doing, and he has so much influence on those around him — in contrast to his other relationships, where it is largely just him being influenced and affected by the choices and desires of the other person (min jungho, soohyun).
it’s honestly hard to blame yohan for wanting that family gaon had built up with them to be gaon’s first priority, but by pushing with that ultimatum — instead of, say, just talking to gaon and letting him make that choice — he’s effectively shown to gaon that even here, he does not have the power or equal standing to simply choose whatever he wants and be respected for it, not in the way gaon respects the decisions of the others around him (with a little nagging towards yohan sometimes but ultimately comes back to acceptance, at least up until that scene). and in being triggered into this realization, he pushes back against yohan, lashes out, walks away.
soon afterwards, he chooses soohyun, who dies barely an episode later. his choice is wrested away from him again by something completely out of his control, and it’s no wonder that being manipulated into thinking that there is, indeed, someone to blame for it, and that that someone is yohan, prompts such fury in him that he does go and confront yohan — who, actually, seems to understand and empathize with that anger very well, based on how he initially reacts to gaon trying to stab him.
gaon needs to heal and grow from this place of disempowerment, where his choices are so guided by those around him. he’s frankly a pretty static character throughout the show, and i think it’s done deliberately — that the people around him and his circumstances don’t allow him to really change or grow in a way that’s meaningful to himself. it’s only set up in the very end that he is entering new circumstances which will allow him to explore and exercise his power and free will. (god. i want a season 2 so badly.)
simultaneously, though, yohan is the same in some sense. despite how unilaterally he works and how in control of everything and everyone he seems to be, yohan is a man that’s been driven by his desire for revenge for years — that’s the ultimate “making choices based around the influence of others.” he needs to learn, too, how to take on a life he genuinely wants for himself now. in the time gaon spent with the kangs, yohan clearly realized how much he valued that sort of peaceful, domestic life with his loved ones; but yohan can’t rely solely upon gaon to realize that dream for him. if he wants it, he needs to put in the work to heal and prioritize that, too.
it’s why their choice to walk away / stay away from each other in the last scene of ep 16 is so powerful, in my opinion. no matter how much they still have left unsaid between them, and how deeply they still clearly care for each other, they know that both of them need to grow and heal in their own ways, separately. they want the best for each other — if not yet themselves — and so they choose to leave each other to their personal growing. to them, just getting to see one another, and ascertain that they are safe and healthy, is enough for now.
Kim Gaon as a character is so important to me.
This poor boy, whose parents committed suicide when he was so young, ends up being manipulated by almost everyone in his life who think they know what's best for him.
His mentor, who he saw as a father ends up manipulating him to further his own agendas and goals all while giving him the illusion of choice. Ga On has never truly had a choice.
And Soohyun too. Yes, she only ever wanted to keep him safe, and that is a nice sentiment, but in acting the way she did towards him she caged him in.
Maybe it's the Gemini in me, but if someone tries to limit my freedom of choice or influence my judgement in any way, I start to get suffocated. No matter what the sentiment behind their actions are. She didn't deserve the end she got, and she genuinely cared about Gaon but at the same time she ended up trying to influence him because she thought she knew what was best for him.
And then comes Yohan. Yohan is complicated (as morally grey characters tend to be), because for a good while in the beginning, he too tries to use (or at least wants to use) Gaon for his own ends.
But also, after he sees who Gaon truly is: a kind and caring and a firecracker of a soul, he is the first in Gaon's life to offer him a choice. And not the Min Jungho type of choice where it's just an illusion; but an actual choice.
And Gaon. Gaon only ever tried to do what he thought was right even while being pulled in a thousand different directions by different people. He tried so hard to make the right choices. He finally found the family he lost when he was young in Yohan and Elijah and Ms Ji. Lord knows I wouldn't survive if I found out that the fucker who drove my parents to suicide was living alive and well somewhere else with nothing on his conscience, and that I had been lied to for so long. And then, Soohyun, the last person who he has left from his past tied to his parents, his best friend, dies.
And then he loses his found family as well.
Kim Gaon, at the end of the show has absolutely no one left from his past; the Kangs, Soohyun, his parents and Min Jung ho are all gone.
All he has left is himself and a herculean task of rebuilding the justice system.
And how miserable must that be?
gaon as a character genuinely gets so little true agency of his own through the entire show, and it's something that he's clearly aware of and frustrated by. he's constantly presented with choices and ultimatums by those around him, his agency is continuously shot down and overruled by others, and despite how much he cares about each of them, every time it happens he ultimately demonstrates - intentionally or not - how much he hates that by immediately pushing back on whoever poses such limitation to him in the first place (re: soohyun telling him to stay back and let her handle digging into yohan's past -> gaon sneaking around yohan's house; min jungho pressing gaon to make his decision -> gaon siding with yohan; yohan telling him not to see soohyun if he wants to stay on his side -> gaon leaving the kangs).
in the end, all of those people are no longer actively in his life. he is alone and he must be independent, and it must make him feel so confllcted - that his having agency and free will is grounded in how those he cared for are unable to influence him anymore.
the only bright side of this is in kang yohan, who makes it clear through his actions in the end that he's consciously made the choice to give the agency back to gaon, to put the ball into his court. yohan chooses to take a step back, take his hands off, and let gaon choose what he does in rebuilding the system; he demonstrates his trust and faith that gaon will do it all well, teasing that he - a man "known" to be dead - will come back into the fray if gaon doesn't do a good job.
it must be so bittersweet to be kim gaon.
Kim Gaon as a character is so important to me.
This poor boy, whose parents committed suicide when he was so young, ends up being manipulated by almost everyone in his life who think they know what's best for him.
His mentor, who he saw as a father ends up manipulating him to further his own agendas and goals all while giving him the illusion of choice. Ga On has never truly had a choice.
And Soohyun too. Yes, she only ever wanted to keep him safe, and that is a nice sentiment, but in acting the way she did towards him she caged him in.
Maybe it's the Gemini in me, but if someone tries to limit my freedom of choice or influence my judgement in any way, I start to get suffocated. No matter what the sentiment behind their actions are. She didn't deserve the end she got, and she genuinely cared about Gaon but at the same time she ended up trying to influence him because she thought she knew what was best for him.
And then comes Yohan. Yohan is complicated (as morally grey characters tend to be), because for a good while in the beginning, he too tries to use (or at least wants to use) Gaon for his own ends.
But also, after he sees who Gaon truly is: a kind and caring and a firecracker of a soul, he is the first in Gaon's life to offer him a choice. And not the Min Jungho type of choice where it's just an illusion; but an actual choice.
And Gaon. Gaon only ever tried to do what he thought was right even while being pulled in a thousand different directions by different people. He tried so hard to make the right choices. He finally found the family he lost when he was young in Yohan and Elijah and Ms Ji. Lord knows I wouldn't survive if I found out that the fucker who drove my parents to suicide was living alive and well somewhere else with nothing on his conscience, and that I had been lied to for so long. And then, Soohyun, the last person who he has left from his past tied to his parents, his best friend, dies.
And then he loses his found family as well.
Kim Gaon, at the end of the show has absolutely no one left from his past; the Kangs, Soohyun, his parents and Min Jung ho are all gone.
All he has left is himself and a herculean task of rebuilding the justice system.
And how miserable must that be?
currently rewatching the devil judge as i study for a populism and democracy final and i think my next step might just be writing a fic where gahan just Talk and Argue about everything i’ve gotten out of all 75 of the readings that i need to review for this class
I have. Something to talk about and its very very VERY important.
We know that last scene of TDJ where its just PEAK yearning but can we PLEASE appreciate the micro-expressions that passed over both Yohan & Gaon's faces when they faced each other DIRECTLY after a MONTH (if im not wrong) of that whole blowing up fiasco + Yohan's arrest before that??????? Because my GOD.
So we see Gaon call Yohan by his Full Government Name™ (which wasn't very wise for a declared dead enemy of the state who is ALSO wanted but we'll let it pass for romanticisms' sake) and look at his face. His face is one of a scared man. He's not hesitant but he is afraid of how Yohan views him after what transpired between them.
In turn, Yohan looks back and well.
He is also somewhat apprehensive. They're both testing each other & the waters they're in. Although Yohan doesn't have a revenge vendetta shackling him down anymore, Gaon, on the other hand, has tremendous stuff to unpack. They're carefully, if not gently, evaluating the distance between them.
And then, Yohan gives a clear sign that he holds nothing against Gaon. An open arm, an open invitation. To join him? Maybe. To decide what to do with them? Perhaps. It's vague but it's also clear that Yohan is done manipulating Gaon & that he has left the ball in Gaon's court.
Then come the positive changes. With Yohan's green signal, Gaon is somewhat relieved but also incredibly guilt-ridden. I think these frames speak for themselves.
The wet smile & the eye crinkles. He is so relieved to be in Yohan's good graces but also just looking at Yohan be his ever glowing self after serving his life's purpose.
Yohan. My dearest Yohan. Look at him. He's equally heart-broken to be seeing Gaon like this, to be leaving him behind but that little nod he does???? Like he's made a decision that he needs to stick with for the betterment of Gaon???? That's what truly gets me. It's so clear the distance between them is hurting him but he also knows that it's necessary to give Gaon space & time, to unravel & to explore things on his own. Perhaps another assumption on his part because who truly knows what Gaon wants except Gaon himself?
Then it's a brief look exchanged. As he turns, giving Gaon one last reassuring smile as he turns and leaves behind one of the most important people to him.
And gaon watches. Look at his micro-expressions here. Look at his breathing. His sagging shoulders. His eyes. His wet smile. His balled hands. His tiny nods.
He also thinks this is necessary but you can so clearly see its taking every bit of nerve & fiber in him to stay rooted to his place & not chase after Yohan. He's DELIBERATELY not taking a single step towards Yohan. He thinks he doesn't deserve to chase after him, that hes content to see Yohan: alive, well and so utterly free. That's all that matters.
I would genuinely like to appreciate both jinyoung and jisung for their acting bcs they NAILED the raw emotions needed for this absolutely stunning yet gut wrenching scene. It's so difficult to convey such complex emotions through such little means yet they did it to PERFECTION. They both gave their characters LIFE. And for that i will always be grateful bcs i dont think anyone else could've done Kang Yohan and Kim Gaon the way they did.
I really am a sucker for dual male lead media where they appear as complete opposites only to end up being eachothers foils and somehow also ending up being completely depended on eachother despite of (because of) their differences
The political plotline of TDJ was lowkey out here endorsing (at the very least sympathizing with/explaining the logic behind) terrorism as a tactic against a fascist oligarchy which hides behind populism for legitimacy, and, as a political science/international relations student in the US, I’m kinda fascinated by that.
In the first episode, we see a lone-wolf terrorist attack against the Supreme Court building after the warrant for Joo Il-do’s arrest is dismissed, a sign that the government was likely to be lenient against this CEO despite the wishes of the people. Leaving out the actions taken by our main characters in response and what that tells us about the priorities of the protagonists, we then see in the same episode a complete reversal of that expectation that the government will disappoint the people, when Kang Yohan sentences the guy to 200-something years in prison.
A key part of the logic behind terrorism (please don’t put me on a watchlist I’m just currently taking a course on insurgency and terrorism for my major) is the cost-benefit analysis of whether or not you can 1. draw sympathizers and supporters to your cause through a violent action that sends a message to an audience beyond the actual victims, and 2. through that support, coerce the targeted government into changing policy or action.
Yohan demonstrates with his harsh ruling against Joo Il-do that, in a Korea under his interpretation of the rule of law, the government will respond to violence done on behalf of “the people.” It’s no wonder the far-right populists of their society — Jukchang TV and crew — immediately gravitate to him, hailing him as a savior and a man of the people. And it’s no wonder that public opinion sways in his favor, since he capitalizes on the very real and valid pain that they feel when he showed that he was sympathetic to the sort of cause (like the one upheld by the bus driver earlier in the episode) that they would feel sympathetic to, even if the majority of people would not act in the same way.
The key point that surrounds the at-least-perceived success of terrorism as a tactic here is that Heo Jung-se has enacted every populist tactic in the playbook to assert his leadership. He claims that his (oligarchic, fascist) country is a democracy, that he is a ruler “for the people.” A leader chosen by “dear, respectable citizens.” His use of in-groups and out-groups in condemning criminals (migrants, foreigners, etc. etc.) while placing the “true-blooded Korean people” as sovereign, and ultimately creating the impression that it is the common people who hold power in society. Kang Yohan reinforces the idealistic part of these populist ideas to the public with his performance in the Live Court Show: he adamantly takes the side of the people in each case, and harshly punishes all who the people deem guilty on their behalf — and the people eat it up because it feels like hope that they really control their government.
Another thing about terrorism: it’s most useful as a tactic in democracies where the people are able to place real pressure upon their governments, where the displeasure of the people will lead to policy change. Heo Jung-se created a perception of his society as one of that kind, and in Kang Yohan, we find a man who enables that belief — even if in reality it is, also, mostly for personal motives. And we see in Kim Gaon, by the last episode, a man who is desperate enough in his fight against the corrupt government (and also just, y’know, generally in his life) to use terrorism as a tactic once again to place pressure, in the context of how he’s developed under Yohan’s influence over the course of the show — followed by the final trial by Yohan, who has straight up been planning to resort to terrorism all along, apparently.
I’m still really quite curious as to why the writer chose (and was allowed to choose, frankly LMAO) to end the storyline there — with a story that has left off with messaging that essentially equates to Terrorism Works (but only in a society that is already so used to violence that it can see some types of motivated violence as gratifying and, therefore, Not Horrific), especially with the nod to Gaon sticking around in politics and bureaucracy — and Yohan encouraging him to do so — after the fact. It’s a nod to the reality that even for those who use terrorism as a tool, they know reconstruction will be done “legitimately,” that non-legal violence can only be used as a tactic for so long before the return to legal routes is necessary in order to rebuild. But it’s definitely really interesting to think about how TDJ points out the usefulness of terrorism as a tactic in democracy — though I’m still not completely certain why, or whether the writer intended this as a commentary for Korea, or for the rest of the world…
Could go on a whole other ramble on why this is relevant to modern politics but I’ll stop there tonight, I reckon.
TLDR:
The Devil Judge is an excellent study on how terrorism Can be used against a fascist + populist government, yes.
Is the moral of The Devil Judge that, in order to beat fascists, you have to blow them up? Because I’m down.