We welcome back the amazing cartoonist and South Korea expert Ryan Estrada  (https://www.ryanestrada.com/) to discuss this truly inspiring biopic that is “not about” (wink and nudge, folks) the early years of future 9th president of South Korea and human rights activist Roh Moo-huyn, then a tax attorney who is compelled to defend a number of teenage students who are arrested and imprisoned without warrants on fabricated charges of being communist sympathizers. 

Fortunately, this is not at all timely, and we live in the U.S.A., so we can’t relate to people being detained without reason and hopped-up charges of aiding and abetting vague enemies in order to scare and intimidate everyone else into obeying in advance. 

We discuss the reason why South Korean filmmakers prefer “based on a true story” for their biopics, talk more about Ryan’s superhero wife (and co-author) Kim Hyun Sook, and, of course, whether there’s anything to ever be hopeful about ever again.  Cut for time (probably for the best): Sara’s theories about Mattress stores being a front for criminal activities. 

We unabashedly loved this movie and its performances by future Parasite star (and the Tom Hanks of South Korea) Song Kang-ho and K-Pop idol and Squid Game star Im Si-wan, and desperately needed its message about how one person’s actions can change the world. 

ALSO: Ryan has a new book out with aformentioned superhero wife Kim Hyun Sook: Good Old Fashioned Korean Spirit (Penguin Workshop) which can be procured at Bookshop.org or from any of the other major book suppliers who absolutely do not need us to link to them. 

The Attorney stars Song Kang-ho as Song Woo-suk, Kim Young-ae as Choi Soon-ae,  Oh Dal-su as Park Dong-ho, Kwak Do-won as Cha Dong-young, Im Si-wan as Park Jin-woo, Lee Sung-min as Lee Yoon-taek, Jung Won-joong as Attorney Kim Sang-pil, Song Young-chang as Judge, and Jo Min-ki as Prosecutor Kang Young-cheol.

Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.

Our theme music is by Ben Patch: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5BB01QpPE7HBGacGAlullu?si=gp_6jbvsThWXg_sSLVcv6Q

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