Reasons Divorce Lawyer Choi Yu-na Wrote Divorce Drama “Good Partner”

“For the past five years, I’ve devoted all the time outside my lawyer tasks to writing dramas. It makes me feel like taking a bar exam again” – This is the confession of Choi Yu-na, the writer of SBS’s Fri-Sat drama “Good Partner”.

Choi Yu-na is a lawyer specializing in divorce cases. The struggles of divorce lawyers in the drama, which were written based on her real experiences, not only drew empathy from the viewers but also thrilled them, making “Good Partner” one of the most popular dramas at the moment.

“Good Partner” depicts hot and cold stories centering on Cha Eun-kyung (Jang Na-ra), a star lawyer who devotes herself to divorce lawsuits, and Han Yu-ri (Nam Ji-hyun), a new lawyer who prioritizes her emotions. Airing the first episode on July 12th, “Good Partner” stared with 7.8% then surpassed 10% in episode 3. Its ratings continued to rise to 13.7% and 12.1% in episodes 4 and 5, respectively.

Aside from ratings, the drama also aroused many hot topics and topped the popularity chart of TV dramas released by Good Data as well as drama popularity rankings on OTT platforms such as Wavve and Netflix. Due to the 2024 Paris Olympics, “Good Partner” has canceled three weeks of broadcasts. During the break, writer Choi Yu-na revealed various stories about the drama production.

● Lawyer Choi Yu-na: From webtoon stories to dramas

Before writing drama scripts, Choi Yu-na already showcased her writing skills through the webtoon “Marriage Red” in 2018. Written based on her experiences as a lawyer and her daily life, the webtoon attracted readers by introducing various divorce cases beyond what had been shown in dramas. Later, she expanded her writing areas to dramas. “Good Partner” increases viewers’ immersion by portraying the intense daily lives of divorce lawyers and stories of people facing divorce from different perspectives.

Having prepared for “Good Partner” for more than five years, Choi Yu-na expressed her happiness upon receiving favorable reviews from viewers, saying “I’m feeling this kind of happiness for the first time. I guess people resonate with the drama a lot because the stories are realistic.” As for memorable reviews, Choi Yu-na listed some reactions and comments, such as “nice and spicy”, “highly immersive”, “thank you for breaking the stereotypes and prejudices with realistic episodes”, “the secret of divorce lawyers has been revealed”, etc.

Choi Yu-na then mentioned the opportunity that made her, a divorce lawyer, become a drama writer. Revealing that she received a proposal to write a drama based on the webtoon “Marriage Red”, she continued, “Like Han Yu-ri in the drama, I became a lawyer in my 20s and have dealt with many cases so I experienced a lot of confusion and conflicts. As I grew up, I thought I should share what I felt with many people”.

● Why the characters of Jang Na-ra and Nam Ji-hyun are opposite?

Writer Choi Yu-na explained that she focused on showing “realistic dilemmas” while writing this drama. 

She said, “I hope viewers could indirectly experience the job of a divorce lawyer and see the process of people going through to divorce. I believe that this might help prevent the thought of divorcing to some extent”, adding “Also, I also want people to know that we should not judge other people’s lives recklessly and that being different from each other can also make us grow.”

For this reason, Choi Yu-na created completely opposite character settings for Cha Eun-kyung and Han Yu-ri. 

Many viewers were impressed by the clear contrast between Cha Eun-kyung, who is cold-headed and values efficiency, and Han Yu-ri, who is emotional and full of justice but struggles with issues in reality.

The writer also expressed her satisfaction after watching the actors’ performances. She shared, “I can’t help but admire Jang Na-ra’s acting”. In the case of Nam Ji-hyun, she said, “She’s the passionate Han Yu-ri herself”.

Episode 6 of “Good Partner” will air at 10 p.m. on August 16th.