“Phantom Lawyer” (신이랑 법률사무소)

By Jae-Ha Kim
Teen Vogue
May 6, 2026

☆☆☆½ (out of ☆☆☆☆)
Shin Yi-rang (played by Yoo Yeon-seok)
Han Na-hyun (played by Esom)
↑Note: Korean names denote the surname followed by the given name.

Some people mistakenly describe K-dramas (even the best K-dramas) as soap operas. While daytime shows certainly exist in Korea—typically airing Monday through Friday for about 50 to 200+ episodes—the K-drama umbrella covers a multitude of genres. There’s crime (Signal), fantasy (Alchemy of Souls), medical (Hospital Playlist), slice of life (Our Blues), time travel (Lovely Runner), reincarnation (See You in My 19th Life), legal (Extraordinary Attorney Woo), historical sageuk (Moon Embracing the Sun), zombies (Kingdom), horror (Strangers From Hell) and more.

This year has already been a strong one for K-dramas, with top stars like Squid Game’s Park Hae-soo and Mr. Sunshine’s Yoo Yeon-seok starring in two of 2026’s best shows. It has also been a year where Kim Mu-yeol and Heo Nam-jun became international stars, thanks to their latest shows.

In one of the most delightfully clever K-dramas of 2026, Yoo Yeon-seok portrays Shin Yi-rang, a smart attorney who no one will hire. Why? Because his now-deceased father had been accused of being a corrupt prosecutor, and no law firm wants to have their company associated with those allegations. Eventually, Yi-rang opens his own practice in a shabby space that had previously belonged to a shaman – an intermediary between the dead and the living. This plot device is used to explain why his undead clients need him to get justice for them before their spirits can rest in peace. Yi-rang tries to keep his I see dead people experiences to himself for obvious reasons.

But when he opens up to fellow attorney Han Na-hyun (Esom) and his brother-in-law Yoon Bong-su (Kingdom’s hilarious Jeon Seok-ho), the Scooby Gang tackles the most fascinating and often heartbreaking cases, including the death of K-pop idol trainee, a gangster who wants Yi-rang to prove he died due to medical malpractice, and the kidnapping and murder of a young child who’s not sure he’s even dead. At various points, the clients jump into his body so they can enjoy one last meal, help solve the cause of their own death, or say goodbye to a loved one. And it’s in those moments that Yoo excels as Yi-rang—offering a few moments of life to give them the closure that they need. (Netflix, Viki, Kocowa)

Airdates: Sixteen 70-minute episodes aired from March 13 through May 2, 2026 on SBS. (I watched this on Netflix.)

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