This article is mostly about the writer of Secret Forest who is a brand new writer, Lee Soo Yeon. She has been very reticent about sharing personal details, however, and had made it a condition of the interview that her picture not be taken nor her age mentioned.

The article talks about how Secret Forest has really struck a chord with the Korean viewers. Part of that has to do with recent scandals in the prosecution service, including the real life formation of a Prosecution Task Force to review corruption. Also, having a lead character who is unable to feel emotions due to a surgery as a child also created interest.

The acting of Cho Seung Woo and Bae Doo Na is praised as well as the directing and editing work. However, what really makes this drama stand out is the writing. The writer has been praised for her ability to write tight scripts which utilize twist and twist to create and maintain suspense through the episodes.

There had been rumors about the writer, including that she had worked in the Prosecution Service herself because the details that she has put in are so good. However, it turns out that she was an ordinary office worker who quit in order to try to become a drama writer. She has prepared 5 or 6 treatments so far. her debut work is the Secret Forest which has been in preparation for 3 years. She recently signed on with Signal Entertainment which is also the agency for Song Sung Hyeon, Kim Hyun Joo, and Choi Jung Ah.

The writer said “Have you heard the adage ‘When you point a finger at someone, the index finger is pointing at that person, but the rest of the fingers are pointing at yourself.’ That’s what I was trying to show in the Secret Forest, that everything was caused by oneself.”

While the scenes and characters may seem real, especially given the nature of the collusion between prosecutors and corporations, but the writer has said that Lee Chang Joon is not based on any specific person, though she did take recent prosecution sponsor cases as an inspiration.

The article talks about how there the material and genre are actually common in dramas currently, but that this drama has enjoyed success from the start. The final episode recorded 6.6% based on AGB Nielson. But that the drama is not just about getting to the answer, but about how the characters related to each other as well as how they fit into the drama. They mention that the title reflects the situation in the drama. That the prosecutors and their incidents represent a huge, dense forest that ordinary people can’t see into, and that the protagonists are the ones to expose the deepest parts of this forest.

LCJ’s final letter resonated with people. His letter had said that corruption isn’t just harming people, it’s killing them, and the time had come to speak up and point it out, hoping that his actions would be the start of the process. People had wanted to hear real prosecutors say the words that Lee Chang Joon and Hwang Si Mok says and felt a catharsis on hearing them.

HSM, the hero prosecutor is not a hot-blooded crusader. He is an extremely rational figure, weighing everything before making any decisions and willing to consider only the facts. The writer wanted to demonstrate the value of a steady step toward the truth without preconceived prejudices towards justice and injustice. And next to HSM there is Han Yeo Jin who is warm-hearted and able to communicate with others.The two of them create a contrast between thoroughness and sensitivity.

The writer wanted to show a character who does his work and accepts full responsibility for his results. Since while dramas are full of prosecutors who are exceptionally brilliant and passionate in spectacular cases, but in reality, there are more people who are just ordinary workers.

Outside of Hwang Shi Mok and Han Yeo Jin, the writer tried to create characters who are true to their natures. For instance, Seo Dong Jae who supposedly turns a new leaf after witnessing the death of LCJ eventually reverts to his character. Rather than having anything be formulaic such as that the wicked have to be like this or they have to be like that in order to be righteous, the characters all have a logic unto themselves.

Finally, HSM’s final smile left a deep impression on the viewers who speculated whether that was an indicator for a season 2. The writer has said, however, that the ending is not meant to be an open ending leading to a season 2. And, that so many things would need to come together to make a season 2 feasible. However, she was flattered that fans wanted it. And, grateful that her work was received so well by viewers.