Ms. Hammurabi

Ms. Hammurabi^[2] (Korean: 미스 함무라비) is a 2018 South Korean television series written by Moon Yoo-seok, the chief judge of Seoul Eastern District Court, and starring Go Ara, Kim Myung-soo, and Sung Dong-il.^[3][4] It is based on the screenwriter's own novel of the same name, which was first serialized in 2015 on The Hankyoreh and was later published in paperback form in 2016 by Munhakdongne Publishing Group.^[5][6] It aired on JTBC from May 21 to July 16, 2018, every Monday and Tuesday at 23:00 (KST) for 16 episodes.^[7]

Ms. Hammurabi
Promotional poster
Also known as	Miss Hammurabi
Hangul	미스 함무라비
Revised Romanization	Miseu Hammurabi
Genre	Legal drama
Based on	Miss Hammurabi by Moon Yoo-seok
Written by	Moon Yoo-seok
Directed by	Kwak Jung-hwan
Starring	Go Ara Kim Myung-soo Sung Dong-il
Composer	Choi Chul-ho
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	16
Production
Executive producers	Ham Young-hoon Jang Kyung-ik Kim Woo-taek
Producers	Kim Da-yea Kwon Ji-young Park Woo-ram Shin Yoon-ha
Production company	Studio&NEW[1]
Original release
Network	JTBC
Release	May 21 (2018-05-21) – July 16, 2018 (2018-07-16)

The series was well received by viewers for its fresh perspective on judges, as well as its honest depiction of adversities in modern-day Korean society.^[8][9]

Synopsis

The series tells the story of the life of judges and the various disputes that they have to settle.^[1]

Cast

Main

• Go Ara as Park Cha Oh-reum, a passionate and idealistic rookie judge who stays by her beliefs and stands for justice.
• Kim Myung-soo as Lim Ba-reun, an elite judge who prioritizes principles and sticks to the rules.
• Sung Dong-il as Han Se-sang, a down-to-earth chief judge with years of experience and knowledge who understands the harsh realities of life.
• Ryu Deok-hwan as Jung Bo-wang, an elite judge from Department 43, beside Department 44, who knows almost everything about everyone.
• Lee Elijah as Lee Do-yeon, a stenographer for Department 44 who has a secret nighttime job.

Supporting

• Lee Tae-sung as Min Yong-joon^[10]
• Lee Jae-woo as Judge Cheon Seong-hoon
• Ahn Nae-sang as Chief presiding judge
• Cha Soon-bae as Sung Gong-choong
• Lee Won-jong as Bae Gong-dae
• Kim Hong-fa as Chief Judge
• Lee Cheol-min as Maeng Sa-sung
• Yum Ji-young as Yoon Ji-young
• Lee Yea-eun as Lee Dan-di
• Kim Bo-yoon as Han Seo-yeon
• Kim Ji-sung as Kim Da-in
• Kim Hyun as Park Cha-oh Reum's aunt
• Kim Young-ok as Oh-reum's grandmother
• Park Sun-cheon as Lim Ba-reum's mother
• Ko In-beom as Lim Ba-reum's father
• Cha Soo-yeon as Hong Eun-ji
• Lee Kan-hee as Park Cha Oh-reum's mother
• Hong Hee-woon as Lawyer Go Jin-tae
• Kim Wook as Lee Ga-on
• Son Ji-yoon as Lee Myung-soo's wife

Production

• Ms. Hammurabi was planned to be 100% pre-produced.^[11]
• This series reunites Sung Dong-il and Go Ara who previously worked together in Reply 1994 (2013) and Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth (2016).
• The first script reading of the cast was held on January 16, 2018.^[12]

Original soundtrack

Ms.Hammurabi OST
Soundtrack album by Various artists
Recorded	2018
Genre	Soundtrack
Language	Korean English
Label	Music & New Studio & New

Part 1

Released on May 21, 2018 (2018-05-21)

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"Like that day" (그날처럼)	Hwang Seon-ho	4:22
2.	"Like that day" (Inst.)		4:22
Total length:			8:44

Part 2

Released on May 28, 2018 (2018-05-28)

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"Everyday with you" (일상그리고너)	Illuwa band	3:59

Part 3

Released on June 4, 2018 (2018-06-04)

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"Someday, Somehow" (언젠가어띻게든)	U-Mb5 (ft.Hodge)	4:26
2.	"Someday, Somehow" (Inst.)		4:26
Total length:			8:42

Part 4

Released on June 11, 2014 (2014-06-11)

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"You are the apple of my eye" (내눈의사과입녀다)	U-Mb5 (ft.Sam Carter)	3:49

Part 5

Released on June 25, 2014 (2014-06-25)

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"Ususu" (우수수)	Haru	4:39

Disc 2:

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"Code of Hammurabi" (Opening Title)	Various Artists	3:03
2.	"Amor Fati"	Various Artists	3:48
3.	"Book Store"	Various Artists	2:46
4.	"Cider Attack"	Various Artists	1:55
5.	"Hello"	Various Artists	3:04
6.	"Miss Hammurabi"	Various Artists	4:12
7.	"Melody of star crossed lovers"	Various Artists	2:42
8.	"Melody of star crossed lovers (Piano ver.)"	Various Artists	5:31
9.	"Misstic"	Various Artists	3:48
10.	"Season of Star"	Various Artists	3:08
11.	"The Typewriter"	Various Artists	2:21
12.	"Tears of a City"	Various Artists	2:33

Viewership

Season		Episode number																Average
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
	1	782	1124	1181	1071	1056	1165	1025	1133	1004	867	840	818	699	928	1155	1234	1005

Ms. Hammurabi : South Korea viewers per episode (thousands)

Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.^[13]

Average TV viewership ratings

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share
		Nielsen Korea[14]		TNmS[15]
		Nationwide	Seoul	Nationwide
1	May 21, 2018	3.739%	4.179%	3.7%
2	May 22, 2018	4.553%	5.201%	4.8%
3	May 28, 2018	5.045%	5.487%	4.9%
4	May 29, 2018	4.924%	5.147%	4.1%
5	June 4, 2018	4.735%	5.049%	4.8%
6	June 5, 2018	5.083%	5.612%	5.2%
7	June 12, 2018	4.475%	4.726%	4.4%
8	June 18, 2018	4.523%	4.660%	4.7%
9	June 19, 2018	4.495%	5.053%	4.6%
10	June 25, 2018	3.838%	4.262%	4.0%
11	June 26, 2018	3.867%	3.946%	4.1%
12	July 2, 2018	3.763%	3.825%	3.9%
13	July 3, 2018	3.438%	3.704%	3.3%
14	July 9, 2018	4.121%	4.494%	4.2%
15	July 10, 2018	4.490%	5.354%	4.5%
16	July 16, 2018	5.333%	5.916%	5.6%
Average		4.401%	4.788%	4.4%
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. This series aired on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS). Episode 7 did not air as originally planned on June 11, 2018, due to news coverage of U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's summit in Singapore. The episode aired the following day.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
2018	6th APAN Star Awards	Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries	Go Ara	Nominated	[16]
		Best New Actor	Kim Myung-soo	Nominated

References

1. Na, Won-jeong. "Film studios see TV as the future: As movie sales slow, creators have big ideas for the small screen". Korea JoongAng Daily. JoongAng Ilbo. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
2. "Ms. Hammurabi". JTBC Worldwide. JTBC Content Hub. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
3. Hong, You-kyoung. "JTBC to air legal drama written by a judge". Korea JoongAng Daily. JoongAng Ilbo. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
4. Kim, Seul-ji. '미스 함무라비' 고아라·엘 캐스팅 확정…新법정물 탄생 예고(공식). Naver (in Korean). Maeil Broadcasting Network. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
5. Moon, Yoo-seok. "문유석 판사의 미스 함무라비 (Judge Moon Yoo-seok's Miss Hammurabi)". The Hankyoreh Serials (in Korean). The Hankyoreh. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
6. 미스 함무라비 (in Korean). Munhakdongne Publishing Group. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
7. "Miss Hammurabi' to search for warmhearted justice". Kpop Herald. May 21, 2018. Archived from the original on May 21, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
8. "Real-life judge behind 'Miss Hammurabi'". Kpop Herald. June 18, 2018. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
9. "Go Ara shares feelings on 'Ms. Hammurabi'". Kpop Herald. July 17, 2018. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
10. "Lee Tae-sung to Star in JTBC's "Miss Hammurabi"". HanCinema. Nate. Archived from the original on May 23, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
11. Park, Gwi-im. "고아라X엘, JTBC '미스 함무라비' 주인공 확정…5월 편성 [공식]". Naver (in Korean). TV Report. Archived from the original on January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
12. Hyun, Ji-min. "'미스 함무라비' 고아라X김명수X성동일, 대본 리딩부터 터졌다". Tenasia (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on February 12, 2018. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
13. "Nielsen Korea". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 19, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
14. "Nielsen Korea". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
15. "TNMS 홈페이지에 오신 것을 환영합니다". TNmS (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
16. "이병헌·손예진·아이유 APAN스타어워즈 노미네이트". Star News (in Korean). September 27, 2018. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2018.

External links

• Official website (in Korean)
• Ms. Hammurabi at IMDb
• Ms. Hammurabi at HanCinema