As a long-time fan of the American original I had lofty expectations for Korea's remake and am happy to report it did not disappoint. K-TGW is very, very faithful to the source material, and maybe more significantly, it's also not afraid to go its own way. *Many comparisons ahead*. With regards to plots, K-TGW is a serious stickler to the original in ways that should thrill any Good Wife purist. It's abundantly clear the writers/producers *themselves* are highkey stans for TGW in light of the attention to detail in every reproduction of the original's greatest courtroom hits. K-TGW also deserves praise for being a masterclass in pacing. For those unaware, the drama spans *three seasons* of the original within 16 episodes. 16 EPISODES. Yet, by some level 10 sorcery, all major character/relationship arcs are completely cohesive.* Particularly, the transformation of Hyekyung (Alicia Florrick's counterpart) is absolutely seamless. (*The one glaring exception is the last act of the finale, which is weirdly ambiguous in a way that seems rushed rather than purposeful.) Maybe most importantly, the drama also stays faithful to the bisexuality of Nana's character, which was my #1 priority when I heard news of the remake. Where Korean TGW diverges from American TGW is in being a lot less cynical. This isn't a value judgment. I for one like my TV cynical, and I was honestly delighted by the corrosion of Alicia Florrick in the original's later seasons. Others hated it. Many read The Good Wife as a story of female empowerment and were not here for their heroine becoming a bad person and ending up alone. But I don't need female protags to be role models who can """represent""" every woman. I just need them to have fully realised journeys. In that sense, the Korean version takes the story back to its roots. Whereas American TGW built Alicia up and then tore her down, K-TGW portrays the rise of Hyekyung and makes that a self-contained story. The drama also fleshes out a proper redemptive arc to Joongwon that would make his blithely amoral American counterpart Will Gardner roll over in his jewel-encrusted coffin. Speaking of which: Alicia/Will was a tragedy of epic Greek proportions; Hyekyung/Joongwon is not. (Naturally, I was much more ruinously attached to the former. YMMV.) Meanwhile, Yoo Jitae's character is both more villainous and more appealing than Peter Florrick has ever been. Let it be known there was never any Peter stan-base to speak of. Yoo Jitae, OTOH, probably deserves one. I wouldn't necessarily call these changes an improvement per se. A happier story doesn't always equal a better one (just as a more grimdark story =/= more mature). The strength of storytelling is what really matters. What K-TGW does, though, it does very well. Whether you're familiar with the source material or not, this is one of the best dramas of 2016.