Good plots, real situations South Korean Kdramas definitely got me hooked and so far, I have really enjoyed most of those I've watched. It is true that I have only focused mainly on crime and legal stories (Kcrimes?), plus a couple of comedies. What I appreciate most is their fresh approach, dedicated development of complex characters, and sharing of cultural and social differences that increase our understanding and affection for the world around us. And, actors usually are competent in fulfilling their job. Their most significant con is the average duration of 16 hours episodes to solve a single case, covered partially many times with an exaggerated number of twists, flashbacks and -sometimes- a touch into fantastic genre. But, with some exceptions which make you loose time and confidence, you find many still worthy, whenever those 'tricks' do not affect characters development, coherence and credibility.
Strangers (bimilui soop, Secret Forest) is no exception. It takes place in a legal environment where -almost a stereotype common to other series- corruption is important, focusing on existing conflicts in the criminal justice system. Police, prosecutors and judges (its three pillars), plus politicians, are in a permanent fray; not so much because of the cases they deal with but because of the aspirations for power of each other. In particular, the second season delves into the competition between Police's and Prosecutor's HQ to obtain the greatest share of power in the investigations, influencing their attributions to deepen into or merely archive the cases. Politicians and public opinion also compete in the background through media and social networks.
It should be noted that, although in each episode there is a warning that facts are not linked to real situations, this debate has already been in force for a decade in South Korean society. And, most relevant in my opinion is, that it only not provides an uncomfortable view of the prevailing level of honesty, but courageously warns us about an issue of global scope. At least in democratic societies, at criminal courts with accusatory-type procedures, where most of the time the judges (the Judiciary) intervenes as a simple ratifier of an agreement between parties or just do not act - as cases are filed by prosecutors without further proceedings -. Briefly, where justice without judges is too much common. South Korea probably won't resolve the issue soon, but it's good to recognize it is not theirs only. However, please be indulgent, as situations within such widespread corrupted environments make the chances for a tiny amount of 'heroes' to attain the desired justice -even survive in the process- doubtful.
As a perk, and to avoid the required words minimum requirement, I also recommend The good detective (bomeomhyungsa, Kinda Bad Guy ), Inspector Koo (gugyeong-i, The 'wonderful' Sight, "manga-metaintei" styled), Witch's Court (manyeoui beobjeong), Juvenile Justice (sonyeonsim pan) and, of course, the only 10 episodes of Extraordinary Attorney Woo (isanghan byeonhosa u yeong-u - warning: it's not a Kcrime). On the other hand, I do not recommend Awaken (najgwa bam, Day and Night), as plot consistency is lost after episode 9, holes pile up, characters' personality becomes blurred and the entire story is lengthened with many unnecessary and non credible twists. Or Behind your Touch (hiphipha ge, Hallo Hip), a far-fetched fantasy proposal where all coherence is lost after the writers decided to resolve sooner -and forget after everything about- the main corruption scandal, left unexplained the complicity silence of the main person of interest and, probably, changed their mind about who was the real -and unplausible- murderer when the series was arriving to its end. Finally, avoid Vagabond (baegabondeu), an unfinished story with a disorder of kinda plot's genre schizophrenia that goes nowhere.
PS: I don't know if some subtitles are translated directly from Korean or through English. I don't have a problem with it, but I prefer a reliable phonetic translation of proper names from languages that use a non-Romance script. In Spanish and other similar languages, Koo or Woo should simply be replaced by Ku and U, Lee by Li (or, better, just a highcaped i), etc. It is uncomfortable having to handle three languages simultaneously, especially when one hears one thing and something different is shown on the screen. Fortunately, Stranger is not much affected by this annoyance.