Like many a Korean screen lawyer, Han-soo is handsome, confident and possesses a photographic memory of the day’s legal code. He also has a secret motive, as we soon find out that he has specific Hanyang targets in mind, the painted portraits of which hang on a wall in his dwelling – this is where the revenge comes in.

These targets are the people responsible for the deaths of his poor, hard-working parents, who were framed for a robbery they did not commit. The first target we meet, the one at the bottom of Han-soo’s list, is Master Jang (Lee Joon-hyuk), the leader of a guild that seeks to monopolise trade in Hanyang.

Jang is sued by Han-soo’s first client, a plum wine seller who has been muscled out of the market by Jang’s goons, despite providing a superior product.

Also seeking to help the poor plum wine seller, but for more altruistic reasons, is Lee Yeon-joo (Bona), who works at the Sowongak guest house under Lady Hong (Shin Dong-mi) and is a princess in disguise.

Her brother, with whom she is on very good terms, is King Lee Hyul (Song Geon-hee). In seeking out justice for the trodden merchant, she seeks her brother’s help. He is sympathetic and agrees that consortiums such as the guild who trample on small businesses must be stopped, but he is unable to help.

That leaves Han-soo, the only lawyer willing to go against the guild. Trouble is, Han-soo engineered the dispute in the first place, using Dong-chi to draw attention to the guild’s competitor while drinking in their establishment.

If this was not bad enough, Han-soo secretly burned down the merchant’s home, which is what finally pushes the merchant to turn to the young lawyer for help.

Compared to modern trials, the Joseon era tribunal that follows is a relatively simple affair, with a magistrate listening to both sides. What Han-soo and his client do not know is that Master Jang has already stacked the scales in his favour by secretly delivering an “evidence” box filled with money to the magistrate.

Despite this significant handicap, Han-soo’s confidence and superior legal knowledge ultimately forces the magistrate’s hand and they win the case.

Joseon Attorney: A Morality also features a bit of romcom, which kicks off with Han-soo and Yeon-joo getting on each other’s nerves – specifically when the arrogant lawyer’s tactics rankles the idealistic princess-in-hiding’s moral rectitude.

They start to spend more time with each other, which allows them to uncover different sides, and that trend appears set to intensify – at the end of the first week’s set of episodes, Yeon-joo, in a bid to tame Han-soo, suggests that she become his legal assistant.

Stylistically, Joseon Attorney: A Morality seems a little uncertain as to what it wants to be.

For the most part the visuals do not stand out but, when it makes an effort, the show strikes an impression with handsome period compositions, a bouncy chase sequence shot with drones, and an artistic black-and-white image of a young Han-soo jumping off a cliff and flipping 180 degrees as he hits the water.

While these images stand out from the run-of-the-mill visuals that dominate, they feel like they belong to a different story. Perhaps that is where the problem lies – the show has seesawed between legal drama, period intrigue, revenge saga and romantic comedy.

Joseon Attorney: A Morality is streaming on Viu.