Upcoming Netflix drama ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’

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Extraordinary Attorney Woo is an upcoming internationally licensed South Korean Netflix Original law drama directed by Yoo In Shik, and written by screenwriter Moon Ji Won. Yoo In Shik is known for his work on Dr. Romantic, Vagabond, and Mrs. Cop, As for Moon Ji Won, Extraordinary Attorney Woo is only the second series written by her, the first was Innocent Witness

When is the Extraordinary Attorney Woo Netflix release date?
At the time of publishing the first episode of the Extraordinary Attorney Woois coming to Netflix on Wednesday, June 29th, 2022.

The series will have a total of sixteen episodes, and new episodes released twice a week on Wednesdays and Thursdays for a total of 8 weeks. The finale will air on Sunday, October 2nd, 2022.

Each episode will have an approximate runtime of 60 minutes.

What is the plot of Extraordinary Attorney Woo?
27-year-old lawyer Woo Young Woo graduated at the top of her class at the prestigious Seoul National University for college and law school. Boasting an impressive memory, a wonderfully creative thought process, and a 164 IQ score. However, due to her Aspergers Syndrome, she still finds herself struggling in everyday interactions.

This sounds like the Lawyer version of The Good Doctor. Do we know if any Autistic people had any input in developing the show / main character, of if the actor playing the Autistic lawyer is themself Autistic?

No, Park Eun Bin does not have autism spectrum disorder in real life, only portraying the role of Woo Young Woo in Extraordinary Attorney Woo.

That being said, it’s a massive compliment that viewers are curious about Park Eun Bin in real life as her performance in Extraordinary Attorney Woo as the ASD lead character is so compelling.

In fact, Eun Bin has been extremely open about her concerns over playing the character in recent interviews and the preparations that were required before she felt comfortable as the adorable series lead.

In a recent interview with Allure Korea, Eun Bin revealed that “I was a bit afraid if I’d be able to pull it off without hurting or offending anyone.”

She added at an ENA press conference, via Kbizoom, how “I was very cautious and afraid that I might create prejudice. I kept wondering ‘Is it okay for me to act this and that?’. Then I found the answer that rather than thinking about acting, I need to understand how I feel about it first. I added Eun-bin’s sincerity to Young-woo’s sincerity.”

After the first two episodes, it’s safe to say that Extraordinary Attorney Woo has experienced a fantastic initial response from both fans and critics around the world. However, the series actually had an extremely concerning start with domestic audiences in South Korea

Per data from AGB Nielsen, the first episode only peaked at 32nd place in the national viewerships with less than 1% of the available audience tuning into the pilot episode. The good news is that episode 2 picked up the trend very quickly, being watched by more than 396,000 people live and landing as the 4th most-watched show in its programming block.

Internationally, Extraordinary Attorney Woo has also had a notable smoother introduction. The K-drama is currently scoring an impressive 8.7/10 on MyDramaList, 8.9/10 on IMDB and 92% on AsianWiki.

ENA series “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” continues to see higher viewership ratings each episode as the titular lawyer Woo Young-woo — a lovable genius with autism spectrum disorder played by actor Park Eun-bin — steals the hearts of viewers worldwide.

While dubbed a “healing K-drama” due to its wholesome portrayal of Woo’s autism and her supportive colleagues, “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” is not without criticism in regards to how realistic the story is and how it will actually influence Korean society’s perception of autism.

According to data analytics company GoodData, "Extraordinary Attorney Woo” is, without doubt, the most-talked-about television show in Korea right now. It started airing on June 29 on the newly-founded cable channel ENA and saw a 0.9-percent viewership rate for its first episode. That rate rocketed to 9.6 percent for its sixth episode aired on July 14, a number that would be considered a notable achievement even among major TV channels in Korea. It is also currently the most-watched show on Netflix Korea and topped Netflix's weekly Global Top 10 chart in the category of non-English TV series.

Although she graduated top of her class, she is initially unable to find a job for six months. Then she joins big-name law firm Hanbada. Each episode of the series revolves around a different case and the people she encounters. At her workplace, Woo’s bosses and coworkers have their doubts at first but soon accept her as a competent colleague.

Woo proceeds to resolve each case using her unique thought process and crushes the prejudice of people who look down on her for her autism.

“Extraordinary Attorney Woo” is generally receiving praise from viewers and experts alike for featuring a protagonist with a developmental disability but not viewing her through a sympathetic lens, which the media is often guilty of doing.

“As Woo takes the role of narrator during her soliloquies throughout the show, viewers are able to see the world and think through the eyes of the lead character who has a disability,” said pop culture critic Kim Sung-soo.

“The show does not take a condescending tone to patronize or reprimand non-disabled people either. At the same time, it does not depict people with disabilities as people who need sympathy or always require help from others.”

One scene that conveys such message is when Woo begins her first trial after joining the law firm — stammering, but remaining calm just like any other lawyer on the show.

“I ask for your understanding. I am... I have autism spectrum disorder, and it may seem... I may speak slow and look awkward to you. But I am just like any other lawyer in the sense that I love the law and respect the defendant.”

However, some say that the series and Woo's character are popular because she is high-functioning and only displays relatively mild symptoms of autism. Not only that, Woo is portrayed as a highly-accomplished genius who graduated from the nation’s most elite university and is played by a conventionally attractive actor.

As Woo’s autism simply seems like adorable quirks to viewers, some accuse the show of using the topic as a device to make the character and plot more interesting. There are concerns that it may end up imposing an unrealistic standard upon real people with autism.

An online post related to “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” that sparked a debate earlier this month reads, “Will this really alleviate our society’s prejudice toward autism? If anything, people may start asking, ‘Why can’t they [autistic people in real life] be like Woo?’ It creates an unrealistic standard of achievement. Korean society already wants people with developmental disabilities to stay at home or at facilities all day. I fear people will start saying, ‘If you’re not as high-functioning as Woo, just stay home.'”

Estas, a Korean organization for adults with autism, published a statement in December 2021 when the show’s synopsis — depicting a young female lawyer with autism who shows her brilliance at a major law firm — was first released. Estas’ statement accused the synopsis of depicting the disorder inaccurately and reinforcing some negative stereotypes about autism.

While the series did reflect some of the feedback and is now praised for its usage of accurate terminology, Estas still maintains a critical attitude toward the show. Some parents of autistic children have also been voicing their concerns that the show portrays an extremely rare and unrealistic case of high-functioning autism, known as Savant Syndrome.

Officials at the Autism Society of Korea added that “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” did spark Koreans’ interest in autism and its symptoms, portrayed through Woo's quirky behavior.

The show’s screenwriter Moon Ji-won consulted with early childhood special education Professor Kim Byung-gun of Korea Nazarene University over the span of a year to try to accurately depict symptoms of autism. Experts say this will hopefully make autism seem more familiar and non-threatening to the general public who currently don’t have much understanding of the topic.

Some point out that the truly unrealistic part of Woo’s story is her accepting coworkers at the law firm. The characters at Hanbada law firm who understand Woo’s differences and treat her as an equal have earned the show monikers like “wholesome K-drama” and “healing K-drama.”

When Woo displays echolalia, a symptom which refers to meaningless repetition of something another person says, or starts talking about whales out of context, her boss plainly states “No echolalia” in a calm manner.

Woo’s fellow attorneys explain social cues in a way she can easily understand, but also treat her as an equally competent colleague.

Even in the show, Woo would not have been able to fully show her excellence if people around her did not understand her and complement what she relatively lacks,” said Kim Hyo-won, a pediatric psychiatrist and associate professor at Seoul Asan Medical Center. The professor who treats over 2,000 autistic child patients a year has been an avid fan of the series since it launched.

What we should gather from this seemingly fantastical work environment is that we actually need to see them in real life,” she said. “Like her fellow lawyers in the show, we need to see more supportive people who make it possible for autistic people to thrive as independent individuals. This support network also has to made into a system in society as a whole.”

Sure, Woo’s surroundings look like fantasy, but it sparks hope that it can one day become a reality,” said critic Kim.

For most viewers in Korea, where the show is set, the life and career of the lovable autistic genius is widely regarded as a fantasy.

But the story of Haley Moss, who in 2019 became Florida’s first practicing lawyer with autism, shows autistic lawyers like Woo can exist not only in dramas but also in real life.

Moss, who said she watched the first episode of “Extraordinary Attorney,” thinks that there probably are autistic lawyers in Korea, just none that are “openly autistic” like her.

Many people on autistic spectrum are afraid of being open about their disability because of negative stigma surrounding autism. They don’t want to be judged differently,” she said in a Zoom interview.

She mentioned one scene in the drama where Woo’s fellow lawyers cared more about a written notice saying she’s autistic than the fact that she graduated top of her law school class, adding this is something that she experienced in her workplace.

“Some people who have autistic kids had treated me like a little kid, not as one of their colleagues. Even though I went to the same law school, passed the same bar exam and met the same qualifications for the profession, I often felt that I had to prove myself more to get the same respect and opportunity that anybody else is getting,” Moss said.

She noted that some autistic traits, including sensory overload and struggle with prioritizing, might have led the coworkers to become skeptical of her abilities as a lawyer.

“I’m sensitive to noise, so I always wear large noise-canceling headphones just as the attorney Woo does in the drama. Little kids’ cries and screams make me anxious. With a sensory overload, I feel like my body is trembling to fight the noise off. I keep saying to myself ‘I have to get out of here.’ I always try to find somewhere quiet,” she said.

Other than wearing headphones to avoid distractions, Moss could also relate to Woo’s routine of only eating gimbap (seaweed rice roll) for her meals and her intense fascination with whales.

“She eats a lot of same food everyday. That‘s something that I do. Her passion for whales makes her really excited. This kind of obsessive joy is something I experienced a lot from drawing,” she said.

Her artworks had been featured in galleries throughout South Florida. Some of her works, influenced by pop art and anime, were sold at auction in 2020 to benefit the University of Miami and Nova Southeastern University’s Center for Autism and Related Disabilities..

Some of her autistic symptoms turned out to be a great advantage in her profession, Moss said.

It is her near-photographic memory as well as an exceptional ability to connect people, places and things that set her apart from other lawyers.

“When I worked as an associate with Zumpano Patricios law firm in Miami, I mostly dealt with international law cases which always had so much information. Having to be able to recall detailed information and being able to know what dots to connect were very helpful,” she said.

When it comes to relations with certain clients, her experiences were also a plus.

“Those who have similar life experiences as me tend to have trust in me. I can relate with them better than other lawyers do. Also, I tend to break things down when talking about a case and this made some clients understand legal terms better,” she said.

Some of her autistic symptoms turned out to be a great advantage in her profession, Moss said.

It is her near-photographic memory as well as an exceptional ability to connect people, places and things that set her apart from other lawyers.

“When I worked as an associate with Zumpano Patricios law firm in Miami, I mostly dealt with international law cases which always had so much information. Having to be able to recall detailed information and being able to know what dots to connect were very helpful,” she said.

When it comes to relations with certain clients, her experiences were also a plus.

“Those who have similar life experiences as me tend to have trust in me. I can relate with them better than other lawyers do. Also, I tend to break things down when talking about a case and this made some clients understand legal terms better,” she said.