My Exploration of Korean TV: Extraordinary Attorney Woo

I've been watching a lot of light-weight TV lately. I needed an intellectual and emotional vacation, and these light-weight shows don't require deep thought.

How did I end up with a Korean drama? For one thing, I knew my husband wouldn't watch it. He's not adventurous in his viewing selections, and he usually doesn't enjoy comedy. When I come across a show that he might enjoy, I save it for our joint viewing sessions. Most Korean shows (I believe they are called K-shows) would not be among these.

My first K-show was Extraordinary Attorney Woo. I would characterize this as very light comedy/drama. It was so light that I could skim through some of the episodes and not miss much.

The show centers around a young woman, Woo Young-woo, who is very high function autistic--a genius, as the show constantly reminds viewers.

As you can see from the official Netflix trailer, there is an emphasis on physicality. There is nothing subtle about this show. That statement is not intended to be a criticism, just an observation.

I understand the actress who plays Woo young-woo, Park Eun-bin, hesitated to take on the role because she didn't want to offend people, possibly by misrepresenting what an autistic person is like. In the clip below you can see some of the issues the actress contemplated before she agreed to take the role.

Besides watching this show to empty my mind of other concerns, I was interested in the autism aspect of it. How accurate, or realistic, was the actor's portrayal of autism, I wondered. I found a few Youtube clips that discussed this issue.

I watched several clips that featured a critic, Jeremy Andrew Davis. Davis is autistic and works as an autism advocate. In the first clip I show below, Davis pretty much pans the show's representation of autism, overall. He thinks the character, Woo Young-woo, is infantalized and believes that a lot of stereotypes are reinforced by the show. He cites, for example, a scene where autism is described as a condition from which one might 'get better', as though it is a disease.

I think he's a little hard on the show, but then he does come from a very particular perspective. Here's the clip:

In another clip, Davis remarks that the character Woo Young-woo is written as a savant. According to Davis, autistic savants saturate popular media. Yet, Davis (who uses the terms neurodivergent as well as autistic to describe himself) asserts, that there are only about 75 people in the world who are true autistic savants.

So, one problem Davis has with the show Extraordinary Attorney Woo is that it contributes to a distorted view of autism.

Also, Davis observes, the character Woo Young-woo is valued by most people because she is a savant. Otherwise, people apparently have no interest in her or appreciation of her as a person.

I think Davis is spot on here. People are won over by Attorney Woo's genius. Davis goes on to suggest a real-life consequence of this attitude (not accepting autistic people): the absence of college-graduate autistic individuals in the job market. He cites unemployment figures for college graduates who are autistic at 85%. I'm guessing that figure represents employment in the U.S. Here is the clip where he discusses the issue of employment.

Davis does see some positives in Extraordinary Attorney Woo (with regard to autism portrayal):

1. Attorney Woo evolves. She learns to stand up for herself and accept herself, as she is. At the beginning of the show this is not the case.
2. She develops a romantic relationship with a young man, Lee Jun-ho, who is attracted to her from the start for who she is--not for her autism, or for her genius.

Personally, I found the show kind of addictive, even though I did skim through a few of the episodes--it's addictive but not riveting. I have been around people who are autistic so I wasn't watching the show to learn about autism.

An aspect of the show that keeps it dynamic is that it is a classic courtroom drama. This kaleidoscope of experience is one of the reasons Attorney Woo evolves. She learns from a case, and moves on to the next with lessons learned. Here is a courtroom scene in which her mentor falls ill:

There is a skit that is repeated throughout the episodes: Woo Young-woo's battle with revolving doors. At the beginning of the series, when Woo Young-woo first reports to work, she cannot get through the revolving doors. She can't get the timing right, and she is stuck outside.

A young man passes by. He holds the doors still and guides her through to the other side. He eventually teaches her to count to three, as in a waltz step, and to dance into the doors. This she can do, but she cannot dance out of the doors.

Finally, at the end of the series, she is able to dance into the doors (as the young man has taught her), and to dance out of the doors. The young man who teaches her to do this is the person who becomes her romantic interest. Thus, the revolving doors represent not only her evolution as a character--her success--but also her ability to form and accept a romantic relationship. Here is a video that shows her relationship with the doors, and the young man:

Because the show is a comedy/drama, it ends happily, although not for everyone. There are ups and downs for Attorney Woo. There is competition, favoritism, nepotism, jealousy, and, of course, love.

The version I watched was dubbed in English, and captioned in English. That made it much more enjoyable for me. I enjoy watching foreign films with original language and English captions, in most European languages. I understand a few European languages and like following along. With Korean, I haven't got a clue.

I wouldn't say the show is realistic, but it does try to give a realistic view of autism. I was interested in learning about Korean culture. This show was probably as instructive in that as most TV comedy/dramas in the U. S. are about U.S. culture. Not a true reflection of the culture.

This isn't a gritty slice of life show. It's fluff, but well-acted fluff, with great production values.

Film Facts (From IMDB)

• Park Eun-bin....Main Character, Woo Young-woo
• Kang Tae-oh.....Romantic Interest, Lee Jun-ho
• Runtime........1 hour 15 minutes
• Production companies.....AStoryKT Studio GenieNangman Crew
• Official sites.....Netflix, Official Site (South Korea)

Postscript:
Since I first drafted this the other day, South Korean government has gone through a bit of a crisis. Events are still unfolding. I didn't feel I could leave off a light review without mentioning that.

Also, a few years ago I read a novel, Forgotten Reflections: A War Story, which is historical fiction. The book takes place in Korea. The author, Young-Im Lee, bases it on events described to her by her grandmother in Korea. The book is an eye-opener and gives a great perspective on the culture and development of South Korea.

Thank you for reading my blog. Peace to all of us.

Hive on!