Extraordinary Attorney Woo sparks autism debate in South Korea – is hit Netflix K-drama starring Park Eun-bin closer to fantasy or reality?

Some see the Korean drama series about a lawyer on the autism spectrum, played by Park Eun-bin, as far removed from the reality of living with autism in Korea

Others say it has drawn attention to high-functioning autistic people, who often go undiagnosed. ‘I feel I am being erased,’ one woman with mild autism says

Reading Time:3 minutes

Park Eun-bin as autistic lawyer Woo Young-woo in Extraordinary Attorney Woo. The hit Netflix show has sparked a serious debate on autism in South Korea. Photo: AFP/Netflix

Published: 6:15pm, 4 Sep 2022

The hit Netflix K-drama about a high-functioning autistic lawyer is prompting soul-searching in South Korea, where some people on the autism spectrum say they can feel invisible.

The endearing Extraordinary Attorney Woo, featuring a neurodivergent lawyer, has been Netflix’s most-watched non-English show for over a month now, following a trail blazed by fellow Korean smash Squid Game.

Even popular K-pop boy band BTS are fans of the global hit, with the group’s members posting a video performing the signature greeting between Woo and her best friend – a dance step-slash-dab that is tearing across social media.

But the 16-episode series, which follows a rookie lawyer whose condition helps her find brilliant solutions to legal conundrums but often leaves her socially isolated, has gone beyond memes to trigger a serious debate in South Korea about autism.

Star lawyer Woo Young-woo is fiercely intelligent, with an IQ of 164, but also has visible autistic traits such as echolalia – the precise repetition of words or sentences, often out of context.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x