The latest K-drama I am reviewing is “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” a 2022 Netflix series that follows autistic attorney Woo Young-woo after she lands her first post-college job at Hanbada Law Firm.
Woo was raised by her single father, Woo Gwang-ho, after Woo’s biological mother abandoned her as an infant. Gwang-ho was an aspiring attorney who gave up his dream so that he could raise his daughter. He owns a small restaurant, and he and Woo live in an apartment there.
Gwang-ho first notices his daughter’s extraordinary (see what I did there) abilities in Episode 1 when Woo is a young girl and unknowingly gets into trouble with a local man. She speaks for the first time reciting her father’s criminal law books verbatim.
Woo graduated from Seoul National University (SNL) at the top of her class. She is a genius and remembers everything.
On her first day at Hanbada, Woo meets her boss and two other rookie attorneys. The team is initially apprehensive about working with someone with autism. However, one of them is a college friend, Choi Su-Yeon, who used to look out for Woo and kept the bullies from bothering her in college.
At first, I thought Choi would be the one character I would not like. However, she quickly becomes Woo’s defender and fierce ally and is pretty funny.
Other members of Woo’s team:
- Jung Myeong-seok, played by Kang Ki-young, is the team leader, aka Woo’s boss. Initially skeptical of Woo, he quickly learns how intelligent she is in and out of the courtroom.
- Lee Jun-ho, played by Kang Tae-ho, is Woo’s love interest and part of the team, although not an attorney. He is a sweet and handsome man who only has eyes for Woo.
- Kwon Min-woo, played by Joo Jong-hyuk, is jealous of Woo’s intelligence and ability to win a case. He also feels that people give in to her because of her autism.
Park Eun-bin plays Attorney Woo. She is an incredibly talented artist, and no other actor could have played Woo. Park brings innocence, sincerity, adoration, and beauty to her character. She makes you wonder if she has autism in real life (she doesn’t).
I loved everything about Attorney Woo. Despite her autism, she can do most things independently, such as college, working, and riding the bus or train, although she leaves cooking to her father and has a problem with a revolving door. 😀
One of the best parts of the show is watching Woo fall in love with Jun-ho and how their love story progresses. Jun-ho sees more in Woo than her autism and treats her with kindness from the moment he meets her.
Two of my favorite characters in the series are Woo’s good friends, Dong Geulami, played by Joo Hyun-young, and Dong’s boss, Kim Min-sik aka “Hairy,” played by Im Sung-jae. Dong is quirky, hilarious, fiercely devoted to and protective of Woo. Hairy (yes, it’s spelled that way) is about as goofy as Dong, sweet-natured, and is the icing on the cake for these three friends.
No show would be complete without the villains, and there are a few in this show. Each episode is uplifting, funny, sincere, and occasionally sad, but you don’t want to see the show end. It’s 100% binge-worthy!
The actors in this show are so good that it is easy to believe they are the characters they portray.
The show’s writer, Moon Ji-won, masterfully weaves a heartwarming tale about living with autism and how people discriminate against the disabled. Attorney Woo exhibits many traits of autism; she does not like to be touched, uses stimming when she feels overwhelmed, maintains limited eye contact, and is deeply passionate about one thing — whales.
If I were to rate the series on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 all the way! If you have Netflix, I highly recommend “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.” I’m so excited to learn there will be another season in 2024. The worst part will be the wait! 😭
You can watch the show’s trailer on IMDB or Netflix. If you do watch the show, USE SUBTITLES, not dubbing.
