Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you have probably heard awesome things about K-Drama ENA‘s Extraordinary Attorney Woo.
The drama, starring actress Park Eun Bin, has gone viral for its heartwarming story about an attorney on the Autism Spectrum.
The show is the very first drama ever from a new TV station, called ENA.
The drama’s first episode saw a viewership rating of only 0.8%, which isn’t very high. But viewers that did see the episode instantly fell in love with the very extraordinary attorney Woo Young Woo.
Since then, in only three episodes, the rating more than quadrupled, with its most recent third episode bringing in a more than respectful 4% viewership rating!
The show has been praised for its very detailed portrayal of what it is like to be on the autism spectrum.
Not only is the show warm, funny, and sincere, but the show also shines an honest light on social prejudices towards those born with disabilities.
Through Woo Young Woo, viewers are able to learn about those on the autism spectrum, but more importantly, learn about ourselves.
As is the case with the drama’s latest episode, which has netizens feeling ashamed for some of the comments they have written in the past.
In the third episode, which aired on July 6, the show examined existing social prejudices towards those with disabilities.
The show portrayed a sobering and honest look at how Korea treats those with disabilities.
In the episode, attorney Woo takes on a client who is also on the autism spectrum. The client had been charged with murder for attacking his drunk older brother and fatally wounding him.
The episode then shows a scene where Woo Young Woo watches a news clip of the murder. The news anchor expresses his remorse stating that the deceased had been a medical student at the prestigious Seoul University’s Medical School and had received a perfect score in his college entrance exams.
Woo Young Woo then reads the comments under the news clip where netizens wrote hateful comments.
- “A medical student died, and a disabled lived. Isn’t this a loss for the whole country?”
- “He’s probably going to blame his disability and be found innocent. In Korea, the disabled can get away with murder.”
Other comments were just as hateful.
- “The disabled know right from wrong. Send him to jail.”
- “There is a disabled person living in my apartment, and I am scared whenever he gets on the elevator with me.”
- “You can’t let these guys get away with this. This time, punish them.”
Viewers of the show commented, stating it felt like the show shoved a mirror in society’s face.
Our society is the same… Go to any [online] community, and you’ll see disparaging comments about the less fortunate everywhere… Even in college communities, students show prejudice towards certain majors or a student’s background. This is our country’s reality.
— Netizen
I feel like there really would be comments like that ㅜ. The comments are so realistic ㅜ.
— Netizen
Netizens wrote about how profound the episode was and looked back on their past behaviors and their own prejudices towards others.
After watching Woo Young Woo, I was deep in thought… If there was an article like that, although I wouldn’t have written those things myself, I may have read the article thinking those thoughts… (sic)
— Netizen
Extraordinary Attorney Woo Young Yoo premiered on June 29, 2022, and airs every Wednesday and Thursday at 9 pm KST. It is also available for streaming on Netflix in selected regions.
