Extraordinary Attorney Woo is on an extraordinary run.
The first-ever K-Drama from new TV station ENA has captivated audiences around the globe.
Many have fallen in love with Woo Young Woo, a lawyer on the Autism Spectrum who is played by actress Park Eun Bin, and her story of overcoming obstacles.
One of the most extraordinary reasons behind the drama’s popularity is that its story doesn’t seem too extraordinary at all!
Many netizens have praised the drama for its realistic portrayal of people on the autism spectrum and its honest depiction of society’s attitudes towards them.
In fact, one particular scene had netizens reflecting on themselves and their own prejudices they might have subconsciously. The scene portrays the callousness many people show towards those born with a disability.
Because of how real the drama is, netizens feel there are many parrallels between the drama and our reality.
So, of course, netizens gathered in an online community post to estimate how much would Woo Young Woo make as a first-year associate at one of Korea’s most powerful law firms.
The drama depicts Woo Young Woo as a law-savant who graduated from Seoul University and passed the bar with a score over 1500.
These accolades helped Woo Young Woo get into Hanbada law firm. In the drama, Hanbada is Korea’s second-largest law firm after Taesan.
In real life, Kim & Chang is Korea’s largest law firm, and Taepyungyang is the second largest.
It is said that the drama’s writers actually used Taepyungyang as a motif for the drama. This means netizens would only need the salary of Taepyungyang’s first-year associates to estimate Woo Young Woo’s salary.
It has been reported that Taepyungyang’s salary for first-year associates is on average ₩13.0 million KRW (about $9,950 USD) per month for a yearly salary of over ₩1.50 billion KRW (about $1.15 million USD).
Netizens reacted to this, with many saying that Woo Young Woo deserves a high salary, and many others also commenting on how hard lawyers work.
- “I know someone who works at a large law firm, and they really never get a break…”
- “With Young Woo’s background, this is what she definitely deserves.”
- “Lawyers work as much as they get paid.”
- “Young Woo unnie can you buy me chicken?”
- “They need to get paid that much if they want to afford the medical treatment for being overworked.”
- “My friend works at Kim & Chang, and he really has no time for himself.”
- “Woo Young Woo even says in the drama that she can’t use any of her days off.”
- “Young Woo is so cool.”
It seems only hard work will get you where you want in life, even for the extraordinary attorney, Woo!
