Director, writer of 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' eager to tell story of those on autism spectrum

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

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Thu, December 7, 2023 | 15:31

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Director, writer of 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' eager to tell story of those on autism spectrum

Posted : 2022-07-27 16:25

Updated : 2022-07-27 18:42

Writer Moon Ji-won, left, and director Yoo In-sik of ENA's hit series, "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," pose during a press conference in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of ENA

Creators acknowledge shortcomings of series

By Lee Gyu-lee

The creators of the ongoing hit series, "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," said that they wanted to tell the story of a person on the autism spectrum. "Normally for a story that features an autistic person, many creators would set the narrative to be from a non-autistic person and depict the autism spectrum from that person's perspective," the series' writer, Moon Ji-won, said during a press conference at a hotel in Mapo District, western Seoul, Wednesday.

"I wanted to put Woo Young-woo as the sole lead (of the series) and let viewers resonate with her directly without having any mediator in between."

ENA's 16-part series, which also streams on Netflix, follows Woo Young-woo (Park Eun-bin), a genius lawyer on the autism spectrum, tackling challenges in and beyond the courtroom as a newbie at a top law firm.

The heartwarming series has been the talk of the town since kicking off on June 29, skyrocketing in its viewership rating from 0.9 percent to 13.1 percent in only eight episodes. It also topped Netflix's official non-English Top 10 chart for two weeks until slipping to second last week.

The director and writer expressed that the series' sensational popularity feels surreal, adding that they did not expect such an enormous response.

"We couldn't be sure whether the series' theme would appeal to the public … We just wanted the series to get known and attract viewers but it didn't feel real to get so enormous from the beginning," Yoo In-sik, the series' director, said.

The writer said the unique characteristics that people on the autistic spectrum have inspired her to write a story with an autistic lead.

"When I researched the autism spectrum, I was surprised to find out how intriguing their characteristics are. Although it may not be the case for autistic people, unconventional thinking, quirkiness, a strong ethical sense, extensive knowledge in a specific field, exceptional memory and processing of visuals and patterns are attributes that often strengthen people on the spectrum," she said.

"The word, 'extraordinary,' could have held a negative connotation, referring to the unfamiliar, different or things you want to avoid. But there's also the power to think creatively and to make our society better by being extraordinary."

A scene from the series, "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" / Courtesy of ENA

However, despite its popularity, some viewers have complained that the character's genius ability is unrealistic and provides a false representation of autistic people.

The creators responded to such criticism by stating that they do acknowledge the series' shortcomings and hope it to be the start of a conversation on the topic that will further develop.

"Autism has such a diverse spectrum that Woo can't represent all of the autistic people in the world … The character of Woo is set to fit best in unfolding the story rather than putting more of a focus on making it realistic, as a creator. There were limitations in incorporating other factors beyond that," the director said.

"As our series' limitations are clear, it would be meaningful if this series helps open up chances, like people who have disabilities actually playing roles of people with disabilities for more realistic portrayals," she said.

The writer said that she believes there is a person like Woo somewhere in the world, noting that it is not impossible for autistic people to have attributes similar to the main character.

"What we intended with the character of Woo is that she has both an extreme advantage and an extreme weakness together. The reason we didn't set an antagonist is that the biggest difficulty for Woo to be a lawyer comes from autism itself and the prejudices that follow," she said, adding that she did try to incorporate the difficulties of autistic people in the story but took a cautious approach in its extent.

"I wanted people to support the character of Woo not because they feel bad for her or because she is pitiful, but because she is lovely, vibrant and cool. So I do understand those criticisms on the shortcomings that came from not being able to include the whole picture," the director said.

gyulee@koreatimes.co.kr