‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ review: Park Eun-Bin anchors a charming, sensitive drama that constantly surprises you

The K-Drama’s biggest strength so far has been how it has effectively balanced nuance in writing with its heartfelt and likeable characters

Every episode of Extraordinary Attorney Woo which has aired so far is best summed up by the moment of enlightenment that the show’s titular protagonist experiences: a ‘whale eureka’. A smile breaks out on her face as realisation dawns, there’s a strong wind that ruffles her hair, and we cut to the image of a majestic whale in the sea. 

When we meet Woo Young-Woo (Park Eun-Bin), a rookie attorney who has autism spectrum disorder, she’s all set to join hot-shot law firm Hanbada. A framed newspaper clipping on the walls of her father’s Kimbap restaurant tells us that she is the first autistic attorney in South Korea who has graduated summa cum laude from the Seoul National University. 

At the beginning, one can’t help but tend to approach the series with some level of trepidation. When shows have protagonists who are neurodivergent, there’s often a lack of nuance and empathy in the writing, and the characters become caricatures.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo, however, is the perfect example of how good writing, empathy, and sensitivity can unfold beautifully on-screen. No surprise then that this K-Drama has taken audiences across the world by storm and has seen a meteoric rise in its ratings. It is also reported to have topped Netflix’s list of most-watched non-English shows for a couple of weeks. 

Woo Young-Woo is a genius, has a photographic memory, loves Kimbap, and adores aquatic mammals... whales in particular. If you’re groaning about the fact that this is yet another person on the spectrum depicted as a savant on-screen, EAW effectively addresses this and so much more about being on the spectrum through Young-Woo, as she takes on workplace challenges, tackles prejudice, and forms solid friendships. 

At Hanbada, Young-Woo has her first brush with workplace ableism as her prickly senior, Attorney Jung Myeong-seok (Kang Ki-young is less than happy to have her on his team. He marches to the chairperson of the firm, and says he needs ‘an attorney who can meet with clients and go on trials’. 

It is her neurodivergence here that stands out to him, more than her stellar record and honours as a law graduate. Her other colleagues at Hanbada comprise fellow attorney Choi Soo-Yeon (Ha Yoon-Kyung) who was her law school classmate, and Kwon Min-Woo (Joo Jong-Hyuk). There’s also kind and sweet Lee Jun-Ho(Kang Tae-Oh) from the legal team there, who helps her navigate the rather complicated revolving doors at work on her first day, and soon becomes her lunch buddy.