Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Extraordinary Attorney Woo is a 2022 South Korean television series starring Park Eun-bin in the title role, along with Kang Tae-oh and Kang Ki-young. It follows Woo Young-woo, a female rookie attorney with autism, who is hired by a major law firm in Seoul. Being different from her neurotypical peers, her manner of communication is seen by them as odd, awkward, and blunt. With each legal case and through her intelligence and photographic memory, she becomes an increasingly competent attorney and earns recognition from other legal professionals and appreciation from her clients.
The show aired on ENA from June 29 to August 18, 2022, every Wednesday and Thursday at 21:00 (KST), for sixteen episodes. It is also available for streaming on Netflix in selected regions.
Extraordinary Attorney Woo set the record for the highest ratings in ENA history. It received audience acclaim, with its final episode recording 17.5% nationwide ratings, making it the eighth highest-rated drama in Korean cable television history and seventh highest-rated television drama by number of viewers.
Synopsis
Extraordinary Attorney Woo tells the story of Woo Young-woo, an autistic lawyer who is raised by her single father. She grows up with one friend at school, Dong Geu-ra-mi, an oddball girl who protects her from school bullies. She graduates at the top of her law school class at Seoul National University. Because she is autistic, law firms refuse to hire her. However, through a connection of her father's, she obtains her first job at Hanbada, a large Seoul law firm. Attorney Woo's intelligence and photographic memory help her to become an excellent lawyer, as she is able to recall laws and everything she reads, sees, or hears perfectly.
Being different from neurotypical peers, her manner of communication is initially seen as odd and awkward, and her strong emotional intelligence remains unrecognized. But as the series progresses, many of the people she meets, such as her supervising lawyer, Jung Myung-seok, her law school classmate and peer, Choi Su-yeon, and legal support staffer Lee Jun-ho adjust to her as she learns her craft as a rookie attorney. But she also encounters people who are prejudiced against her and others with disabilities, including her colleague Kwon Min-woo, who often tries to sabotage her.
Many of the legal cases in the series involve finely balanced legal issues and sometimes difficult ethical questions. Attorney Woo's approach is often unique and helps resolve cases in unexpected ways. One storyline about Young-woo's parents runs through the series and involves the rivalry between two major law firms, both chaired by female attorneys, Han Seon-young, CEO of Hanbada, and Tae Soo-mi, CEO of Taesan.
Another theme that runs through the series is Young-woo's strong interest in whales and other marine mammals. Her tendency to analogize situations she faces in her professional and private life with the lives and characteristics of whales and dolphins often surprises and confounds the people who surround her. Her eureka moments often coincide with fantasizing about marine animals.
Cast and characters
Main
Park Eun-bin as Woo Young-woo
Oh Ji-yul as young Woo Young-woo
A rookie lawyer at the Hanbada law firm. She is the first attorney with ASD in Korea.
Kang Tae-oh as Lee Jun-ho
An employee in the litigation team at Hanbada
Kang Ki-young as Jung Myung-seok
A senior attorney at Hanbada and Woo Young-woo's mentor
Supporting
Jeon Bae-soo as Woo Gwang-ho
Jang Seong-beom as young Gwang-ho
Woo Young-woo's single father
Baek Ji-won as Han Seon-young
CEO of Hanbada
Jin Kyung as Tae Soo-mi
Jung Han-bit as young Tae Soo-mi
CEO of the Taesan law firm and biological mother of Young-woo
Ha Yoon-kyung as Choi Su-yeon
Woo Young-woo's law school classmate and colleague at Hanbada
Joo Jong-hyuk as Kwon Min-woo
Woo Young-woo's colleague and rival at Hanbada
Joo Hyun-young as Dong Geu-ra-mi
Woo Young-woo's close friend
Im Sung-jae as Kim Min-shik
The owner of the pub where Dong Geu-ra-mi works
Other characters
Shin Ha-young as Kim Hwa-young (ep. 2)
A client of Hanbada who has a wardrobe malfunction with her wedding dress.
Park Yu-rim as Kang Ji-hye (ep. 2)
A wedding hall employee
Yoon Joo-sang as Kim Gong-gu (ep. 2)
Kim Hwa-young's father
Yoon Yoo-sun as Jeon Gyeong-hee (ep. 3)
Kim Jeong-hoon's mother
Choi Dae-hoon as Jang Seung-jun (eps. 3, 15, 16)
An attorney at Hanbada, and Jung Myung-seok's rival
Lee Sung-wook as Hwang Doo-yong (ep. 5)
Sales manager at Ihwa ATM
Kim Hieora as Gye Hyang-shim (ep. 6)
A client of Hanbada who is a North Korean defector.
Lee Ki-young as Ryu Myung-ha (eps. 6, 12)
The judge sitting on Gye Hyang-shim's and Kim Hyun-jeong's cases
Kim Sung-bum as Jo Hyeon-woo (eps. 7–8)
A resident of Sodeokdong village
Park Kang-seop as Park Yoo-jin (eps. 7–8)
A civil servant at Gyeonghae provincial office
Park Yoon-hee as judge in charge of Sodeok-dong hackberry case (eps. 7–8)
Lee Doo-seok as Lee Jun-bum (eps. 8–10, 14, 16)
A reporter from Jung Gui Ilbo who is close to Hanbada
Koo Kyo-hwan as Bang Gu-ppong (ep. 9)
Commander of the Children's Liberation Army
Oh Hye-soo as Shin Hye-yeong (ep. 10)
A woman with intellectual disabilities
Lee Won-jung as Yang Jeong-il (ep. 10)
A man who is in love with Shin Hye-yeong
Seo Hye-won as Choi Da-hae (ep. 11)
A coffee salesperson at the casino
Lee Bong-ryun as Ryu Jae-sook (ep. 12)
An attorney specializing in gender discrimination cases
Lee Yoon-ji as Choi Ji-soo (eps. 13–14, 16)
Jung Myung-seok's ex-wife
Yoon Na-moo as Jung-nam (ep. 13)
Lee Jun-ho's brother-in-law
Kim Joo-hun as Bae In-cheol (eps. 15–16)
CEO and founder of Raon
Ryu Kyung-hwan as Kim Chan-hong (eps. 15–16)
Co-CEO and co-founder of Raon
Choi Hyun-jin as Choi Sang-hyeon (eps. 15–16)
Son of Tae Soo-mi
Episodes
Production
Filming of the series wrapped up on July 14, 2022.
On August 17, 2022, president Lee Sang-baek of AStory, the production company for Extraordinary Attorney Woo, confirmed that the drama would be renewed for a second season. Season 2 is expected to premiere in 2024.
Original soundtrack
The show's soundtrack album peaked at number twelve on the weekly Circle Album Chart, and as of September 2022, 12,198 copies had been sold.
Viewership
The first episode of Extraordinary Attorney Woo recorded a nationwide viewership rating of 0.9%. By the third episode, which reached 4.0%, it set the record for the highest rating in ENA's history.
The series was the most viewed non-English show globally on Netflix for the weeks of July 4–10 and July 11–17, logging 23.9 million and 45.5 million hours viewed and ranking in the top ten in 12 and 22 countries, respectively. For the week of July 18–24, it was the second most-watched non-English show, gathering 55 million of viewing hours. It was also the most-watched series in eight countries and appeared in the top ten in 27 others. The series returned to the top of the chart for the week of July 25–31, with 65.5 million viewing hours, and was the most-watched show in nineteen countries, while ranking among the top ten in 25 more. Extraordinary Attorney Woo continued to top the charts for another six consecutive weeks after its finale, garnering 348.15 million viewing hours.
The series became the "sixth most popular non-English show of all time" on Netflix, spent "20 weeks on the Global Non-English Top 10 list", and marked 21 weeks in the list for November 28 – December 4, 2022.
Awards and nominations
Adaptation
On July 6, 2022, AStory announced that the series would be adapted into a webtoon of the same name. Serialized into sixty episodes, drawn by illustrator HwaUmJo, and written by Yuil, it was planned to be available in Korean, English, Japanese, and Chinese.
On July 14, 2022, it was reported that the possibility of a US remake was being discussed.
On August 17, 2022, it was confirmed that a musical remake was planned in 2024.
On September 6, 2022, it was confirmed that a remake was being proposed in approximately ten countries.
Notes
References
External links
ENA television dramas
Television series by AStory
South Korean legal television series
2022 South Korean television series debuts
2022 South Korean television series endings
Korean-language Netflix exclusive international distribution programming
Autism in television