I’ve found a TV series that has reignited my love for lawyer shows, and it’s Korean. I want it to be better known for personal reasons. 

There was a time I really liked lawyer shows, going back to The Defenders, LA Law, and the original Law and Order. Heck in Poland I once wrote the English version of a contract worth millions of dollars using legal language I learned from television. 

But you might think it wouldn’t be interesting to follow a lawyer pleading cases in an unfamiliar legal system. For example a system where a judge can poll a seven-member jury, find four have voted for acquittal, and then sentence the defendant to two years in prison anyway. 

Nonetheless Extraordinary Attorney Woo on Netflix is fascinating and the gimmick the show revolves around works. 

The gimmick is that Attorney Woo Young-woo (Park Eun-bin) is an autistic savant who graduated at the top of her class, got a near perfect score on the bar exam, but has trouble negotiating social relationships, revolving doors, and opening bottles. 

And she’s obsessed with cetaceans – whales and dolphins, and will talk your ear off about them if she’s not reminded others don’t share her fascination. 

She’s on the autism spectrum a little further than your average Aspie. She’s a bit over-the-top physically awkward. But if she’s awkward socially she has a group of fiercely loyal people who love her, like her single dad Woo Gwang-ho (Jeon Bae-su) who gave up a career in law to raise her alone, her childhood friend Dong Geurami (Joo Hyun-young) who was the other weird kid in school (by choice), her law school classmate the lovely Choi Soo-yeon (Ha Yoon-kyng) who sticks up for her at work, and Lee Jun-ho (Kang Tae-oh) who’s in love with her. 

Aside from the considerable merits of the series, and it is very well done, I’d like more people to see it because I grew up with someone on the autism spectrum.

People with autism spectrum disorder are perceived as weird and often make those around them uncomfortable because of their struggle with social cues and inappropriate speech. Growing up other kids make their lives living hell and as adults many people don’t want to work with them. 

Woo Young-woo (same forward and back) goes to work for a large prestigious law firm, given a chance by lady CEO Han Seon-young (Baek Ji-won), who has ulterior motives that involve a crucial sub-plot in the series. 

Her photographic memory and attention to detail enable her to salvage cases seen as irretrievably lost by her colleagues even when she’s up against Tae Soo-mi (Jin Kyung), the top lawyer of a rival firm who has a connection to her that is revealed in mid-season. 

Park Eun-bin is the most amazing actress you’ve never heard of. The writing is great and the special effects add a light touch that doesn’t overwhelm the plot.

I understand the premise of the show was considered quite controversial in Korea, and there is an allusion to how much more advanced the treatment of autism is in the United States.

So it surprised a lot of people when it became a hit in Korea during the first season run in 2022 and an international hit soon afterwards. 

Now there’s talk of doing an American remake and I have only one thing to say about that — DON’T! The Korean version is perfectly relatable even if you miss some cultural nuance. Hollywood will only screw it up.

— Steve Browne is a longtime reporter and contributor to the Marshall Independent