The 16-episode series, which has found ardent following among millions including popular K-pop band BTS, has gone beyond memes to trigger a serious debate in South Korea about autism
This undated handout image obtained on August 30, 2022 from Netflix in Seoul shows South Korean actress Park Eun-bin playing a role of the high-functioning autistic lawyer Woo Young-woo in K-drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo". Image: Handout / AFP PHOTO / NETFLIX​
Seoul, South Korea: A hit Netflix K-drama about a high-functioning autistic lawyer is prompting soul-searching in South Korea, where some on the spectrum say they can feel invisible.
The endearing "Extraordinary Attorney Woo", featuring a neurodivergent attorney, has been Netflix's most-watched non-English show for over a month, following a path blazed by fellow Korean smash "Squid Game".
Even K-pop sensation BTS are fans of the global hit, with band members posting a video performing the signature greeting between Woo and her best friend—a dance step-slash-dab that is tearing across social media.
But the 16-episode series, which follows a rookie lawyer whose condition helps her find brilliant solutions to legal conundrums but often leaves her socially isolated, has gone beyond memes to trigger a serious debate in South Korea about autism.
Star lawyer Woo Young-woo is fiercely intelligent, with an IQ of 164, but also has visible autistic traits such as echolalia—the precise repetition of words or sentences, often out of context.