K-drama review: Extraordinary Attorney Woo | Will this sleeper hit on Netflix take the Hallyu wave higher?

Ha Yoon-Kyung as Choi Su-yeon and Park Eun-bin as Woo Young-woo in 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo'. (screen grab)

The Koreans write fabulous courtroom dramas. Having watched shows from Hyena to Haechi, Juvenile Justice, Doctor Lawyer and Law School, I clicked ‘play’ on Extraordinary Attorney Woo from the time the first two episodes dropped on June 29. And hoo boy! I had to brew some strong black coffee to stop myself from pausing to watch Rain Man.

K-drama fans know that the content makers' sense of inclusion is phenomenal. Abandoned kids, bullied kids, mentally challenged siblings, alcoholics, abandoned or lonely elders - there’s not a topic they shy away from. Emmy nominee It's Okay to Not be Okay deals with health conditions from sleep paralysis to depression, post-traumatic stress and autism, to cite just one example.

So the premise of Extraordinary Attorney Woo did not come as a surprise. She’s on the Autism spectrum, but her father has discovered her awesome memory and love of law books, so has seen her through law school. The show follows her exploits at her first job. Her immediate superior tells the CEO that she hesitates to enter a room, so how can he trust her to handle courtroom appearances? The CEO gently but firmly asks him to give her a chance, because her law school marks have been amazing...

Predictable, I thought, until I learnt to smile at Young-woo's (Park Eun-bin) quirks and watched this young woman challenge everything from brothers cheating a brother to killing of a spouse and then the episode of corporate greed stunned me.

The makers don’t spare this differently abled attorney the ethics questions the case throws up. Does she have a conscience? A letter jolts her from her win (and of course, us the audience too):

‘Please read this attorney Woo.

Why are you disregarding the truth?

Do you want to be a competent attorney who only wins in court

Or do you want to be an honourable attorney who reveals the truth?’

It was raining outside as I watched the episode. And I felt awful, because the truth hit me hard. All of us, no matter what profession we follow, do face the question of ethics many times. Some of us don’t have a choice and we come home ashamed and defeated, and sometimes we come home (of course you have lost the job, and go through a gamut of emotions) after having decimated the ones who were trying to push you off the straight and narrow (sometimes it is the boss and at other times a colleague) into doing something your conscience won’t let you…

Is that why the show has become the most watched in 22 countries, and the top watch in 8? The beauty of not treating her disability as something to sweep under the carpet, the show takes it head on. They show her rearranging food on her plate, her inability to comprehend revolving doors and more with so much ease. I too was taken aback when her co-worker asks Attorney Woo to give her a nickname. The truth bomb that Woo drops will make you laugh and cry at the same time.

We are very awkward when we have to work with and even meet people who are differently abled. The co-worker’s exasperation with Attorney Woo is so relatable I am looking forward to seeing much more from this show. And yes, I do love the whales that show up not just in her head, but also in unexpected places in the series. So a thumbs up to the special effects team at the production house and the team that thought this up.

The production house Astory Co has been dishing out some fantastic shows ever since its inception with these three super talented people: Lee Sang-baek, drama writer Choi Wan-kyu and director You Chul-yong. The shows that you have loved are some of the biggest ever, starting with Kingdom. They have also created Hyena, General Hospital, Please Marry Me, Signal, The King’s Doctor, Queen Of Mystery, 100 Days My prince. With Extraordinary Attorney Woo episodes dropping weekly on Netflix, this production house's stocks have shot through the roof. They have created period shows as well as brilliant contemporary ones. Kudos to the writers and the production team who truly make this show extraordinary; proof that content is truly king.