With courtroom drama series "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," Korea has yet another hit on Netflix, ranking sixth on the global series chart.
The series, originally aired on newbie cable channel ENA, tells the story of a talented attorney on the autism spectrum who joins a major law firm. Moon Ji-won, the writer, had already created an autistic character in "Innocent Witness," a film about a girl with outstanding memory and acute hearing who witnesses a murder.
The idea for the series was born three years ago, she told reporters at a press event on Tuesday. "Astory, the production company, visited me and asked if Ji-woo from 'Innocent Witness' might grow up to be a lawyer, and whether it would be fun if the story was made into a TV series," she said. "I said it would be, and that I was interested in writing it."
Moon did not know anyone with autism personally, but her research opened her eyes.
"They have unique ways of thinking, a strong sense of morality and justice, and extensive knowledge of certain fields. Not all of them are like that, but I learned that some characteristics can be actually be strengthened by autism, which I found very interesting," she said.
Some have pointed out that the series only portrays the bright side and shows barely any real difficulties caused by the disability, which might be offensive to people who are afflicted by it.
But Moon disagrees. "If there's anything in the series that can make our society a better place, it will be the issues raised by the drama," she said. "I'm trying to listen humbly to as much criticism as possible."
