Why did Extraordinary Attorney Woo add “extraordinary” in the title? Writer explains

Moon Ji-won, writer of Extraordinary Attorney Woo, the hottest K-drama on Netflix at the moment, recently revealed why she added “extraordinary” in the title. Unlike the controversy that made headlines a few days ago, the writer’s intention behind selecting the show’s name was positive.

In an interview on August 5, reported by allkpop, Moon Ji-won explained her perspective on the word “extraordinary.” She said,

“Generally we name people who are not ordinary, eccentric, non-conforming, genius, bizarre, weird, and special 'extraordinary'. These extraordinary people often make others nervous or create problems, but at the same time, they make our world more exciting and abundant.”

---

Extraordinary Attorney Woo’s writer talks about the message behind the Netflix show

Netflix’s Extraordinary Attorney Woo has attracted its fair share of both positive and negative headlines. The show follows the journey of an autistic but genius lawyer, Woo Young-woo. It has been praised for its smooth-flowing storytelling, non-toxic male lead, and more.

The series was written by Moon Ji-won, a scriptwriter who made her screenwriting debut with the 2019 crime drama Innocent Witness.

In a recent interview, she talked about the message of Park Eun-bin-starrer legal drama. The addition of “extraordinary” in the title connected the various stories of diversity and reflected the “powers” of the “extraordinary people” through the drama.

“I hope the viewers could feel extraordinary powers of extraordinary people through 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo'. The show reflects various stories regarding diversity. I don't think the show explicitly sends out the message but if I were to put the show's main idea into a sentence it would be 'respect the diversity.”

While the drama’s title may have been chosen as a positive image, many South Koreans pointed out that the original Korean name was problematic. Moon Ji-won, in particular, was heavily criticized for the use of “이상한” in the Korean title. The word, according to many Koreans, has a negative connotation and often means weird or strange.

Many argued that calling autistic people weird or strange was a step back in the representation the creators wanted to showcase.

A Korean-American autistic person, who is also a popular content creator on TikTok, had especially called out the problematic Korean title. They even reviewed the show on TikTok and mentioned multiple things that were wrong with the representation of autism, as per their perspective.

---

Extraordinary Attorney Woo rakes in high viewerships and praises

Netflix’s legal K-drama continues to see an incredible boost in viewership ratings. Episode 9 and 10 achieved the highest nationwide ratings garnering 15.7% and 15.1% respectively, as per Nielsen Korea. The 16-episode series, currently ongoing, crossed double digit ratings in the seventh episode itself.

Lead actors Park Eun-bin and Kang Tae-oh have also attained immense popularity and support from the viewers too.

The love for Kang Tae-oh saw fans lining up, saying that they were ready to enlist on behalf of him. The actor turned 30 in Korean age this year and will have to serve his conscription before the year ends. Park Eun-bin, who plays the titular character in the series, has also garnered immense praises for her portrayal of Woo Young-woo too.