Those who recently watched “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” may be quite familiar with autism. But prior to the 2020s, the perception of autism was in need of a major change. It’s not just because autistic people didn’t exist before this time; rather, people’s awareness didn’t exist. As a result, the ‘autism spectrum’ has come to be a difficult concept for people to understand. Beginning in the 1980s, the concept of autism began to be understood in the United States, where awareness of autism is higher than in Korea. However, Moon Ji-won, the author of “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” tried to incorporate the autism spectrum into her writing, starting with ‘Lim Ji-woo’ from her previous work, “Innocent Witness,” to the current ‘Woo Young-woo.’

 “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” recorded a 15.78 percent viewer rating, simply reversing the expectation that stories based around the autism spectrum would have difficulty gaining popularity. As the autism spectrum, which has existed in the blind spot of society, rises to the surface, interest in it is acting as a double-edged sword for autistic people living in reality. The biggest change brought about by the success of the drama series is the interest in the autism spectrum itself. The drama series accurately and directly presented the concept that had previously been ambiguous to the audience, allowing them to reflect on the misunderstandings they had about the autism spectrum and the facts they did not know. By explaining the term ‘autism spectrum disorder,’ the show communicated that autism is not just one specific condition; it’s a spectrum disorder. The show presented a new perspective so that the audience may rethink our attitude which has been indifferent about the facts and reality. This has been a key issue for autistic people, families, and protectors, and many people responded positively as they saw ‘autism spectrum disorder’ emerging as a topic among non-disabled people due to this show.

 But did this portrayal have only positive effects? All media comes with responsibility. In the drama, Young-woo is a highly functional autistic person who is very lovely, smart, and has a clear expression of her will, so to speak, that does not lead to hatred and rejection from others. Although other types of autistic people appeared in the work to explain the concept of the autism spectrum, they were only a means of explaining the concept through a one-time character and did not provide the opportunity to dig deeply into the reality of autism.

 It is somewhat naive that just one line from a character takes the responsibility about bringing autism to the surface. Also, we should not forget there are big differences between reality and the show. According to the previous paragraph, autism has been in the blind spot of society. Because of this, sexual assaults on women with autism have frequently occurred and the criminals are not properly prosecuted. In “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”, we could watch a romantic scene between Young-woo and another attorney. Of course, it is not offensive to write a story of love between them. But there is a responsibility that accompanies this. After all, drama series are a type of media that many people have access to, and there are people who can’t distinguish the show from reality. Looking at the show as a whole, it is hard to say that the writer took this issue into consideration. Another real-life example which the show doesn’t address is the public’s reaction to the demonstration of mobility rights for the disabled. There is no social movement without temporary inconvenience. Expecting a protest that doesn’t inconvenience others is no different from saying, “Be in the blind spot.” However, the reaction from lovable ‘Young-woo’ in the show does not reflect this. We can find another example from the case where the creator who made a parody of “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” as imitating autism sued the netizen criticizing the work. Not only people with autism but also people who have other disorders are often faced with mockery and hatred. And of course, acting involves mimicking their actions which can not be controlled by themselves. That’s why sometimes there is harsh criticism about a non- disabled person acting as a disabled character. But still some creators include such content in their works without being cautious and then file lawsuits when faced with criticism.

 The most disappointing aspect of the show was found in an interview with the writer. Moon stated, “I don’t have any family or acquaintance who’s autistic.” What we can see is the fact that she didn’t have any autistic person close to her during the creative process while writing two different works. If you study and investigate autistic people, you must meet and experience autistic people in person and have acquaintances. She admitted the limits of her work as saying “Frankly, I would feel bad about watching the show if I were autistic or had an autistic family member or acquaintance. I would not say ‘Oh, this is good.’ I might even have concerns about watching it.” Nonetheless, she didn’t present any plan for dealing with this issue at all. In addition, she also said, “Many of the characteristics of autistic people were reinforced through the autism spectrum, such as their unique way of thinking, eccentricity, straightness of ethics, overly broad knowledge of a particular area of interest, tremendous memory, and way of thinking with vision and patterns. I liked this part.” Here she showed a naive perspective of autism. She said that characteristics reinforced through the autism spectrum have made autistic people suffer because of the obsession they can’t control. But she exaggerates this and calls it attractive. Her attitude seems as if she doesn’t care and isn’t aware about the reality of autism.

 “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” has very clear pros and cons. Making the autism spectrum a topic of conversation creates positive changes, but it also does not take responsibility for the treatment, discrimination, and changes that may occur as a result of the show. Of course, it is not that ‘Young- woo’ can’t dream of romance or can’t be lovely because she is autistic, and it is not that “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” is entirely wrong in its intent. However, the media is responsible for the effect that its content has on the public’s perception of people with special needs, and therefore the media must be mindful of what it produces.

75th Reporter • KANG ROK KI • krk1754@naver.com

78th Cub Reporter • KANG SEE EUN • ks3en29@gmail.com