Media Rants: Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Extraordinary Attorney Woo surrounds the narrative of Woo Young Woo in her journey starting her career as an attorney, especially being the first South Korean attorney (according to the narrative) on the autism spectrum. 

One thing that I really enjoyed about this drama, and is something that I think particularly came after the success of It's Okay Not To Be Okay is that the main character - not just the secondary main character, the actual main character comes from a minority group. Especially given the context of South Korea, mass media such as kdramas which are widely watched play a key role in highlighting and destigmatising stereotypes surrounding minorities. 

On top of that, each episode is a new case and particularly with the earlier episodes, I really appreciated how the cases/episodes are about relevant topics such as gender equality in the workplace and North Korean defects. 

Recently, I've been struggling with a lot of ego - ego in the sense that I am too much in my head about how others perceive me, wanting to people please and get praise. And through Extraordinary Attorney Woo I was once again reminded especially in a crucial time in my life that I can achieve anything that I want to achieve. The only thing stopping me from achieving that is myself and my self-doubt however, other people's opinions can only bring me down and be a barrier if I allow them to be. Woo Young Woo experienced so much discrimination and mistreatment because of people's assumptions and initial perceptions about her. Regardless, no one's words gets to her and she continues to strive towards what she wants to achieve which is very admirable considering her experiences. 

I think a sub-message from that is seek discomfort, act with courage, tying really well with the circular narrative where in the pilot episode Woo Young Woo fears the revolving doors and struggles getting through them which continues to struggle throughout the series. Despite her fear, she continues to act with courage where the final scene is of Woo Young Woo successfully getting through the revolving doors. 

Especially ending my experience at my university club in a few months, it is extremely uncomfortable going into the unknown with an undecided future. But it's comforting to see that if Woo Young Woo can be courageous and face her fears, I can too.