'Woo Young-woo' Advisory Professor "Initially Hesitant but Changed Mind After Reading the Script"

"The Most Important Thing Is Changing Society's Perspective on Autism"

ENA Drama 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' Photo by ENA Drama 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' Broadcast Screen Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Woo-seok] Professor Kim Byung-geon of the Department of Early Childhood Special Education at Nazareth University, who served as an advisor for the recently popular ENA drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," revealed that he was initially reluctant to take on the advisory role but decided to participate after reading the script.

On the 22nd, Professor Kim appeared on KBS Radio's "Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs" and said, "Honestly, before seeing the script, I was very hesitant to take on the advisory role," adding, "If autism is portrayed accurately, that is natural, but if it is portrayed incorrectly, it can cause a significant social backlash."

He continued, "(However) after reading the script, I thought this work could help raise social awareness about autism."

He said, "One aspect I thought about a lot was the character," and confessed, "I wondered whether to portray the character to fit the drama or to portray it in a documentary style."

Professor Kim analyzed, "When looking at movies or dramas that previously portrayed autism, I felt the characters tended to stereotype autism," adding, "For example, they always needed help, had only difficulties, and such aspects were overly emphasized."

He stated, "As the diagnosis name 'spectrum' suggests, autism is not necessarily only those things," and "So, while designing the character, I tried to show different aspects of autism."

Regarding the autism spectrum disorder that Woo Young-woo (played by Park Eun-bin) has in the drama, Professor Kim explained, "It is a disorder characterized by social interaction difficulties, language and nonverbal communication impairments, and restricted interests," adding, "It is usually detected before the age of three, but when relatively mild, diagnosis can occur in adulthood."

He added, "In the past, autism was approached categorically, but it was seen as problematic to diagnose it that way, so it shifted to a spectrum dimension," and "Therefore, even if it is autism, it does not look the same and can appear very differently."

Professor Kim emphasized, "Changing social perspectives is more important than institutional support for autism spectrum disorder," and said, "Even if the best support is provided to people with disabilities, or no matter how talented someone like Woo Young-woo is, if society does not accept them, the effect is diminished," stressing, "Both sides need to take a step closer to each other, and for this to be possible, understanding of 'difference' must come first."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.