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'Extraordinary Attorney Woo': Korean men slam feminist show, fans say 'sorry for wanting equal rights'

Fans of the ENA K-drama call out misogynist Korean men for criticizing the makers for portraying men as villains

K-drama 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' is gaining a lot of traction around the world due to the powerful message that the ENA drama promotes; but this has now become a hot topic of discussion in a culturally sensitive country like South Korea. On August 5, reports from Korean online communities revealed that the female-led 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' was being slammed by Korean male fans who claim that the show was imposing feminist ideas by showing men in a negative light which they believe is not the truth in reality.

There is no lie in the fact that women are marginalized, not only in South Korea but in other countries of the world, more than one could imagine. However, OP (Original Poster) claims that the cases portrayed in the last few episodes have been constantly portraying men in a bad light, starting from Episode 10 of 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' where a male client who is wrongfully incarcerated for being in love with a woman with autism. On the show, the few recent cases explored showed female characters as victims, but actually aimed at supporting Young-woo (played by Park Eun-bin) - a female attorney, in her journey of self-discovery as an autistic lawyer. 

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Following that case including a girl with autism, Episode 11 of the 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' featured a case involving a man who was cheating on his wife and tried to scam her out of the money he won in a lottery. Not only that but the most recent episode that aired on Thursday, August 4, showed the case of women being forcefully recommended with voluntary retirement from their companies.

After such recent cases on the show, some male Knetz expressed their displeasure with the show turning into a 'feminist drama' that glorifies the narrative that men are the perpetrators of crimes and women are mere victims. Other Knetz also wondered why the makers of 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' promoted pseudo-feminism by only showing men in villainous roles.

'This convinced me to watch'

Global fans of the show however have an opposite reaction to this as they stated that the show is only trying to bring up cases that can somehow follow the journey of Woo Young-woo's female character. Fans are bashing these comments by calling out their misogyny  with one fan saying, "And? Go cry about that." One fan said, "Oh SORRY for wanting equal rights we were in a silly goofy mood." One fan said, "But the 12th episode really crossed the line... so much feminist + left wing ideas all over the episode that I just can't shield. Bro, its based on real life case. what r u talking about...?" A fan responded, "It's not about the "framework has always been about depicting men as evil and women as the weak" that the writer made. its real life case. real life issues."

One more fan said, "Almost every film portraits men fighting against evil men/women but these character are called heroes and no one complains about too much masculinity. What kind of of double standard is this?" Another fan said, "Must be their guilty conscience then." One fan said, "Men giving unwanted opinions, example 2554676546547." One fan joked, "This just convinced me to watch." One more fan said, "I'd love to hear some of these people's thoughts on dramas with male MCs. is that instantly something that falls into an external category - for depicting a man/men who overcomes obstacles? no. it's just a normal fucking show." Another fan said, "If the drama made misogynist korean men upset I have to watch it."