Viewership The first episode of
Extraordinary Attorney Woo recorded a nationwide viewership rating of 0.9%. By the third episode, which reached 4.0%, it set the record for the highest rating in
ENA's history. The series was the most viewed non-English show globally on
Netflix for the weeks of July 4–10 and July 11–17, 2022, logging 23.9 million and 45.5 million hours viewed and ranking in the top ten in 12 and 22 countries, respectively. For the week of July 18–24, it was the second most-watched non-English show, gathering 55 million of viewing hours. It was also the most-watched series in eight countries and appeared in the top ten in 27 others. The series returned to the top of the chart for the week of July 25–31, with 65.5 million viewing hours, and was the most-watched show in nineteen countries, while ranking among the top ten in 25 more.
Extraordinary Attorney Woo continued to top the charts for another six consecutive weeks after its finale, garnering 348.15 million viewing hours. The series became the "sixth most popular non-English show of all time" on Netflix, spent "20 weeks on the Global Non-English Top 10 list", and marked 21 weeks in the list for November 28 – December 4, 2022.
Critical reception On
Review aggregator website
Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 100%, based on 11 reviews. The drama and Park Eun-bin's performance garnered acclaim from critics for creating awareness about an array of contemporary socio-legal issues affecting Korean society and many other countries. The Korean-American therapist Jeanie Chang praised the series for its representation of mental health and how autism is portrayed.
Karla Miller, writing for
The Washington Post, said the show does many things right to bring the audience into Young-woo's corner: "Woo is sweet, likable and ultimately relatable. Because she can't really mask her autistic tendencies, we see her struggle when she tries to follow neurotypical rules for fitting in". In contrast, Lee Dong Ju, the mother of an autistic child, told a local broadcaster that the show is a pure fantasy, as for many on the spectrum, Young-woo's success would be equivalent to a kid winning an Olympic medal for cycling without being able to walk yet. Writer
Tammy Kim made a dig at the drama's portrayal of
feminism, saying it set unrealistic expectations in a professional sphere replete with gender inequalities.
Impact The show became a
cultural phenomenon in South Korea and sparked a number of trends. Due to its global success, including becoming the sixth most-viewed non-English drama of all time on Netflix, the series is considered one of the
K-dramas spreading the so-called
Korean wave internationally.
Gimbap sales saw a drastic surge globally, which has been attributed to it being Young-woo's favorite food. The 500-year-old hackberry tree featured in the drama was designated a natural monument by the
Cultural Heritage Administration after reportedly receiving a surge in daily visitors. The show has also contributed to an increase in the number of female protagonists in Korean dramas.
Bloomberg reported that boosted by the instant success of the drama, its production company
AStory's stock increased by 82%. According to
Good Data Corporation, the series ranked first in TV-OTT Drama Buzzworthiness for seven consecutive weeks, from the second to the last week of broadcasting. ==Accolades==