NEW DELHI: When you love something, you begin to understand it – and then you truly see it. Quoting a Korean proverb, Extraordinary Attorney Woo director Yoo Insik uses this sentiment to explain the remarkable global rise of K-dramas and Korean music. And, he believes, India is on the cusp of a similar worldwide wave.
Yoo’s 2022 Netflix hit about an autistic lawyer, Woo Young-woo (played by Park Eun-bin), won audiences over with its heartwarming portrayal of a young attorney navigating the Korean legal system.
On his first trip to India, the director of Vagabond, Dr Romantic and Pinocchio has had a packed schedule, visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra, flying to Hyderabad’s Ramoji Film City to meet producers, and sampling the city’s famed biryani, which he jokes has caused him to gain weight during just four days in the country.
“I’m very happy to be here. Thanks to the invitation from the Korean Embassy, I had this precious opportunity to see the astonishing beauty of your country,” Yoo told PTI during an exclusive interview at the Korean Cultural Centre India.
Yoo said he is well aware of the strong Bollywood fan culture and has himself watched 3 Idiots, RRR and The White Tiger. Each film, he said, impressed him with its creativity — from the wisdom of 3 Idiots to the imagination and technical prowess of RRR, and the sharp social insight of The White Tiger.
His time in India, he added, has shown him the scale and immense potential of Indian content to become a global force: “I think it’s a matter of time.”
He believes that once global audiences fall in love with a piece of culture, they naturally become curious about the world behind it. “There is a Korean saying: ‘When you love something, you begin to understand it. And once you understand it, you begin to truly see it.’ So maybe a new wave like Hallyu can happen anywhere in the world,” he said, citing the recent success of K-pop Demon Hunters.
Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, describes the worldwide popularity of Korean dramas, films, music, food and fashion.
Yoo attributes the strong resonance of Korean shows in India to shared histories and evolving societies. “Both countries have a painful colonial past, and both are changing rapidly. Issues such as class, inequality and the clash between traditional and modern values naturally become compelling stories,” he noted.
He said India has deeply inspired him. Visiting the Taj Mahal left him awestruck: “The scale was astonishing, and the details so lovely. India is full of imagination. Someday, our creators will find something here.”
As for upcoming work, Yoo has reunited with actress Park Eun-bin for The Wonder Fools, a comedy about a group of small-town misfits who gain superpowers and accidentally save the world. The series, set to stream on Netflix next year, also stars Tony Woo and Cha Eun Woo.
He is also working on 100 Days of Lies, a 1930s period spy melodrama starring Kim Yoo-jung.
On the eagerly anticipated second season of Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Yoo remained cautious: “We deal with very sensitive themes, so we must approach them with great responsibility. We are discussing it very carefully.”
The director revealed that the character of Woo Young-woo was inspired by a real person and that he consulted extensively with experts to ensure an authentic portrayal. He acknowledges some criticism that the show presents a fantasy of a rare form of genius-level autism, but one viewer response stayed with him — a mother who said she dreams her child will one day meet a boss, friend and partner as kind as the characters in the show.
“It almost made me cry,” Yoo said. “I thought that part of the story doesn’t have to remain a fantasy.”