“Attorney Woo” Turns Out to Protest Taiji Dolphin Hunt – in the Philippines
By Mark J. Palmer
The new hit series on Netflix from South Korea, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, is attracting international attention. For those of you who are not familiar with the show, it features a young woman, Park Eun-bin, who is an attorney starting her first job in South Korea and who happens to be autistic. Rotten Tomatoes rates the show 100% for critics’ endorsement.
But the big surprise of the show is that Attorney Woo is a passionate lover of whales and dolphins. While the show is not expressly about whales and dolphins, they appear here and there in every episode as her psychic muses. Attorney Woo herself is a passionate opponent of captivity and the killing of dolphins and whales.
Capitalizing on the stunning popularity of the series, the International Marine Mammal Project’s (IMMP’s) office in the Philippines came up with the ingenious idea to feature a look-alike Attorney Woo as part of their demonstration against the Taiji dolphin hunts on September 1st. The demonstration garnered wide media attention in the Philippines, and appeared in news stories in Japan Today and the Global Mirror.
An "Attorney Woo" look-alike, modeled on the Netflix show Extraordinary Attorney Woo, joins IMMP's Philippines office's demonstration against the Taiji dolphin hunts.
According to our IMMP Philippines office’s press release:
Marine wildlife advocates and Kdrama fans gather in front of the Japanese Embassy in Manila to protest the resumption of the annual Japan Drive Fisheries which capture and kill thousands of dolphins in Taiji, set to last six-months from September 1 to March 1, 2023.
Inspired by the Kdrama Extraordinary Attorney Woo whose main character is an advocate against dolphin slaughter and captivity, protestors demand that the Japanese government take immediate action to stop the massacre of marine mammals and end the decades-long senseless practice. Sources estimate that the 2022-2023 hunt quota is 1,849 dolphins. While the majority is slaughtered for their meat, the remainder will be sold to the captive animal entertainment industry.
It can be remembered that Attorney Woo Young Woo and the Kdrama series had a great impact in increasing awareness of people, not just in Korea but also around the world about animals in captivity. In real life, the South Korean government recently announced, through the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, that it intends to release Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins held captive for the past 17 years. ‘Bibongi’, a male dolphin, is being prepared for reintegration into the wild.
South Korea is likewise moving to ban the display and exhibit of marine mammals, joining an increasing number of countries prohibiting capture and display dolphins for entertainment.
The Philippines, a party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), has a stake in the preservation of marine mammal populations, including those sourced from other countries but imported into the Philippines.
IMMP's Regional Director of Earth Island Institute Asia-Pacific, Trixie Concepcion, speaks to the media at the demonstration against the Taiji dolphin slaughter.
“Most captive dolphins were snatched from the wild in cruel and unlawful ways. This abuse toward animals is widely seen as being morally reprehensible. We are relieved that Korea is taking the lead in ending decades of cruelty and abuse to dolphins,” says Trixie Concepcion, Regional Director of Earth Island Institute Asia-Pacific, “In Japan, we are supporting the Japanese citizens and activists who are demanding for their government to stop the hunting of dolphins and whales in Japan.”
Since 2010 the group estimates that approximately 12 dolphins have been imported into the Philippines from Japan and brought to a facility in Subic. The majority of the imported dolphins did not live long in captivity.
Just like Atty. Woo, IMMP Philippines calls on everyone to be ‘extraordinary’ by helping conserve and protect dolphins and the marine environment. Instead of watching dolphin shows, advocates call on everyone to go dolphin watching in the wild instead.
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The IMMP Team at our US headquarters congratulates Director Trixie Concepcion and her staff for a wildly creative and compelling media and public event!
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The International Marine Mammal Project is working to end to the hunting and captures for captivity of dolphins and whales around the world. Your donations can make a huge difference for these incredible sentient animals. Thank you!
