The 2022 Korean drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo became a global hit, winning the hearts of viewers around the world. Park Eun-bin’s portrayal of the lovable yet sensitive Woo Young-woo received widespread praise and left a lasting impression on audiences.
Behind the success of the drama, however, were a number of remarkable stories. Park Eun-bin initially turned down the role, carefully studied autism spectrum disorder before taking it on, and the production team even delayed filming for about a year in order to cast her.
In this article, we take a closer look at Park Eun-bin’s thoughtful preparation for the role, the real-life inspiration behind Woo Young-woo, the meaning behind the name of the law firm Hanbada, and the famous zelkova tree that later became a designated Natural Monument in South Korea.
These behind-the-scenes stories may give you a new appreciation for Extraordinary Attorney Woo—and might even make you want to watch the series all over again.
The Director and Writer Waited a Year for Park Eun-bin
From the very beginning, Park Eun-bin was the actress the production team had in mind for the role of Woo Young-woo in Extraordinary Attorney Woo.
Surprisingly, however, Park Eun-bin initially turned down the offer when she was first approached for the role. Even so, instead of looking for another actress, the production team made the unusual decision to wait nearly a year for her to reconsider.
Park Eun-bin Initially Turned Down the Role
One of the main reasons Park Eun-bin hesitated to accept the role was the enormous responsibility she felt in portraying Woo Young-woo.
In an interview, Park Eun-bin explained that she was deeply concerned about whether she could portray the character without hurting anyone.
Her hesitation was not simply because the role was difficult. She was carefully considering how her performance might affect real people on the autism spectrum.
At the time, Park Eun-bin had already decided to appear in the historical drama The King’s Affection. As a result, she initially passed on the role in Extraordinary Attorney Woo.
After taking on the challenging role of a crown prince living disguised as a man in The King’s Affection, Park Eun-bin eventually returned to the opportunity to play Woo Young-woo.
The Production Team Waited a Year Because “There Was No One Else”
Even after Park Eun-bin initially turned down the role, the production team did not immediately begin searching for another lead actress.
The reason was simple: they believed Park Eun-bin was the only actress who could truly play Woo Young-woo.
Director Yoo In-shik described Park Eun-bin as the “only actress” he could imagine in the role.
Woo Young-woo is a character who needed to express intelligence, sensitivity, innocence, and charm all at once, and the production team believed Park Eun-bin was uniquely suited to bring those qualities together.
Rather than pressuring her for a quick decision, the production team waited nearly a year until she finished filming The King’s Affection.
Waiting for a popular actor’s schedule is not unusual in the entertainment industry.
However, delaying the production of an entire drama for nearly a year without a confirmed lead shows just how strongly the production team valued casting Park Eun-bin.
Park Eun-bin eventually rewarded that faith by carefully and thoughtfully creating the complex character of Woo Young-woo.
So how did she come to understand Woo Young-woo and develop such a distinctive performance?
How Park Eun-bin Prepared for Woo Young-woo: Psychology and Extensive Research
Rather than copying a real person, Park Eun-bin studied autism spectrum disorder through expert guidance and research materials while developing Woo Young-woo as an individual character.
Her thoughtful approach also reflects the mindset of someone who studied psychology at university and had long been interested in understanding people.
Park Eun-bin Majored in Psychology at University
Park Eun-bin majored in psychology at Sogang University and also completed a second major in journalism and mass communication.
Despite having worked as an actress since childhood, she chose to study psychology rather than theater or film.
Explaining why she chose to study psychology, Park Eun-bin said:
“Because I had been acting since I was young, I had a strong desire to understand people better.”
She has also reflected that studying psychology helped her better understand not only other people but herself as well, and that her university experience became an important part of her life as an actress.
Of course, it would be too simplistic to say that Park Eun-bin was able to play Woo Young-woo simply because she studied psychology.
However, her tendency to avoid making assumptions about people and instead ask, “Why does this person think this way?” clearly connects with the way she later approached the character of Woo Young-woo.
She Studied Autism Spectrum Diagnostic Criteria and Specialist Literature
Park Eun-bin did not rely on instinct alone when preparing to play Woo Young-woo. She conducted extensive research into autism spectrum disorder.
As part of her preparation, she attended lectures by specialists who advised the drama on its portrayal of autism and studied diagnostic criteria and reference books related to the autism spectrum.
She has explained that she also looked into diagnostic criteria that were used at the time for Asperger syndrome, carefully organizing different characteristics as she developed Woo Young-woo’s personality.
What is especially important is that Park Eun-bin did not reduce autistic people to a single stereotype.
Autism spectrum characteristics vary greatly from person to person. Professor Kim Byung-gun, who advised the production, also emphasized that autistic people should not be represented according to a fixed template.
For that reason, Park Eun-bin did not simply apply diagnostic criteria directly to her performance. Instead, she used what she learned as a foundation and continually asked herself what Woo Young-woo, as an individual, would do in each situation.
She Deliberately Avoided Copying Real Autistic People or Existing Characters
Another distinctive part of Park Eun-bin’s preparation was her decision not to use real autistic people or characters from previous films and dramas as direct models.
Park Eun-bin has explained that imitating the speech patterns or movements of real autistic people was something she absolutely wanted to avoid.
She did not want to observe a real person and use that individual’s behavior as material for her performance.
For the same reason, she also avoided studying autistic characters from existing films and dramas.
Instead of copying someone else in order to create an idea of what an “autistic person” should look like, Park Eun-bin built Woo Young-woo’s speech, movements, and thought process from the knowledge she gained through research and consultation with experts.
She was also conscious that her performance should not become a fixed stereotype of what people on the autism spectrum are supposedly like.
That careful concern reveals just how seriously and thoughtfully Park Eun-bin approached the role.
“I Wanted to Understand Young-woo’s Heart Before Anyone Else”
Ultimately, Park Eun-bin’s approach was less about acting technique and more about understanding Woo Young-woo’s inner world.
At a press conference, she explained her approach in words to the effect of:
“Rather than thinking of it simply as acting, I wanted to be the first person to understand Young-woo’s true feelings and then add my own sincerity, so that viewers could feel what Young-woo was feeling as well.”
Rather than beginning with the question, “How should I act like a person on the autism spectrum?” Park Eun-bin began with a different question: “What is Woo Young-woo feeling?”
That may be one of the reasons so many viewers connected emotionally with the drama.
Park Eun-bin did not portray Woo Young-woo simply through recognizable traits. She approached the character by trying to understand her as a person first.
That sincerity helped transform Woo Young-woo from a distinctive television character into someone loved by audiences around the world.
Temple Grandin Was One of the Inspirations Behind Woo Young-woo
One of the people the production team studied while developing Woo Young-woo was world-renowned animal scientist Professor Temple Grandin.
However, Woo Young-woo was not directly modeled on Grandin’s life or personality.
Instead, specialists who advised the drama looked at Grandin’s life and her TED Talk as reference points while developing Woo Young-woo as a unique character.
Who Is Temple Grandin?
Temple Grandin is an American animal scientist and professor who is also widely known as an autistic person.
She was diagnosed with autism as a child and later became known for using her strong visual thinking abilities and deep understanding of animals to contribute to the fields of animal behavior and livestock facility design.
She is a professor at Colorado State University and was named one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2010.
TED has also introduced Grandin as a researcher who has made major contributions to animal behavior and livestock welfare.
The production team behind Extraordinary Attorney Woo drew inspiration from aspects of Grandin’s life when developing the character of Woo Young-woo.
The goal was not to portray autism only in terms of limitations, but also to show how strong concentration, unique perspectives, and specialized abilities can become strengths.
That idea can also be seen in Woo Young-woo’s extraordinary memory and deep knowledge of the law.
Woo Young-woo’s Courtroom Scenes Were Inspired by Temple Grandin’s 2010 TED Talk
The influence of Temple Grandin is particularly visible in Woo Young-woo’s courtroom scenes.
Professor Kim Byung-gun of Korea Nazarene University, who served as an advisor on the drama, explained that Grandin’s TED Talk was one of the references used when developing the way Woo Young-woo speaks in court.
The talk was Grandin’s February 2010 TED presentation, “The World Needs All Kinds of Minds.”
In the talk, Grandin explains that she thinks in pictures rather than words and describes different types of thinking that can be found among autistic people, including visual, pattern-based, and verbal thinking.
She also emphasizes the importance of allowing people with different kinds of minds to make use of their individual strengths.
When Woo Young-woo enters the courtroom, she often appears very different from how she does in everyday situations. With the law as her area of expertise, she speaks confidently and logically.
Professor Kim explained that the character was designed to show stronger autism-related traits in everyday situations, while allowing Woo Young-woo’s intellectual ability to come fully to the forefront in court.
In that sense, Woo Young-woo’s confident presence in the courtroom was partly inspired by the way Temple Grandin speaks with authority and enthusiasm about her own area of expertise.
Park Eun-bin Said the Courtroom Scenes Were the Most Difficult to Film
Although the courtroom scenes may look fast-paced and effortless on screen, they were reportedly some of the most demanding scenes to film.
In a Japanese interview, Park Eun-bin said that when she looks back on filming Extraordinary Attorney Woo, “the courtroom scenes were extremely difficult.”
There were days devoted entirely to courtroom scenes because of the enormous amount of material that needed to be filmed, and a single scene could sometimes take six or seven hours to complete.
The director wanted Woo Young-woo’s delivery to sound almost like an encyclopedia.
Rather than speaking with obvious emotional emphasis, Park Eun-bin was asked to create the impression that information stored in Woo Young-woo’s mind was pouring out continuously, just as it appears in the drama.
She had to deliver long passages filled with legal terminology while maintaining Woo Young-woo’s distinctive rhythm, facial expressions, and manner of speaking.
Because the filming sessions were so long, cast members would encourage one another whenever someone began to lose concentration, helping each other maintain their energy throughout the shoot.
The courtroom scenes move quickly on screen, but behind them were hours of filming and extraordinary concentration from the cast.
The production team drew inspiration from Temple Grandin’s TED Talk, and Park Eun-bin brought that vision to life through repeated, demanding shoots.
The result was one of the most memorable elements of Extraordinary Attorney Woo.
The Name “Hanbada” Was Inspired by the Ocean and Whales
The name of the law firm Hanbada in Extraordinary Attorney Woo also has a connection to Woo Young-woo’s love of whales.
“Hanbada” (한바다) means “a vast sea” or “the open sea” in Korean. The law firm originally had a different name, but after the production team decided that whales would become an important motif in the drama, the name was changed to Hanbada.
Even the name of the place where whale-loving Woo Young-woo works is connected to the sea, reflecting the production team’s attention to small details.
The Zelkova Tree from Extraordinary Attorney Woo Became a Real Natural Monument
The “Sodeok-dong zelkova tree,” which appears in Episodes 7 and 8 of Extraordinary Attorney Woo, also attracted major attention after the drama aired.
The filming location was a large zelkova tree in Bukbu-ri, Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.
In the drama, the tree serves as a symbol of the village, which local residents are trying to protect from a road construction project.
After the episodes aired, many fans visited the location hoping to see the tree in person, and public interest in its historical and natural value increased.
Then, on October 7, 2022, the tree was officially designated as a Natural Monument in South Korea under the name “Zelkova Tree of Bukbu-ri, Changwon.”
In other words, a tree that villagers fought to protect in the drama later became officially protected in real life as well.
It is a remarkable example of how the popularity of Extraordinary Attorney Woo brought greater attention to a filming location and encouraged people to rediscover its cultural and natural value.
Conclusion
The global success of Extraordinary Attorney Woo was supported not only by Park Eun-bin’s thoughtful performance but also by the production team’s extraordinary attention to detail.
Park Eun-bin studied autism spectrum disorder carefully with the help of experts, while deliberately avoiding the imitation of real autistic people. Instead, she focused on understanding Woo Young-woo as a unique individual.
The production team also waited nearly a year for Park Eun-bin to accept the role and drew inspiration from Temple Grandin’s life and TED Talk while developing the character and courtroom scenes.
Beyond Park Eun-bin’s performance, the drama is filled with fascinating behind-the-scenes details—from the ocean-inspired meaning of the name “Hanbada” to the zelkova tree that later became an officially designated Natural Monument.
Knowing these stories adds another layer of depth to Extraordinary Attorney Woo and may make you want to watch the drama all over again.
