What if someone else had played Extraordinary Attorney Woo?

    Park Eunbin is a child actress who acted for 25 plus years, but frankly speaking, her career was stuck at second-stringer dramas with little budget and few possibility for advancement. She had some roles in bigger dramas but they were mostly supporting.


    The drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo is getting popular in Korea, although the notion of an autistic/aspergeric attorney might be alien to countries not named Korea. It might be successful outside Korea, I don't know.


    Although there are reports that Park Eunbin was the first choice, that is just something released by her company. No producers would have put her as the first choice in any kind of dramas.


    The first choice appears to be a certain singer. '우영우'(Woo Youngwoo" has the same consortants, "ㅇㅇㅇ" , as "아이유"(IU).


    The very name of the central character was set to match IU , so right from the start it was rumored that the then 1,341 years old singer would play the attorney's role.


    There is the case of Red Sleeve. A couple of actors were cast but they were scrapped, and it was Junho who attracted all the attention all around Asia. While Lee Seyoung was the central character, I have to say that few people outside of Korea would have paid attention if Junho was not cast, which is why Junho was given the Baeksang (Korea's Emmys) and Lee Seyoung was given the cold feet, back to second string where she belonged.



    Park Eunbin was a second stringer all her career as well. She got some attention at King's Affection last year, but that was after her casting was complete in Extraordinary Attorney.


    If the 1,343 years old singer had been cast as planned, the male lead, instead of someone whose name nobody had heard about, would have been a younger KPop figure. The rest of cast are a bunch of no namers; with the name value of the 1,343 years old, better known people would have been cast with a large budget, since Hotel Del Luna was indeed quite popular outside of Korea.


    It is not known what led the former owner of Edam Entertainment to not star in Extraordinary Attorney Woo, with a name tailor made for her. Most likely it was the money; the company which produced the drama apparently could not raise enough money to satisfy the actress who bought a $11.7 million condo.


    It is the viewer's choice about whether Park Eunbin is appropriate for the role, but if a better known name had starred in there, it would probably have garnered more international attention since the drama does not have anyone who is known to foreign fans now.

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    Edited once, last by WhyKnock ().

    Hope you are trolling

    Park Eun Bin fits the role very well, I really can't imagine any other actress playing it as well. There are a lot of dramas that were much more popular than the ones starring idols, so producers don't go for celebrities that much.

    Chances are very small that IU was offered the role, if you've been following her roles over the last few years you'd notice the direction she's going - dark, mysterious and strong characters. So why would she play in Extraordinary Attorney Woo? It's totally not her style.

    Quote from taeric

    Hope you are trolling

    Park Eun Bin fits the role very well, I really can't imagine any other actress playing it as well. There are a lot of dramas that were much more popular than the ones starring idols, so producers don't go for celebrities that much.

    Chances are very small that IU was offered the role, if you've been following her roles over the last few years you'd notice the direction she's going - dark, mysterious and strong characters. So why would she play in Extraordinary Attorney Woo? It's totally not her style.

    It was announced in late 2020. Park Eunbin was not cast until around August 2021 when she had another engagement. The same story Red Sleeve had.


    The very name of the character was tailor made for the singer. I am sure if the singer had been cast the mood of the story would have changed significantly from what we have now.


    Lee Jieun had been playing the same kind of roles (including 'broker' ) since My Mister and was apparently looking for a change. But the deal somehow fell off, probably because of money, which led her to releasing some songs of dubious quality in the 2nd half of 2021.


    The cold truth is it is quite hard to get investment from the overseas without a name which is known outside of Korea. So a name which is not known outside of Korea is unlikely to be the first choice in any kind of dramas because you don't get investment. With a smaller investment the creators had to rely on the personal skills of PEB with a smaller scale. It worked out at this occasion, but it is more of an anomaly.

    PEB had success recently with The King's Affection and Hot Stove League - both dramas only demonstrated her strong acting skills and increased fans (like me).


    I dislike that this had to be frame as PEB was a poor choice to replace IU when in reality -- there were other factors involved re the casting - mostly timing and availability to commit to the project when it got financing etc. Sure - IU could have been casted for this drama but in reality, she wasn't. As a fan of IU - she's busy with the international film, Broker, and other things. I will look forward to IU's next K-drama.


    However, I acknowledge PEB's talent - she is not a poor choice to replace whoever they wanted to cast originally. PEB is killing it in this drama as WYW and let's see re awards season.


    Asian film industry has a long way to go to cast real representation and I think things are slowly changing but it's still difficult as leads.

    Quote from Yinye

    Asian film industry has a long way to go to cast real representation and I think things are slowly changing but it's still difficult as leads.

    I don't get the whole deal about "representation".

    It is like the anecdote from "Armgeddon" movie, when Ben Affleck supposedly asked, "Wouldn't it make sense to train astronauts in mining, than train miners to be astronauts?"


    Like that casting directors have to make a decision on who will best convey the character within time and budget.

    Actor playing the role or representative person from some identity group acting the character.


    It is a professional decision. For the people, all that should matter is if the role is done with empathy, without prejudiced stereotypes etc.

    Not who does it

    bbgc - Your analogy doesn’t work for me. Astronauts and miners have very different skill sets that is obviously not replaceable with each other. However, acting is an art and many people can do it. Representation DOES matter because there is talented people from minority groups that gets overlooked and miss opportunities. Like old Hollywood films casting white men to portray Asian characters when there were already Asian actors and actress in Hollywood looking and fighting for the opportunities. They would have portrayed a more accurate Asian than a white man acting based kn false stereotypes. Now for people with autism and disabilities - it gets more complicated because there are real health issues and risks involved but it isn’t impossible. In this current world - good intentions doesn’t justify not doing better especially if there is a more accurate and better representation. Let me add that the whole point of representation is to demonstrate being authentic and accurate as best you can. It’s no longer acceptable now to just be say we had good intentions but failed to understand how inauthentic representation harms minority groups.

    Hot Stove League - Namgoong Min's drama . PEB was just a supporting cast with little presence


    King's Affection - filmed after she was cast.


    In her long career PEB only gets recognition from the later part of last year.


    The most important part of a Kdrama , usually made for international audiences, is funding. People not known outside of Korea are unlikely to get funding since the drama won't sell without someone whom most people kind of know. Woo has no one the international fans might recognize, and while it will get some acclaim, I don't think it will be an international success.

    yall are laughing but Yknok is right though

    the dramas supposed cast was leaked in the beginning of 2021

    and the list was proved right because of Yoona and Jongsuk drama

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    Quote from Yinye

    bbgc - Your analogy doesn’t work for me. Astronauts and miners have very different skill sets that is obviously not replaceable with each other. However, acting is an art and many people can do it. Representation DOES matter because there is talented people from minority groups that gets overlooked and miss opportunities. Like old Hollywood films casting white men to portray Asian characters when there were already Asian actors and actress in Hollywood looking and fighting for the opportunities. They would have portrayed a more accurate Asian than a white man acting based kn false stereotypes. Now for people with autism and disabilities - it gets more complicated because there are real health issues and risks involved but it isn’t impossible. In this current world - good intentions doesn’t justify not doing better especially if there is a more accurate and better representation. Let me add that the whole point of representation is to demonstrate being authentic and accurate as best you can. It’s no longer acceptable now to just be say we had good intentions but failed to understand how inauthentic representation harms minority groups.

    Analogy is not exact, but the point stands.


    Movies etc., are not politics. They DON'T need to provide opportunities at a loss to themselves.


    They get to decide whether or not, a character played by actor belonging or not belonging to character's identity is best fit for their project.


    Good intentions depends on the context - for a movie/drama, it is to convey the story best and get good viewership. If it needs real-life identity to play it, then they can choose that, or do otherwise.

    Woke virtue signaling is BS.


    Anyway, AKP is for lighter things than social conflicts. I rather prefer frivolous fan fights over the real world identity idiocies.

    So will let stop here on this subject.

    Edited once, last by bbgc ().

    Quote from PeachZeze

    yall are laughing but Yknok is right though

    the dramas supposed cast was leaked in the beginning of 2021

    and the list was proved right because of Yoona and Jongsuk drama

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    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

    She even invited Byun Yohan to Palette even though they had nothing to do with each other, meaning the negotiation was well advanced at that time.


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    (She had met Gong Yoo a long time ago so they at least had something to do with each other but not Byun Yohan)

    What are you even trying to say lol. PEB was nominated for Grand Prize at last year KBS Drama Awards and she's steadily gaining popularity. Even if IU was the first choice, who cares. Park Eun Bin is a better actress and she's doing amazing. IU also has other big projects lined up like her movie with PSJ


    And the drama is attracting attention internationally. It was the most watched on Netflix, had a huge surge in ratings and is in talks for a US remake.


    Sometimes you don't need to have huge names in the cast to produce a successful drama. Look at Jirisan, had so much hyoe bit ended up as the biggest letdown of 2021. A strong script and good actors will work just fine. Alchemy of Souls has all nugus or actors with mid tier popularity but it's easily one of the most popular kdramas right now.

    Quote from vzal

    What are you even trying to say lol. PEB was nominated for Grand Prize at last year KBS Drama Awards and she's steadily gaining popularity. Even if IU was the first choice, who cares. Park Eun Bin is a better actress and she's doing amazing. IU also has other big projects lined up like her movie with PSJ


    And the drama is attracting attention internationally. It was the most watched on Netflix, had a huge surge in ratings and is in talks for a US remake.


    Sometimes you don't need to have huge names in the cast to produce a successful drama. Look at Jirisan, had so much hyoe bit ended up as the biggest letdown of 2021. A strong script and good actors will work just fine. Alchemy of Souls has all nugus or actors with mid tier popularity but it's easily one of the most popular kdramas right now.

    Timeline


    IU and Byun Yohan are offered title roles

    Deal falls through around mid 2021

    Park Eunbin is offered the role then, even though she is already set to star at King's Affection

    PEB gets awards for King's Affection, AFTER she had been cast at this drama, meaning her awards for KA was not a factor for her casting


    Alchemy of Souls has no big stars, but it is a drama by the people who created Hotel del Luna (and it has a minor Kpop figure, Hwang Minhyun of Wanna One) so it didn't start from zero unlike this one

    Not a single credible source that supports your claim.


    Park Eun Bin, Kang Tae Oh and Kang Ki Young are definitely more known among kdrama fans than Arin or Minhyun. It started from the bottom purely due to its broadcasting network.

    Dramas/films often are offered/considered by multiple actors, much of the casting is decided by schedules/budget, than 'fitness' to the character etc.,

    IU was in consideration even for Itaewon class.


    Such things are normal in the casting industry.


    But no, Whyknock has to make a big deal out such routine things, just because it involves IU.

    Let's be real: Usually there's a lead actor the investors (money grubbers) want and a lead actor the writers and/or director (storytellers) want. Sometimes the actor is the same person, most of the time they are not.

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    "And they escorted her to a prison cell..."



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    they were considering IU to play youngwoo?

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