Extraordinary Attorney Woo, a Drama as Warm as Spring Sunshine
Extraordinary Attorney Woo is a 16-episode legal drama that premiered on the Korean cable channel ENA on June 29, 2022. Written by Moon Ji-won (screenwriter of the film Innocent Witness) and directed by Yoo In-sik (Dr. Romantic), it follows Woo Young-woo (played by Park Eun-bin), a rookie attorney who is on the autism spectrum and possesses a genius-level memory and a deep love of whales. Each episode centers on a single legal case, but woven through the courtroom drama are larger themes of friendship, first love, prejudice, and solidarity.
The show's cultural footprint was enormous. It opened quietly at 0.9% in the Nielsen paid-platform ratings, yet word of mouth propelled it to a 17.5% finale — the highest rating in ENA's history — while it simultaneously topped Netflix's global non-English TV chart. Young-woo's signature greeting ("Woo to the Young to the Woo") and her line that her name reads the same "backwards or forwards" became beloved memes at home and abroad. Park Eun-bin won the Grand Prize (Daesang) at the Baeksang Arts Awards for the role. Naturally, interest in the show's real filming locations exploded, and the Sodeok-dong hackberry tree and the Woo Young-woo Gimbap shop quickly became must-visit pilgrimage sites for fans planning a K-drama location tour of Korea.
Behind the Scenes
The filming locations of Extraordinary Attorney Woo span Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and South Gyeongsang Province. The most talked-about is the ancient hackberry tree that anchors the "Sodeok-dong" storyline in Episodes 7 and 8. Searching for a majestic old tree worthy of a village guardian, the production team found a roughly 500-year-old hackberry in Dongbu Village, Daesan-myeon, Changwon. In a remarkable case of life imitating art, the tree's ecological and cultural value was reappraised after the drama aired, and in October 2022 it was officially designated a national Natural Monument — the drama's fictional court victory becoming real.
The revolving door that Woo Young-woo battles each morning belongs to the exterior of the powerhouse law firm "Hanbada," which was filmed at Center Field, an office tower in the Yeoksam neighborhood of Gangnam, Seoul. Unable to time the door's rotation, Young-woo keeps getting spun back to where she started — until, on her first day as a permanent hire, she clears it alone and names the new feeling she's discovered: pride. That moment distills the entire series into a single shot. The Woo Young-woo Gimbap shop run by her father is, in reality, a Japanese restaurant called Kazaguruma in Suwon's Haenggung-dong, which drew fans precisely because it was a real, still-operating storefront rather than a set. Elsewhere, the pub where her friend Dong Geu-ra-mi works part-time is Soso Jujeom in Daehwa-dong, Ilsan, and the bakery where Young-woo and Jun-ho share salt bread is Frangerie in Sinchon.
Travel Guide to Filming Locations
The locations split cleanly into two itineraries: a Seoul metropolitan day trip and a separate run to the Changwon tree in the far south.
① Seoul & Gyeonggi route (1 day): String together Center Field in Yeoksam (the Hanbada revolving door), Frangerie in Sinchon (the bakery date), and Soso Jujeom in Ilsan (Dong Geu-ra-mi's pub) by subway, then extend to Kazaguruma in Suwon (Woo Young-woo Gimbap) if time allows.
- Center Field: About 10 minutes on foot from Yeoksam Station (Line 2) Exit 8 or Seolleung Station Exit 5. As this is an exterior-only location, expect a photo at the revolving door rather than an interior visit.
- Frangerie (Sinchon): Roughly 10 minutes' walk from Sinchon Station (Line 2) or Sogang University Station. Order the signature salt bread to recreate the scene.
- Kazaguruma (Suwon): About 20 minutes by bus from Suwon Station, or a 10-minute walk from Hwaseong Haenggung Palace. Note the mid-afternoon break (roughly 3–5 p.m.) before you go.
② Changwon tree route: The Sodeok-dong hackberry tree is hard to reach without a car. It's about a 40-minute drive from Changwon Intercity Bus Terminal, with a temporary parking lot and portable restrooms set up at the village entrance. Visit on a clear spring or autumn morning to catch the silhouette of the lone tree above the rice paddies. Because heavy foot traffic has compacted the soil and exposed the roots, please admire the tree from outside the protective fence and avoid stepping onto the surrounding ground.
Fan Pilgrimage
The pilgrimage boom hit almost overnight. The Sodeok-dong hackberry tree at one point drew as many as 2,000 visitors a day, transforming a quiet farming hamlet of about 60 households into a nationwide attraction. Changwon City responded by adding parking, restrooms, and signage while stepping up protection of the tree, after the crush of visitors began compacting the soil and yellowing the leaves. That fragility gave rise to a shared visitor etiquette among fans — "admire it from a distance, with your eyes only" — which has become part of the pilgrimage's character.
The Woo Young-woo Gimbap shop (Kazaguruma) is the top spot for an Instagram photo, with fans lining up to strike Young-woo's pose beneath the drama's signboard; hashtags like #ExtraordinaryAttorneyWoo, #SodeokdongTree, and #WooYoungwooGimbap spread quickly. The Center Field revolving door, meanwhile, spawned its own playful ritual of "proving" you can pass through it. Beyond Korea, overseas fans who discovered the show on Netflix have made their way to Changwon and Suwon, turning the Woo Young-woo pilgrimage into a new pillar of K-drama location tourism.
Nearby Food and Attractions
Suwon's Haenggung-dong pairs location-hunting with great food and easy strolling. The Haengri-dangil lane around the gimbap shop is packed with characterful cafes and restaurants, and just 10 minutes away lie Hwaseong Fortress and Hwaseong Haenggung Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site perfect for an evening walk along the illuminated ramparts.
The Sinchon–Sogang area around Frangerie brims with the youthful, budget-friendly food alleys typical of a university district, while Ilsan lets you combine Soso Jujeom with Lake Park and Aqua Planet Ilsan for a relaxed half-day.
If you're doing the Changwon tree route, don't miss nearby Junam Reservoir, a famous winter destination for migratory birds that sits a short drive from the tree. For accommodation, stay around Gangnam or Hongdae for a Seoul-based trip, or in central Changwon for the southern leg. Because the locations are spread far apart, planning one region per day is the most comfortable way to walk through Woo Young-woo's world.
