Extraordinary Attorney Woo Becomes a Musical, With Overseas Audiences in Mind From Day One

Lotte Culture Works and the theater producer Live Corp. will stage Extraordinary Attorney Woo as a large-scale original musical at the Ticketlink 1975 Theater, running from January 16 to February 6, 2027. The production was planned for international markets from the development stage, not adapted for them afterward.

The move fits a pattern that has taken shape since the drama's 2022 run: the property keeps being extended into new formats. A Japanese remake, Minami the Extraordinary Attorney, premiered on October 19 and has since reached No. 5 on Netflix's global non-English TV series chart, after topping Netflix's TV series ranking in Japan.

How the project came together

The original series follows Woo Young-woo, a new attorney on the autism spectrum who solves cases in her own way and grows along the way. It set a record as the highest-rated drama in the history of the cable channel ENA, and it was nominated for Best Foreign Language Series at the Critics Choice Awards and for an International Emmy.

The musical rests on a memorandum of understanding between Lotte Culture Works and Astory, the drama's production company. Lotte secured the rights, and Live Corp. joined as co-producer. Live is the company behind the Korean musicals Fan Letter and Marie Curie, both of which have been part of the genre's push abroad.

The show has also been selected for the 2026 Large-Scale Musical Pilot Performance Support Program, which is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and run by the Korea Arts Management Service. State backing of this kind is one way large Korean stage productions, which carry heavy upfront costs, get a first run off the ground.

The creative team and the staging

Kang Byung-won and Kim Ha-jin are writing the script, Kim Hye-sung is composing, Kim Tae-hyung is directing, and Oh Pil-young is handling stage design. The stage version aims to keep the warmth of the source material while using orchestral music and video imagery to express Woo's inner world, something the producers describe as a strength unique to live theater.

Kang Byung-won, who is also Live Corp.'s chief executive, said the company aims to add what only music and staging can convey to the original's warm perspective, and to build a large-theater original musical that can be loved in global markets over the long term. Yoon Se-in, head of Lotte Culture Works' Live business division, said the team is working toward a stage about coexistence, told through a protagonist who lives at a different speed and rhythm from others. She added that the company will draw on its content business capabilities to push toward a K-musical that works on the global stage.

Casting and ticket-sale schedules will be announced later.