Gimbap becomes onigiri: How Japan remade 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo'

Extraordinary Attorney Minami, the Japanese remake of Extraordinary Attorney Woo, premiered Oct. 19 on Kansai TV and the Fuji TV network, adapting the Korean drama’s story of an autistic rookie lawyer for Japanese audiences. The remake changes familiar details, including Woo Young-woo’s gimbap to Minami’s onigiri and a revolving door to an escalator. Mana Ashida’s portrayal has drawn both praise and comparisons with Park Eun-bin, while early viewer responses to the remake have been mixed.

The Korean original aired in 2022 and reached a peak domestic viewership rating of 17.5 percent.

The Japanese version follows Minamida Minami as she faces prejudice, relationships and legal cases.

In the first episode, Minami struggles to find work despite her outstanding academic record before joining a law firm and taking on a case.

Some Japanese viewers praised Ashida’s gaze, gestures and speech, while others said parts of her performance felt artificial or too strongly influenced by the original.

The article says the original’s food, spaces and routines help convey what makes Woo feel secure, what situations challenge her and how she relates to others.

Published Oct 27, 2026 12:00 am KST

Woo Young-woo, left, played by Park Eun-bin, and Minami, played by Mana Ashida / Courtesy of ENA, official channel of "Extraordinary Attorney Minami"

Gimbap has become onigiri, a revolving door has been replaced by an escalator and even Woo Young-woo's signature greeting has received a Japanese makeover.

"Extraordinary Attorney Woo," the Korean drama that became a global hit in 2022 with its story of an autistic rookie lawyer with an extraordinary memory, has been remade for Japanese television — retaining much of the original while adapting some of its most recognizable details for a new audience.

"Extraordinary Attorney Minami," which premiered Oct. 19 on Kansai TV and the Fuji TV network, is a remake of the ENA drama that aired in Korea in 2022.

The Japanese adaptation follows Minamida Minami, a rookie lawyer on the autism spectrum, as she navigates prejudice, relationships and legal cases. But while the basic premise remains familiar, everyday details have been reworked to fit Japanese culture and life.

Perhaps the most immediately recognizable change involves food.

Woo Young-woo, played by Park Eun-bin in the Korean original, famously loves gimbap, the Korean dish of rice and various fillings rolled in dried seaweed. In the Japanese remake, Minami's comfort food is onigiri, the Japanese rice ball.

Woo's distinctive greeting with her colleague Lee Jun-ho — "Woo to the Young to the Woo" — has similarly become "Minami to the Minami."

Another change can be seen in how the two characters respond to everyday spaces.

In the Korean drama, Woo struggles to enter a revolving door, resulting in one of the show's memorable recurring situations. Minami instead stops in front of an escalator in the Japanese version and receives help from those around her before stepping onto it.

The changes illustrate one of the central challenges facing any remake: how to preserve what made an original distinctive without simply reproducing it scene for scene.

Food, spaces and daily routines can do more than establish where a story takes place. They can show what makes a character feel secure, what situations cause difficulty and how that person relates to those around them.

Localization, therefore, involves more than swapping a Korean cultural element for its Japanese equivalent. It requires understanding what a scene accomplished in the original and finding a way to convey a similar emotion or meaning in a different setting.

For viewers familiar with "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," such changes may make the remake feel fresh. But if the emotional beats and functions of individual scenes remain too similar, the result risks feeling like a copy. Change too much, meanwhile, and the reason for remaking the original can become less clear.

Mana Ashida faces inevitable comparison with Park Eun-bin

The performance of the lead actor is another major point of comparison.

Park built Woo into a distinctive character through her speech, gaze and physical movements. Her performance contrasted Woo's reactions to unfamiliar situations with the confidence she displayed when applying her formidable memory and legal reasoning in the courtroom.

As the Korean drama became a hit, Woo herself became an iconic character, making the role particularly difficult for another actor to reinterpret.

In Japan, the task has fallen to Mana Ashida, a well-known actor who began her career as a child star.

Following the premiere, some Japanese viewers praised Ashida's use of her gaze, gestures and speech in portraying Minami. Others compared her directly with Park, saying aspects of the performance felt artificial or too strongly influenced by the Korean original.

That tension is particularly pronounced when remaking a series built around such a recognizable protagonist. The more an actor departs from the original performance, the more obvious the differences become. But following it too closely can invite accusations of imitation.

The challenge is even more sensitive when portraying an autistic character. Reproducing visible mannerisms alone is not enough. The character's behavior needs to be understood within the context of her experiences and relationships rather than being reduced to quirks or cuteness.

A Korean hit gets a Japanese test

Both versions also address disability and social prejudice.

The Korean series followed Woo as she joined a major law firm despite the discrimination she faced due to autism. Through her relationships with colleagues, family members and clients, the drama explored social barriers that could not simply be overcome by individual talent.

The Japanese remake retains that central premise. Its first episode depicts Minami struggling to find employment despite her outstanding academic record because of prejudice surrounding her disability, before joining a law firm and taking on a case.

That theme has the potential to resonate across borders.

"Extraordinary Attorney Woo" became one of Korea's biggest television hits of 2022, reaching a peak domestic viewership rating of 17.5 percent. Its availability on Netflix also introduced the series to audiences around the world, demonstrating the potential for successful Korean stories and characters to become valuable intellectual property beyond their home market.

Remaking an established hit gives producers a proven story and recognizable characters while offering audiences who already know the original a chance to see it through a different cultural lens. For viewers unfamiliar with the Korean series, meanwhile, the remake can stand as a new drama starring local actors.

But familiarity does not guarantee success.

Early responses to the Japanese remake have been mixed. While some viewers have praised Ashida's performance and the production's fidelity to key elements of the original, others have expressed disappointment with its direction and overall tone.

For a remake of a series as widely recognized as "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," every onigiri, escalator and familiar gesture is likely to invite comparison with what came before.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, was translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

日版《非凡律师南》（Extraordinary Attorney Minami）于10月19日在关西电视台和富士电视台首播，改编自韩剧《非凡律师禹》（Extraordinary Attorney Woo），讲述了一位患有自闭症的新人律师的故事。该剧对一些熟悉的细节进行了改动，例如将禹英宇的紫菜包饭换成了南的饭团，将旋转门换成了自动扶梯。芦田爱菜的表演获得了好评，并被拿来与朴恩彬相提并论，但观众对这部翻拍剧的早期评价褒贬不一。

韩国原版于 2022 年播出，国内收视率最高达到 17.5%。

日版讲述了南田南在面对偏见、人际关系和法律案件时的故事。

在第一集中，尽管南拥有优异的学业成绩，但在加入律师事务所并接手一个案件之前，她一直难以找到工作。

一些日本观众称赞芦田的眼神、手势和台词，而另一些观众则表示她的表演部分感觉不自然，或者受原作的影响太大。

文章指出，原著中的食物、空间和日常活动有助于传达让吴感到安全的事情、让她感到挑战的情况以及她与他人的关系。

发布于2026年10月27日凌晨12:00（韩国标准时间）

左为朴恩彬饰演的禹英宇，右为芦田爱菜饰演的南 / 图片由《非凡律师南》官方频道ENA提供

紫菜包饭变成了饭团，旋转门变成了自动扶梯，就连禹英宇的招牌问候语也进行了日式改造。

2022年风靡全球的韩剧《非凡律师禹》讲述了一位拥有超凡记忆力的自闭症新人律师的故事，如今已被翻拍成日本电视剧——保留了原剧的大部分内容，同时根据新观众的喜好改编了一些最知名的细节。

《非凡律师南》于 10 月 19 日在关西电视台和富士电视台首播，是 ENA 于 2022 年在韩国播出的电视剧的翻拍版。

日版改编剧讲述了患有自闭症的新手律师南田南在面对偏见、人际关系和法律案件时的故事。虽然基本设定与日本人熟悉的案件类似，但日常细节都经过重新改编，以适应日本文化和生活。

或许最容易察觉的变化与食物有关。

在韩版原作中，朴恩彬饰演的禹英宇最爱吃紫菜包饭（gimbap），这是一种用紫菜包裹米饭和各种馅料的韩国料理。而在日版翻拍中，南的最爱则是饭团（onigiri）。

禹与同事李俊昊之间独特的问候语——“禹对英对禹”——也变成了“南对南”。

另一个变化体现在两个角色对日常空间的反应上。

在韩剧版中，禹棹喜费力地试图进入旋转门，这成为了该剧令人印象深刻的经典桥段之一。而在日版中，南美则停在了自动扶梯前，在周围人的帮助下才踏上扶梯。

这些变化说明了任何翻拍作品都面临的一个核心挑战：如何在不逐帧复制的情况下，保留原作的独特之处。

食物、空间和日常生活不仅能确定故事发生的地点，还能展现人物的安全感来源、遇到的困难以及与周围人的关系。

因此，本地化不仅仅是将韩国文化元素替换成相应的日本文化元素。它需要理解某个场景在原作中的作用，并找到在不同的背景下传达类似情感或意义的方法。

对于熟悉《非凡律师吴》的观众来说，这样的改动或许会让翻拍版焕然一新。但如果各个场景的情感节奏和功能过于相似，最终效果就可能沦为简单的复制。而改动过多，则会让翻拍的意义变得模糊不清。

芦田爱奈不可避免地会被拿来与朴恩彬比较。

男主角的表演是另一个重要的比较点。

朴赞郁通过言语、眼神和肢体动作，将禹这个角色塑造得鲜明生动。她的表演对比鲜明地展现了禹在面对陌生情境时的反应，以及她在法庭上运用惊人的记忆力和法律推理能力时所表现出的自信。

随着韩剧大获成功，禹棹昊本人也成为了一个标志性人物，这使得其他演员很难重新诠释这个角色。

在日本，这项任务落到了著名演员芦田爱奈身上，她以童星身份出道。

首映后，一些日本观众称赞芦田在塑造南这个角色时运用眼神、肢体语言和台词的方式。另一些观众则直接将她与朴赞郁进行比较，认为芦田的表演某些方面显得生硬，或者过于受到韩国原版的影响。

翻拍一部以如此家喻户晓的主角为中心的剧集时，这种矛盾尤为突出。演员的表演与原版相差越大，差异就越明显。但如果照搬原版，又容易招致抄袭的指责。

塑造自闭症角色时，挑战尤为棘手。仅仅模仿外在的举止是不够的。角色的行为需要放在她的经历和人际关系背景下理解，而不是被简化为怪癖或可爱之处。

一首韩国热门歌曲接受日本测试

两个版本都涉及残疾和社会偏见问题。

这部韩剧讲述了禹女士克服自闭症带来的歧视，加入一家大型律师事务所的故事。通过她与同事、家人和客户的关系，该剧探讨了仅凭个人才能无法克服的社会障碍。

日版重制版保留了这一核心设定。第一集讲述了南虽然学业成绩优异，却因残疾而遭受歧视，求职之路异常艰难，直到她加入一家律师事务所并接手一个案件。

这一主题有可能引起跨国界的共鸣。

《非凡律师禹》成为2022年韩国最热门的电视剧之一，国内收视率最高达到17.5%。该剧在Netflix上的播出也让世界各地的观众认识了这部剧，这表明成功的韩国故事和人物有潜力成为本土市场以外有价值的知识产权。

翻拍一部热门剧集，既能让制作人利用已有的故事和观众熟悉的角色，又能让熟悉原剧的观众有机会从不同的文化视角重新审视它。而对于不熟悉韩剧的观众来说，翻拍版则可以作为一部由本土演员主演的全新剧集。

但熟悉并不能保证成功。

日版翻拍的早期反响褒贬不一。一些观众称赞芦田的表演以及制作方对原作关键元素的忠实还原，而另一些观众则对影片的导演手法和整体基调表示失望。

对于像《无奇律师》这样广为人知的系列作品的翻拍来说，每一个饭团、每一部自动扶梯、每一个熟悉的动作都可能让人联想到前作。

本文来自《韩国日报》（《韩国时报》的姊妹报），由人工智能生成系统翻译，并由《韩国时报》编辑。