'Amazing Lawyer Wi Ingwu'? Following 'Ogam', 'Wooyoungwoo' Also... Illegal Distribution in China

As Viewing Paths Diversify, OTT Industry Faces Challenges in Response

Cases of illegal distribution of Korean drama content in China are increasing. Photo by ENA Channel, screenshot from the broadcast of "Extraordinary Attorney Woo."

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Woo-seok] Cases of illegal distribution of Korean content are continuously occurring in China.

According to industry sources on the 19th, ENA's original content "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" (hereinafter Woo Young-woo) has recently been distributed under the title "Amazing Attorney Wei Yingwu" on dozens of illegal streaming sites in China.

"Woo Young-woo" is a drama depicting the survival story of a rookie lawyer Woo Young-woo (Park Eun-bin), who has both autism spectrum disorder and genius intellect, working at a large law firm. It has gained great popularity, breaking its highest viewership ratings each episode. "Woo Young-woo" also entered the domestic TOP 2 on Netflix and ranked first in the non-English TV program category in the "Global Top 10" rankings from the 4th to the 10th of last month.

Due to this popularity, interest in China is also high. On Douban, China's largest content review site, "Woo Young-woo" has received a high rating exceeding 9 points. It has received positive reviews from over 20,000 users.

However, overseas streaming rights for "Woo Young-woo" are handled by Netflix, which does not officially provide service in China. Because of this, the industry understands that Chinese viewers are watching the content through illegal streaming sites. The Korean Embassy in China also revealed during the National Assembly audit in October last year that Korean content is illegally distributed on more than 60 Chinese sites.

In fact, on the ground, "Woo Young-woo" content is uploaded on dozens of illegal streaming sites. Past popular Korean dramas such as "Squid Game" and "All of Us Are Dead" are also being illegally distributed.

In response, domestic and international OTT companies are using private monitoring firms to counteract this, but they are facing difficulties as distribution channels become increasingly diverse.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.