MANILA, Philippines — The Cultural Heritage Administration of South Korea has announced plans to designate a 500-year-old hackberry tree in the southern city of Changwon as a natural monument after it was featured on the hit Netflix series "Extraordinary Attorney Woo."
Since appearing on "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," the hackberry tree found atop a hill in Dongbu Village has seen a surge in daily visitors according to residents and has become a "national topic."
The tree's official name is the "East Asian Hackberry of Bukbu-ri, Changwon" and was declared protected in 2015, but the Cultural Heritage Administration intends to elevate it to a natural monument status after some consultations.
In the seventh and eighth episodes of the show, the Atty. Woo and her colleagues at Hanbada Law Firm won a case against their biggest rival, Taesan, in having the tree designated as a natural monument when the local government intended to construct a road that would cut through the fictional village of Sodeokdong.
The East Asian Hackberry of Bukbu-ri, Changwon stands over 50 feet high with a circumfurence over 20 feet, as well as a crown spread nearing 90 feet.
Because of increasing popularity, the administration and city government have revamped tourism efforts by installing temporary pavement facilities, protective fences, and temporary toilets around the area.
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A committee has confirmed a Dangjip temple used to exist beside the tree, and annual ritual — celebrated on first day of the 10th lunar month — of worshipping the tree as the village guardian has been a handed-down tradition.
According to The Korea Times, there are currently two other hackberry trees that are considered natural monuments in South Korea, found respectively in the counties of Yecheon and Gochang.
"Extraordinary Attorney Woo" stars Park Eun-bin as the titular lawyer with autism spectrum disorder and eidetic memory, with the show tackling both aspects of Woo in regards to how society treats people with autism and how she defends or opposes people in court.
According to the latest numbers by Netflix, "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" is the streaming platform's currently most-watched show and has been in the Global Top 10 for seven consecutive weeks with over 77.4 million hours viewed since premiering on June 29.
Closing in is the recently released "The Sandman" at 77.2 million hours viewed after three weeks on the Netflix charts, while far behind the Korean show on the Global Top 10 is Mexico's "High Heat" with 27.7 million hours viewed.
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