[HanCinema's News] "Extraordinary You" Meets With Approval From Original Webtoon Fans

"Extraordinary You" has been building a small reliable following off of the strength of its original webtoon version. Though the drama's ratings pale in comparison to "When the Camellia Blooms" it has been excelling in social media metrics, hitting second place in the latest Good Data report for dramas, while lead actors Rowoon and Kim Hye-yoon occupy the fourth and fifth spots for performers.

Another metric where the drama has done well is in YouTube clips. According to Smart Media Lab "Extraordinary You" clips have an average of 1.42 million views. Considering the drama's relatively low ratings of 4%, this is somewhat surprising, but makes sense considering that the drama caters to a specific kind of fan who is likely to be very active online.

But even disregarding the existing fanbase, "Extraordinary You" is doing very well considering that neither of its lead actors is a major star. The drama has already dramatically improved Rowoon's reputation as an actor, rather than a singer. It has also allowed veteran actor Kim Hye-yoon to expand from playing the younger versions of main characters or the daughters of main characters and come into her own as a full-fledged lead.

The drama has also been helped along by the fairly strong concept of the original webtoon, and how the main character is someone who would generally be thought of as someone in the background of a more traditional high school romance. This concept has allowed "Extraordinary You" to be a fairly fresh take on the fantasy high school romance genre, which has struggled to find popular representation in South Korean dramas in recent years.

Written by William Schwartz

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"Extraordinary You" is directed by Kim Sang-hyeob, written by in Ji-hye, Song Ha-young, and features Kim Hye-yoon, Rowoon, Lee Jae-wook, Lee Naeun, Jung Gun-joo, Kim Young-dae. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2019/10/02~Now airing, Wed, Thu 20:55 on .