Goblin is the latest K-drama offering from the Land Of Morning Calm and it has already set hearts and minds racing in Korea and beyond – not least because it stars one of the hottest actors in Asian show business at the moment.
The epic fantasy drama is the latest project by Kim Eun-sook, the scriptwriter behind the smash-hit military drama Descendants Of The Sun. Kim, who also penned high school romance The Heirs, says she rummaged through historical documents and spiced them up with imagination to create a fantasy series based on Korean folklore.
“Not much research has been done on dokkaebi (Korean goblins), so there was a lot of room for storytelling,” Kim told reporters in Seoul.
All that research has paid off as Goblin is currently sailing high in viewer ratings with K-drama fans falling over themselves in anticipation for upcoming episodes of the fantasy tale. Here, we outline 10 reasons why you should start binge-watching Goblin right now:
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Hot on the heels of his zombie apocalypse movie, Train To Busan, Korean actor Gong Yoo is once again showing off his impeccable acting skills on the small screen this time in Goblin, where he plays the titular character who has been cursed to a life of immortality.
The last K-Drama Gong Yoo starred in on television was 2012’s Big with Lee Min Jung and Suzy. He went off to serve his country after that in a national service stint but since taking off the camouflage, Gong Yoo’s been keeping busy with a slew of blockbuster movies under his belt.
Ah, what is a K-Drama without romance? Here, we have two major couples to satisfy our hungry hearts. Gong Yoo’s romance with Kim Go-eun will be probably the main focus, but that doesn’t mean Lee Dong-wook and Yoo Inna’s liaison won’t be memorable. We’re sure the couples’ interactions will definitely have viewers clambering for more.
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As mentioned already, the cast of Goblin is pretty star-studded in our eyes. Besides Gong Yoo, the show also features other top names like Lee Dong Wook, who plays a Grim Reaper with memory loss that ends up rooming with the goblin. In the show, he meets a seductive chicken shop owner played by Yoo Inna who makes his sad heart pound.
We all love a good bromance and Goblin has this locked down! Watching the love/hate relationship between Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wook will make you forget about the main couple’s romance and have you cheering for the boys to get together instead. Hehehe…just kidding.
True K-Drama fans would have already streamed this show and are probably updated on all the latest twists and turns in the series but if you haven’t caught the Goblin bug this may convince you: During its second week of broadcast, the show’s buzzword drama ranking score doubled that of Descendants of the Sun and is expected to increase even higher.
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According to Soompi, Goblin recorded a 6.3 per cent ratings for its premiere, the highest ever for a pilot episode on its network. It’s predicted to dethrone the current top Korean cable drama Reply 1988, which hit 18.8 per cent ratings during its finale.
If you like your K-Dramas with a side of surprise and an extra helping of thrills and spills, then you’re in luck because this show has all of this in droves. Almost every character in the drama is shrouded in mystery and it will have you coming up with your own theories about where the plotline is going.
We can’t give too much away as you just have to tune in and see which popular artists guest star on the show but we can tell you that they’re good. See if you can spot all the hilarious references to K-pop bands in the show too! Best of all, Goblin also stars a real K-pop idol in the form of BTOB‘s Sungjae!
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While the drama doesn’t have explosive action scenes, Goblin lends itself to spectacular fantasy action with its two male leads who have magical powers in a human world. So you are guaranteed to be riveted by the intense plotlines as the drama progresses.