Goblin

During the Goryeo Dynasty, Kim Shin (Gong Yoo) is a glorious general who, after being sentenced to death by the young king he served, is struck by a divine curse: he becomes a immortal dokkaebi, condemned to wander through the centuries with a supernatural sword lodged in his body. Only the mysterious «Goblin’s Fiancée» can see and remove this sword, allowing him to finally die and find peace.

Centuries later, Kim Shin meets Ji Eun-tak (Kim Go-eun, Han Seo-jin as a young woman), a high school student who can see ghosts and claims to be that very fiancée. At the same time, Kim Shin finds himself sharing his home with a mysterious Reaper (Lee Dong-wook), tasked with guiding the souls of the dead to the afterlife and unable to remember his past life. Their conflict-ridden coexistence gradually evolves into a bromance that has become one of the drama’s defining elements.

The Reaper also meets Sunny (Yoo In-na), the owner of a chicken restaurant, and immediately feels a strange connection with her linked to their past lives. Yoo Deok-hwa (Yook Sung-jae), the heir to a family that has been tasked with serving Kim Shin for generations, rounds out this group of characters whose fates are intimately intertwined. Amid immortality, reincarnation, love, sacrifice, and destiny, Goblin It thus tells several stories separated by centuries but gradually brought together by the consequences of a tragedy that occurred during the Goryeo period.

Impact and Success

Goblin It became one of the most iconic K-dramas of the 2010s and a huge hit for the cable network tvN. Starting with a national viewership rating of 6.322 %, the drama surpassed 10 % by its third episode and ended with a spectacular 18,680 % nationally and 20,986 % in the Seoul area.

Its national average rating reached 12.924 %, an exceptional level for a cable network at that time. Its influence extends far beyond its viewership: the winter photography, the filming locations, the characters« fashion, the bromance between Gong Yoo and Lee Dong-wook, and above all, its soundtrack have become closely associated with the golden age of K-dramas in the 2010s. Songs like »Stay With Me« by Chanyeol and Punch, »Beautiful« by Crush, and »I Will Go to You Like the First Snow” by Ailee are among the iconic tracks on its soundtrack.

The series has also won numerous awards: at the 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards, Kim Eun-sook won the Grand Prize (Daesang) and Gong Yoo won Best Actor, while the drama, Lee Eung-bok, Kim Go-eun, and the screenplay were also among the nominees. Goblin It also won the Best Drama award at the Korean Cable TV Awards, as well as several awards for its original soundtrack.

More than 10 years after it aired, its significance remains strong enough that a special program celebrating its 10th anniversary be listed for 2026: Goblin It thus remains a seminal work of Korean romantic fantasy.