‘Goblin’ K-Drama Debut: tvN Releases ‘Regal’ Teaser Images Of Kim So Hyun And Kim Min Jae, Hopes To Be Back On Top With Upcoming Series [Images]
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The end of the year is coming up and 2016 has been a roller-coaster ride for Hallyu fans. With the exception of prominent K-pop debuts, 2016 was the “Second Kpopcalypse” loaded with so many members from seasoned K-pop groups leaving or disbanding. Though the disbanding of prominent girl groups like 4minute, Kara, and Rainbow brought tears to the eyes of many, it was 2NE1 that really hurt a lot of K-pop fans, especially Blackjacks (the official fan club of 2NE1), who waited for more than two years hoping, praying, and believing they would make their comeback. Alas, their final comeback was a stage performance at the 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards.
On the other hand, this year was phenomenal when it comes to K-dramas. After suffering a slump offset by the first “Kpopcalypse” back in 2014, fans have seen a return to dramas earning double-digit ratings on free-to-watch channels and earning more than 2 percent on cable or pay channels. The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) had Descendants of the Sun and Moonlight Drawn by Clouds. The Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) had Doctors and Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim, along with The Legend of the Blue Sea. Finally, the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) had W and Shopping King Louis.
It was even a great year for Korean television stations that make K-dramas for pay cable channels. JTBC is currently enjoying success with My Wife’s Having an Affair this Week while the Orion Cinema Network (OCN) had its most successful K-drama to date with 38 Task Force.
However, the one Korean pay cable channel that is enjoying the most success is the Total Variety Network (tvN). Almost all of their K-dramas have earned high viewership, but their stand-outs so far are Reply 1988 and Another Oh Hae Young. Sadly, their currently-airing K-dramas aren’t fairing so well. Both the 15th season of Rude Miss Young Ae and the Korean adaption of Entourage are rarely getting past 2 percent in viewership. It is safe to say this is the lowest point for tvN all year long.
tvN understands they are currently in a situation that needs to be rectified and they hope their upcoming K-drama, Goblin, will fix it. With its release date coming up quickly, tvN is promoting the show as much as they can to build hype for it, Just recently, they released “regal” image teasers of Kim So Hyun and Kim Min Jae.
The teaser images were recently released by tvN and they feature Korean actress Kim So Hyun (Let’s Fight Ghost) and Kim Min Jae (Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim), as reported by Korean news outlet Naver, through a translation by Soompi. Their roles as the king and queen in the beginning of the K-drama Goblin is a special appearance, as they play a vital role in why the main character, Kim Shin, is a goblin.
“Kim So Hyun and Kim Min Jae wonderfully portrayed the graceful images of a queen and a king. Both roles carry an important meaning to the drama.”
We don’t know exactly why Kim So Hyun and Kim Min Jae’s characters are so important in Goblin, but tvN was smart to tease their inclusion given the fact that So Hyun is popular right now for her role in Let’s Fight Ghost. As for Min Jae, he is currently a supporting cast member in Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim, which is well on its way in surpassing the 20 percent viewership rating threshold along with its fellow SBS K-drama, The Legend of the Blue Sea.
Goblin is a fantasy K-drama starring Gong Yoo, (Big, Dating Agency: Cyrano) and Kim Go Eun (Cheese in the Trap). According to the synopsis of the K-drama’s plot, Kim Shim (Gong Yoo) is a goblin who is also a protector of souls. He lives with an amnesiac reaper named Wang Yeo (Lee Dong Wook) who is in charge of taking deceased souls. Together they see the dead off into the afterlife. However, things become a bit more complicated when Ji Eun Tak (Go Eun) comes into Kim Shim’s life and she falls in love with him. This is a good sign for Kim Shim because he needs a human bride to end his immortal life, which is apparently something he wants to happen.
Goblin will air on Fridays and Saturdays at 9:30 p.m. KST on tvN. It will take over the time slot previously occupied by The K2. For those who do not have access to Korean pay channels, it will be available to watch for free, with ads, exclusively on DramaFever. Take note that DramaFever premium members will have one week exclusive access to new episodes starting with the third episode.
[Featured Image by Total Variety Network (tvN)]
