Visiting Goblin

Goblin?

In the popular TV drama series “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” or also known as "Goblin", the male lead is, quite literally, a god.

Based on the Korean folklore of dokkaebi, a higher spiritual being roughly translated as goblin, the drama series features actor Gong Yoo as Kim Shin, a warrior born centuries ago who, after being impaled with a sword, is transformed into an immortal dokkaebi with endless wealth.

Korean dramas have notoriously favored near-perfect male leads -- attractive, intelligent, heirs to vast fortunes and more. “Guardian” has gone one step further in conjuring an ideal knight-in-shining armor, TV critics say.

Korean drama 'Goblin' popular but controversial

Goblin, in Western folklore, a wandering sprite that is usually mischievous but often malicious. Goblins supposedly live in grottoes but attach themselves to households, where they are believed to bang upon pots and pans, snatch nightclothes off the bodies of sleeping people, move furniture at night, and flee after rapping on walls and doors. They are thought to help parents discipline children by rewarding the latter with presents when they are good and punishing them when they are disobedient. The word goblin derives from the Greek kobalos (“rogue”).