‘Goblin’ Special Episode: Gong Yoo Interested To Work With Lee Dong Wook Again

Goblin: The Lonely and Great God concluded over a week ago, but the fever is far from over. As promised, the team aired special episodes over the weekend to show behind-the-scenes from the drama. This revealed a more detailed look into the work that went into creating one of the greatest Korean dramas produced in 2016.

The special revealed that Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wook were very much involved in creating their scenes. They came up with ideas by themselves in how to make the drama more engaging for the viewers. Most of the time, they were on point with their decisions, and the scenes often made it into the final cut. One such example is the part when the Goblin was feeling particularly over confident one day, and asked the Grim Reaper and Yu Deok Hwa if they wanted to go to the sauna. Gong Yoo raised his arms as he walked out of the scene, and without missing a beat, Lee Dong Wook followed suit. The final touch was when Yook Sung Jae matched the veteran actors’ action, and this made it into the scene.

In the initial stages of the Goblin and the Grim Reaper’s relationship, the two were often seen one-upping each other showing with their powers. It turns out that both took inspiration from anime like Dragon Ball Z to make their showdown more amusing to watch. Dong Wook in particular is fond of watching retro anime and was often on his tablet to get ideas for his scenes with Gong Yoo.

Indeed, one of the highlights of Goblin is the chemistry of Gong and Lee and their adorable “bromance.” While viewers initially hesitated in the Goblin-Eun Tak love angle because of the characters’ obvious age gap, the deities’ “bromance” never failed to engage viewers who could never get enough of the Hallyu stars.

Gong Yoo expressed his interest in working with Lee Dong Wook in another drama, and this is not really surprising seeing as how well viewers received the two.

Dong Wook was particularly good in improvisation and ad lib and was often adding ways to make his lighter scenes look funnier. It was actually his idea to wear the Grim Reaper’s crown pin on his lapel, and this small detail provided an Easter Egg for viewers on one of the biggest mysteries of the K-drama—his real identity. In reality, Lee Dong Wook said he really only wanted to “brag” that he was previously a king. The actor expressed his mutual desire in working with Gong Yoo in the future.

“Dear Mr. Goblin, Gong Yoo. We had beautiful days. I wasn’t lonely, thanks to you. If we could work together again, I think we can have more fun.”

Meanwhile, because of Gong Yoo, the long coat trend for men exploded in South Korea’s fashion scene. The actor was very much involved in production, as he wanted to see how his outfits would look in the scenes. Especially when he decided to wear the burgundy long coat in the buckwheat field, which was actually a good call as it provided a stark contrast to his surroundings. He said he doesn’t usually wear bold colors in dramas, but he made Goblin an exception. Since the script conveyed pain and sadness, the production team decided to use colors like burgundy, dark blue and grey tones.

Among other revelations is the hard work that went into production. The scenes in Goblin were impressive to say the least. Each episode brought with it a movie-like treatment, especially the scenes during the Goryeo era battlefield, and the Goblin sinking a great ship into the ocean. The special revealed their use of extensive CGI to make these scenes look realistic on screen.

Production also spent a lot on the props such as the furniture in the Goblin’s house and the Grim Reaper’s tearoom. According to the K-drama’s set designer, because of the antique pieces used in the house, it had cost the most in production. Moreover, almost all of the props in the Grim Reaper’s tearoom were brought in from New York, most especially its grand chandelier. In addition to these, Kim Shin’s sword was especially forged and made for the drama, and Gong Yoo shared how physically taxing it was to shoot his battlefield scene, as the sword was quite heavy. He said his scenes in Goblin were even more complicated than his Train to Busan stint.

On Goblin’s final back-to-back episode airing last January 21, it hit the coveted 20 percent mark, making it the highest rated K-drama shown on paid television. It knocked Reply 1988 from the top spot, and even beat free TV K-drama The Legend of the Blue Sea.

Lee Dong Wook and Yoo In Na hosted the two-part special. They revealed an internal special awards for the K-drama stars, where Lee Dong Wook won cutest and most witty character. Meanwhile, Yoo In Na’s Sunny was declared as the toughest character, and Eun-tak’s aunt got the most despicable character award.

New drama Tomorrow With You, which stars Shin Min-A and Lee Je Hoon, takes over Goblin’s time slot every Friday and Saturday on tvN.

[Featured Image by Ahn Young-joon/AP Images and Kristian Dowling/Getty Images]