TvN drama "Goblin" is currently getting quite high ratings on the channel and receiving accolades from people. However, the drama has turned out to be very controversial, telling the story of an ancient warrior who was stabbed and transformed into a goblin.
In general, the male leads we have seen in Korean dramas so far are intelligent, attractive and rich people or those with supernatural powers. But South Korean drama "Goblin" is different from all, and goes a step ahead portraying the male lead literally as 'God'.
From god-like men to actual gods having the abilities surpass the realm of human strength.
According to The Straits Times, the high viewership ratings of the K-drama are mainly because of the female viewers who wish for an all-powerful man and have the power to solve all the problems of contemporary women.
Another controversy revolving around the popular K-drama is the paedophilic love between an old man and a minor. In the popular tvN series the female lead is paired with a guy who looks like, he is in his 30s, but in reality, he is 939 years old.
"The fantasy system of falling for a very wealthy guy overwhelms the guilt of the big age gap," Yibada reported.
Another issue that has plagued the tvN series is its overt product placement. In a part, in the eighth episode, we find two main characters in Subway and are discussing in detail which ingredients to choose and what will be the size of the sandwiches.
It is not only in this case, be it the fried chicken the immortal and his housemate ate from a certain franchise or be it the interior décor or clothing the camera always captures brand names.
Though this isn't quite unusual in K-dramas using product placement to fund production in 'Goblin' it has become "excessive to the point of distracting".
In the latest episode, "After revealing the past identities of both the grim reaper and Sunny, tvN's "Goblin" also revealed the true identity of Yook Sungjae's character Yoo Duk Hwa," Soompi reported.
It is suspected that Yoo Duk Hwa is a matchmaker god. According to Soompi, many of the viewers are trying to figure out when exactly he went from being a "third-generation chaebol to becoming a god." It is yet to see whether the upcoming episodes fuel more controversies or just snuff them out.
Every Friday and Saturday "Goblin" is airing at 8pm KST on TvN. On Jan. 21, it will air its 16th or last episode.
