| BIGBANG's G-Dragon posted this picture imitating a scene from “The Guardian” in his Instagram, Sunday. / Captured from G-Dragon's Instagram |
By Park Jin-hai
Fantasy-romance drama “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” ended more than two weeks ago, posting a record high 20.5 percent viewership for the cable network tvN.
The story of immortal goblin Kim Shin, played by Gong Yoo, and his human bride is no longer airing but it continues to make waves on social media by fans who miss the drama.
Online social networking sites are swarming with photos, where fans have uploaded edited images of themselves with Gong. Typing in hash-tags of “Gong Yoo selfie” “Goblin bride” or “Guardian side effect” will turn up many such photos.
Celebrities, including K-pop singers Girls' Generation's Taeyeon, AOA's Seol Hyun and BoA, also join the hype as they posted their photographs with a sword penetrating through the chest as Kim Shin was seen in the drama. SISTAR's Bora on her birthday video blew candles making a wish saying “Gong Yoo, come out!” BIGBANG's G-Dragon also posted a photo, parodying the drama scene with the sword.
Politicians, mindful of pop culture, also used “Guardian” parodies actively. South Chungcheong Governor and presidential candidate An Hee-jung posted a photo of him and wife on Instagram, where An was depicted as a goblin and was holding the hand of his wife, who is wearing a red scarf like the goblin's human bride in the drama. The photo hash-tagged “Gong Yoo” and “Guardian” gained over 6,000 likes from people with over 500 comments. National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun also revealed an edited photo of himself, walking side by side with Gong and another lead actor Lee Dong-wook, humorously commenting “I thought that all-black (suit) would do.”
Due to Guardian's popularity, Gong's other dramas and films gained renewed attention as his fans looked for VOD services for Gong's past works, such as “Big” (2012) and “The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince” (2007), “The Age of Shadows” (2016) and “Train to Busan” (2016).
The soured Sino-Korean relationship surrounding South Korea's deployment of THAAD is still taking a heavy toll on local culture and entertainment sectors, Gong's name became the most searched word on China's social media platform Weibo on Jan. 24. The 16-part drama's broadcasting rights are sold to Japan at $200,000 for each episode. It is also exported to Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, the Maldives, Pakistan and other countries.