TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
The life lessons of ‘Goblin'
Change Size
The romantic comedy began with a goblin cursed to an eternal life, but beneath the fantasy plot were several life lessons. (tvN's 'Goblin' official Facebook/File)
TvN’s hit “Guardian: the Lonely and Great God” completed its 16-episode run Saturday.
The romantic comedy began with a goblin cursed to an eternal life, but beneath the fantasy plot were several life lessons.
God doesn’t have all the answers
In the 12th episode of the series, God takes over the body of Yoo Deok-hwa (Yook Sung-jae) to answer the main characters who had been questioning and blaming god for the challenges in their lives.
“God is just a questioner; destiny is a question I give. Find the answers yourselves,” god said through Yoo.
In the drama, the main characters struggled to find out the divine will behind their hardship. They sometimes made choices in unexpected ways.
(Read also: Korean drama 'Goblin' popular but controversial)
In the final episode, the “Dokkaebi bride,” Ji Eun-tak (Kim Go-eun) died soon after she finally married her destined husband Kim Shin (Gong Yoo), sacrificing herself to save several young children from an accident.
“God cannot calculate or predict the sacrifices of humans,” said the grim reaper Wang Yeo (Lee Dong-wook) upon the destiny-changing accident. “It is instinct that comes out in the moment and a choice made by humans (not God).”
Reaping what you sow
In the drama, every person has four lives: one that sows, one that waters, one that reaps and one that consumes. From a king to a handmaiden, the rewards and punishments for their previous lives all took place in their next lives.
Meanwhile, the drama depicts grim reapers as those being punished for deadly sins in their previous lives. The sin turns out to be suicide, which ends up being forgiven after they finally learn to appreciate life.
In the series, virtue is rewarded and evil is punished, but the drama also touches on the themes of mercy and hope.
“Everyone has a moment when God stays in their life. If someone pushes you back to life when you are drifting away from it, then that is the moment when God stays with you” the drama repeatedly says through its main characters.
(Read also: Tourists flock to Korean drama ‘Goblin’ filming sites)
Although Ji dies at the peak of her happiness, she begins her second life with the memories from her previous life preserved, ending up with her lover again.
This article appeared on The Korea Herald newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
