South Korean actor Gong Yoo cemented himself as an international star after his critically acclaimed drama ‘Guardian: The Great and Lonely God’ aired on Netflix in 2016. The quest for an immortal man or ‘Goblin’, to find his bride who might undo his curse was an instant hit.
At a recent appearance at the South Korean talk show Pinggyego, Gong Yoo revealed that the success of ‘Goblin’ began taking a toll on his mental health.
“Guardian: The Lonely and the Great God did very well, but I wasn’t happy. I was happy it did well, but apart from that, there was a time when I felt so empty and I couldn’t wake myself up. It’s not that the work was hard or that it went well, I wasn’t able to enjoy spotlight when projects were a success,” the actor confessed.
The ‘Coffee Prince’ actor further elaborated that it wasn’t easy to open up about the mental health issues he was dealing with, because it would have made other people seem like he wasn’t grateful for the success the show achieved.
“It feels like I’m not grateful. After going through a hard time like that, the way I look at people around me changed. I felt like I was more nosy in that I didn’t want them to go through the same hurt.”
‘Guardian: The Great and Lonely God’ centers around the Goryeo Dynasty military general Kim-Shin (played by Gong Yoo) who is cursed with immortality after he’s killed by the King. He must live on for generations until he finds the Goblin’s bride: a woman who has the power to pull out the sword in his chest to end his immortality. The drama also stars prominent Korean actress Kim Go-eun and Lee Dong-Wook. On it’s release, ‘Goblin’ was declared a cultural phenomenon in Korea and won numerous awards, including Best Actor for Gong Yoo, and Best Writer for script writer Kim Eun-Sook.
