How Eastern celebrities, like South Korean star Gong Yoo, differ from their Western counterparts

Dear Gossips,

Anyone who has ever f-cked with K-dramas knows Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, better known as Goblin. It’s one of the most-watched, most popular K-dramas of all time, about an immortal mythological figure looking for his bride through the centuries so that she might help him find eternal rest. Goblin was released in December 2016, a smash hit, immediately iconic. Not just in viewership but in impact. There are key scenes in the show that are instantly recognisable – often imitated or referenced. Same goes for the music.

This one will live on forever, it’s embarrassing how many times I’ve replayed it.

To celebrate the 10^th anniversary of Goblin, the four leads – Gong Yoo, Kim Go-eun, Lee Dong-wook, and Yoo In-na – filmed a reunion special that will air on July 4. They weren’t just getting together in some studio somewhere and talking for an hour. They went on a trip, the four of them packed up, got in a car, drove to Gangneung where many of the most memorable scenes were shot a decade ago, catching up over a couple of days.

This is another way that Eastern celebrity is different from its western counterpart. It just wouldn’t happen like this with stars in the west, especially stars who are this famous. Gong Yoo is one of Korea’s biggest celebrities. Lee Dong-wook isn’t too far behind him. They’re like Ben Affleck and Matt Damon (without the scandals) because they’re such good friends. Or George Clooney and Brad Pitt (without the scandals) and the friendship is real between them. These aren’t exact comparisons, the point is their level of fame. And Kim Go-eun is considered one of the top tier actresses of her generation – think Jennifer Lawrence or Emma Stone in terms of acclaim and pop culture influence. Now imagine all these western entertainers giving their time to what’s essentially a reality road trip to commemorate their beloved show from ten years ago? Grilling on the BBQ, washing dishes, playing silly games, heart-to-heart chats by the fire? Impossible.

Speaking of Gong Yoo, he’s been a longtime Louis Vuitton ambassador and he was in Paris yesterday for the presentation of Pharrell’s latest collection.

As you can see from the end of that reel, Gong Yoo was seated next to j-hope, also an LV ambassador. Hobi made a pitstop in Paris before joining the other members of BTS in Madrid where they will kick off the European leg of the ARIRANG World Tour on Friday. Spain is playing their next game in the World Cup on Friday too. It’s going to be mayhem in Madrid that night.

Back to Gong Yoo, though, because we’re looking back and looking ahead. After the Goblin anniversary special, his next appearance will be in the highly anticipated series, Tantara, co-starring Song Hye-kyo, pretty much Gong Yoo’s equivalent in an actress in terms of celebrity status. This is their first project together. And it’s been a minute since either of them have released new work. Tantara is set in the 60s and the 80s about people who are trying to break into the entertainment industry. Some of us have been waiting, impatiently, for this to drop. Can’t speak for everyone but I’ve been in a K-drama slump, so with this coming in December, it’s the perfect holiday binge.

Yours in gossip,

Lainey