Hallyu is real!

And there is an ongoing popularization of the Korean culture in the Philippines. In fact, Koreans are everywhere from Baguio to Cebu and in other key cities.

The Filipinos’ love for everything Korean is ever-growing. I, myself, caught the Korean love bug thanks to several unpretentious K dramas on my USB. I’ve finished several dramas from All About Eve, Irene, Jewel in the Palace, Queen Seon Deok to Love in the Moonlight. I’ve already lost count of how many Koreanovelas I’ve watched; I can’t name them all either [because I already forgot some of the titles.

The latest was the Goblin: The Lonely and Great God, starring the swoon-worthy Gong Yoo of Coffee Prince and Train to Busan.

Controversial as it is [but not necessarily because of the excessive product placement], Goblin captures the attention of the viewers—religious or secular.

From watching how the Goblin Couple’s sad love unfolds, I came to realize three things.

3 things I learned from Goblin

1) A kiss is powerful

For most Korean dramas I’ve watched, there are very few kisses that happen on the first few episodes. The same with Goblin, the first kiss occurred in the seventh episode. It was also during this episode when the ratings started to skyrocket, displacing ‘The Legend of the Blue Sea.’

It was the grim reaper and Goblin’s Sister’s kiss that proved how powerful a single kiss can be. It can make you forget then remember. Or, remember then forget about it if you want.

All the more reasons why a kiss is more than just a kiss. As a matter of fact, about 90% of the people remember their first romantic kiss than their first sexual encounter. A personal thing, kissing also makes you happy and healthy. That’s just how formidable a kiss can be.

2) Love is even more powerful

Choosing between sadness and love, the Goblin Bride would always say, ‘sad love.’ It’s better to love than not to experience love at all, right? Come to think of it, why would someone sacrifice anything for the sake of other person’s happiness? To the point of risking your own life and happiness like what the goblin did?

Love is an undeniable emotion; the energy that pulls all elements together. We all want to love and be loved, saying this with the Grim Reaper on my mind. So yes, we seek love, consciously and subconsciously, above all else.

3) The Almighty is the most powerful of all

He won’t be called the Almighty for nothing, I guess. With ineffable, infinite power and might, He created all things awesome and not-so yet all this exceed our understanding.

Such incomprehensible omnipotence we test sometimes. This is what happened to the Goblin, Grim Reaper and Goblin’s Sister with the Goblin Bride as the consequence of this.

Whatever it may be, Goblin is a highly-recommended series. It’s very unique; I cannot think of any K-drama that comes close to this story. I heard it even deposed ‘Descendants of the Sun’ in the ranking game.