Epilogue
How Popular ‘Goblin: The Lonely and Great God’ Was
According to AGB Nielson Media Research, the average viewer rating of ‘Goblin’ is 12.811% and the last episode of the drama recorded around 20 percent, the highest rating of whole episodes. This figure is also the record-breaking number of the history of cable TV drama in Korea. ‘Goblin’ was popular not only in Korea but also outside the country. It should be helpful to check the articles about the popularity of ‘Goblin’ in overseas.
This phenomenon did not happen all at once. According to Shim (2006),
Over the past few years, an increasing amount of Korean popular cultural content – including television dramas, movies, pop songs, and their associated celebrities – has gained immense popularity in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other East and Southeast Asian countries. New Media and trade magazines have recognized the rise of Korean popular culture in Asia by dubbing it the ‘Korean wave’ (Hallyu or Hanryu in Korean).
Religious Syncretism or Religious Pluralism ?
The combination of various religious themes shown in the drama seems to be an attempt for religious syncretism which Moffat (as cited in Grayson, 1992) speaks of as a “blending of religious ideas and practices” that are “often preceded and accelerated by a new philosophical synthesis as well as by a political re-arrangement.” Jones (1901) also states that “while theoretically the Korean recognizes the separate character of the three cults of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Shamanism, practically they lie in his mind as a confused, undigested mass of teaching and belief.” However, the combined code of religions in the drama is closer to the religious pluralism, similar to the coexistence of several religions brought into Korea resulting from the endeavor to resolve conflicts among them. Following is the explanation about the result of adaption of different religions in Korea.
Upon observing the widespread presence of shamanistic elements both in Buddhist Temples (most have smaller temples dedicated to local deities, as well as the mountain god) and in Christian worship (the emphasis on pok, or blessings, for example), one is tempted to say that Korean religion is syncretic, Grayson, however, argues that Korean religion is not so much syncretic as eclectic and plural, although these qualities are not due to a love of tolerance (Grayson 1989, 271-272). At one time or another, each of the major religious (excluding shamanism) has tried to suppress the others. Like religious toleration in the West, Korean religious pluralism is the result of long and sad experience. (Alford, 1999)
The drama sets a goblin, or dokkaebi, a Korean traditional shamanistic character as the main hero and adds the touch of colour as a Christian saviour, harmonizing the original features of dokkaebi. Moreover, the drama shows the view of the afterlife with both Buddhistic and Shamanistic elements integrated. These religious elements mingle with the universal sentiment such as punitive justice. In the case of ‘Goblin,’ the appropriate combination of different religious themes is one of the key factors to its popularity. The growing popularity of K-drama such as ‘Goblin: The Lonely and Great God’ implies that pop culture with unique religious themes can play the role to make its own culture familiar to other cultural areas.
