Gong Yoo and Kim Go-eun's 'Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (Goblin)' Returns—This Time as a Musical, Taking Aim at the Global Stage

[Financial News] The popular IP Goblin, a flagship title of the Korean Wave, is expanding onto the stage. Goblin, the fantasy romance starring Gong Yoo and Kim Go-eun that won worldwide acclaim, is being reborn as a musical.
On the 23rd, Library Company announced that it had signed an agreement with writer Kim Eun-sook and Studio Dragon for the musical rights to the drama Goblin. Library Company secured all domestic and international rights to adapt the series for the stage and will oversee its planning&development and global production.

First aired in 2016 as a special project commemorating tvN's 10th anniversary, Goblin became a nationwide sensation and recorded a peak viewership rating of 20.5%. The romantic fantasy centered on Kim Shin (Gong Yoo), a goblin waiting for someone who can end his immortal life; Ji Eun-tak (Kim Go-eun), the goblin's bride; and the grim reaper (Lee Dong-wook). It captivated audiences and established itself as a landmark fantasy romance. At the 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards, writer Kim Eun-sook won the Grand Prize in the television category, while Gong Yoo received the Best Actor award. The series also won five awards at the 2017 Korea Drama Awards and four at the 2017 Cable TV Broadcasting Awards, confirming its status as the year's biggest hit. Its popularity extended well beyond Korea. After being released across Asia and around the world, it built a global fandom and established itself as a super IP loved worldwide.
Library Company, which is producing the musical Goblin, is one of Korea's performance producers to have rapidly built a track record on the global stage. It joined the Broadway productions '& Juliet' and 'Some Like It Hot,' which opened in 2022, as a co-producer. In its first year on Broadway, the company achieved both the shortest production-cost recoupment period since the pandemic and four Tony Awards. It has also expanded into London's West End, joining the 2024 musical 'Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)' and the 2025 play 'Born with Teeth' as a co-producer while continuing to broaden its global projects.
Its domestic achievements have also been notable. This year, 'Long Long Night' and 'Laika' were both named finalists in the musical category at the 62nd Baeksang Arts Awards, demonstrating the company's creative capabilities.

The agreement is an extension of the company's efforts to expand its large-scale theater lineup. Following 'Delusion,' a musical based on a Naver webtoon that was selected for the Korea Arts Management Service's support program for large-scale musical readings and is scheduled to be unveiled at the end of this year, the company has also secured Goblin. It is now poised to build a full-fledged portfolio of large-scale musicals based on successful original works.
Kim Myeong-eun, CEO of Library Company, said, "Goblin is an IP already loved by audiences around the world, so we will focus on preserving the emotional spirit of the original while adding the kind of impact that only the stage can deliver," and added, "Building on the experience we have gained in the domestic and global markets, we will grow into a global IP studio that best brings global super IPs to life as live content."

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