'I felt so empty': Goblin star Gong Yoo reveals he wasn't happy after K-drama's success

Whether you're a veteran or newer fan of K-dramas, you would have probably heard of the iconic 2016 hit series Goblin that took the world by storm.

Though actors would likely rejoice at such successes, the 'goblin' and leading man himself felt the opposite.

South Korean actor Gong Yoo recently went on Yoo Jae-suk's YouTube series Just An Excuse with comedians Jo Se-ho and Yang Se-chan. The episode was released on Sept 29 as a special edition during the Chuseok holiday season.

"Gong Yoo is such a…" Jae-suk trailed off, to which Se-ho continued: "He's the wannabe of every man!"

Jae-suk then added that there are some guys who are "respected by other men", and Gong Yoo fits that category.

"He's the man of men," agreed Se-chan.

Embarrassed by the sudden bouts of praise, Gong Yoo joked as he took a sip of his drink: "I'm gonna drink poison."

Moving on to more serious topics, the 44-year-old brought up how he felt sad seeing a video of Se-chan crying at a fanmeet for one of the latter's variety shows titled Doing Things You've Never Done Before.

"I don't know why I felt like that. Maybe because I'm getting old. I was so sad to watch him cry," said Gong Yoo, which led Jae-suk to ask him if he ever gets anxious.

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"Of course… I've gone through emotional anxieties in my 20s and 30s, but I can't tell what kind of a feeling it is. Like Goblin achieved huge success, but weirdly I didn't feel happy," answered Gong Yoo.

"I was happy the drama succeeded but apart from that, part of me felt so empty and sad. There was a time when I couldn't come to my senses."

He explained that the reason wasn't because the work was difficult but didn't elaborate further.

"When my drama became a big success, I couldn't enjoy any spotlight or happiness, to be frank. It's hard to talk about this openly."

Others might have thought he was "on cloud nine" and if he expressed that he felt empty, it would sound like he wasn't grateful, he added

However, Gong Yoo remarked that after going through those difficulties, he started to see things differently: "I've become more empathetic. It makes me look at people and think, 'I hope he's fine.'"

Known for his breakout role in the popular 2007 K-drama Coffee Prince, Gong Yoo continued to star in hit films and shows.

Besides Goblin, his other notable works include leading roles in the films Silenced (2011) and Train To Busan (2016).

In July, Netflix announced that Gong Yoo will take on the main role in their upcoming 2024 series The Trunk alongside Seo Hyun-jin.

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