Kim So-hyun on Goblin
Kim So-hyun appeared in Episode 1, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. She acted as Kim Sun, the younger sister of Kim Shin, Gong Yoo’s character. She was married to King Wang Yeo, Kim Min-jae’s character, and became Queen Sun-hee. In the first episode, Queen Sun-hee stood alone far in front of King Wang Yeo and surrounded by royal forces who were ready to attack. She greeted her brother Kim Shin who was accused of treason by the king. The king told Kim Shin if he died as a rebel, everyone in his family would live. The queen encouraged her brother to keep on moving and assured him that she was okay. Kim Shin then walked towards the king. After some steps, the king was angered by his attitude and commanded the royal forces to kill his family, including the queen. Soon, an arrow landed in the queen’s heart. She fell down and saw the king as he walked away for the last time. Soon after that, she passed away. In a later episode, it was shown when Kim Sun was trained to be a queen. She held a bowl on each of her shoulders and tried to walk. Outside the gate, there was the king who disguised himself to see her. Then, it was shown when she was sitting in the palanquin on her way to marry the king. Kim Shin was there beside her palanquin and escorting her. The scene moved forward to when Kim Sun already married the king. She was running to meet the king and met him on her way. Those were some romantic moments between the king and the queen. Everyone could see that they loved each other. The conflict arose when the queen realized that Park Joong-won, the king’s tutor and scholar, kept on manipulating him. At that time, Park Joong-won started to manipulate the king into believing that Kim Shin would take over the throne. The king gave Kim Shin a sword and asked him to not return. The queen also conveyed her concern about the king’s decision and asked him to stay away from Park Joong-won. But, the king was angry at her because she sided with Kim Shin. When Kim Shin came back in triumph after the war, the king was angry and went to the queen. He was determined to kill Kim Shin that day. He forcefully put a ring on the queen’s finger and asked her to greet Kim Shin as his queen and not as his sister. The King asked her to make a choice to keep on living as his wife or to die as the traitor’s sister. In the end, as the scene showed in the first episode, the queen decided to die as the traitor’s sister. She did that to protect the king with her life because, after Kim Shin, Park Joong-won’s next target would be her. She would be used to pressure the king. That’s why she chose to die as the traitor’s sister rather than become the king’s weakness. In the last episode, in their next life, Kim Sun and Wang Yeo were reincarnated and reunited by fate. After several lives, they could finally live happily ever after.
Reunion with Yook Sung-jae
In this drama, Kim So-hyun reunited with Yook Sung-jae, her co-star in the drama Who Are You: School 2015 which aired on KBS2 from April 27 to June 16, 2015. In their late drama, Kim So-hyun acted as Lee Eun-bi and Go Eun-byul, identical twins who live separately. Meanwhile, Yook Sung-jae acted as Gong Tae-kwang, a troublemaker in her school. Tae-kwang developed one-sided feelings for her and confessed to her. However, in the drama Goblin, they didn’t act with each other as Kim So-hyun’s character lived several hundred years before the present time in the drama. Meanwhile, Yook Sung-jae’s character lives in the present in the drama. He acted as Yoo Deok-hwa, a rebellious yet kind-hearted chaebol heir and the only grandson of the Yoo family who has the responsibility of taking care of the Goblin.
Gong Yoo or Sung-jae?
In an interview with MBC’s Section TV Entertainment Relay, Kim So-hyun was asked about her ideal type among the actors she has worked with. The list included Yoo Seung-ho, EXO’s D.O, Nam Joo-hyuk, Yook Seung-jae, Gong Yoo, Lee Dong-wook, Park Bo-gum, and Zico. To choose her ideal type, she was asked to choose one of the two actors mentioned:
She preferred Yoo Seung-ho to EXO’s D.O. She preferred Yook Sung-jae to Nam Joo-hyuk. She preferred Gong Yoo to Lee Dong-wook. She preferred Zico to Park Bo-gum. She preferred Yoo Seung-ho to Gong Yoo.
In the end, it was not Gong Yoo or Yook Sung-jae. She chose Yoo Seung-ho as her ideal type. Kim So-hyun and Yoo Seung-ho were co-stars in the drama Ruler: Master of the Mask (2017).
Acting with Kim Min-jae
In an interview, Kim Min-jae opened up about his thoughts of working with Kim So-hyun. He said that because the drama schedule was tight, he didn’t have many chances to talk with her. He also praised Kim So-hyun’s good acting and said that her acting was perfect. He added that he hoped to work with her again in the future. As written above, Kim So-hyun and Kim Min-jae acted as Queen Sun-hee and King Wang-yeo in the past events of Gong Yoo’s character. Kim So-hyun and Kim Min-jae wonderfully portrayed the graceful images of a queen and a king and left a powerful impact on viewers.