Gong Yoo

Gong Yoo — From Goblin to Dong-gu, an Actor Who Crosses Eras

Han-kyul in 'Coffee Prince', Seok-woo in 'Train to Busan', Kim Shin in 'Goblin'. Once a decade, Gong Yoo has changed the scenery of Korean pop culture. In 2026 he stars in Tantara as Dong-gu, a free spirit drifting through the entertainment world of the 1960s-80s — acting opposite Song Hye-kyo for the first time.

The Road So Far

He became a romance icon with 'Coffee Prince' (2007), and 2016 was his year — the ten-million-admission hit 'Train to Busan', 'The Age of Shadows', and the syndrome that was 'Goblin' (2016-17). He then chose films with a voice, like 'Kim Ji-young: Born 1982' (2019) and 'Seobok' (2021), and left a short but indelible mark as the recruiter in the 'Squid Game' series. With Netflix's 'The Trunk' (2024), he tried on the new clothes of mystery melodrama.

A Reunion 19 Years in the Making

Tantara is a special reunion for Gong Yoo. Director Lee Yoon-jung is the very director he made 'Coffee Prince' with — meeting again roughly 19 years later. It is his first time working from a Noh Hee-kyung script, and Dong-gu, living through the industry's dawn, is introduced as the childhood friend of Song Hye-kyo's Min-ja and a free spirit.

Waiting for Dong-gu

An actor who has moved between melodrama ('Coffee Prince'), genre ('Train to Busan', 'Goblin') and social commentary ('Kim Ji-young: Born 1982') — what face will he show in a period piece? Gong Yoo's Dong-gu arrives across the long arc of 22 episodes in Q4 2026.