Kim Go-eun: The Actress Destined to Be a Legend and a Queen

There are many great and successful actresses who shine on the screen and captivate attention, yet none is more mesmerizing than the South Korean actress Kim Go-eun. Kim Go-eun not only possesses the grace and talent of legendary screen actresses, but she also brings her own special wit and humor to her roles; thereby adding a humanizing and addictive layer to her characters.

Kim Go-eun seamlessly becomes each brilliantly-written persona, adapting to the depths of her characters’ personalities, dialects, and appearances in order to portray each believably, while mesmerizing everyone who is fortunate to witness her transformations, both on and off-screen.

Kim Go-eun began her acting career at the age of 21 in the critically acclaimed 2012 series “The Muse”. After completing “The Muse” Kim Go-eun left acting for two years to complete her college education and returned in 2014 to revive her acting career and has been a dynamic acting force to be reckoned with since her return.

She starred in several pivotal movies and television series such as “Memories of the Sword” and “Cheese in the Trap”, and then selected the role that would launch her to worldwide success and recognition in the series “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God”.

“Guardian: The Lonely and Great God”, known affectionately as “Goblin”, would be the catalyst that propelled Kim Go-eun into the forefront of acclaimed and in-demand actresses. Along with the popular and sought after actors of Gong Yoo, Lee Dong-wook, Yoo In-na, Yook Sung-jae, Kim Go-eun was able to showcase herself as the actress who expertly immerses herself into a character that is relatable and lovable, while becoming the embodiment of a woman that we all want to be.

“Goblin” is the story of Kim Shin, a Goryeo Dynasty military general who is cursed with immortality and supernatural powers, for the punishment of the lives he took on the battlefield. The only person who can break his curse is the Goblin bride, who he wanders in search of across the earth for 900 years. The Goblin bride is the only person who is able to remove the curse in the form of a sword (that only Goblin and his bride can see) from his chest so that he can move on to the afterlife. Kim Go-eun portrays the youthful and yet maturing high school student of Ji Eun-tak who becomes throughout the series the strong and powerful woman destined to become the Goblin’s bride.

Kim Go-eun was able to showcase the strength of her acting abilities (at the age of 25) by powerfully portraying a high school student who knew her destiny and yet had to survive the trials and tribulations of everyday life, which included combative family members, bullying at school, and trying to figure out where her destiny was leading her.

The combination of portraying a youthful high school student trying to navigate the complexities of high school life, and yet having a destiny greater than her current understanding, led to many powerful scenes in this series and no one could have done a better job of portraying these complexities than Kim Go-eun. Kim Go-eun had to cover the acting span of a “missing soul”, a person who sees ghosts — some seeking advice, some revenge, and some just needed help to cross over to the afterlife.

For a teenager falling in love with a legendary Goblin, while living with a Goblin and a Grim Reaper, Kim Go-eun portrayed these extraordinary, supernatural events believably and left the audience craving to see more — not only where this character was going, but to see how she would continue to create and convey the complexities of this character’s life and situations.

The role was not only difficult to play due to the in-depth storyline of her character’s journey, but because the writers also included comedic relief scenes and storylines for the viewers to balance the heavy human-struggles storyline. Kim Go-eun had to not only portray emotionally charged, physically difficult, and complex scenes at the core of this story, she also had to utilize and portray her comedic acting abilities throughout much of this series.

The writers and producers of “Goblin” chose well when they chose Kim Go-eun to portray the character of Ji Eun-tak as no actress could have done a finer job of displaying and showcasing the complexities of the character of Ji Eun-tak. Kim Go-eun expertly created believable emotions through an array of facial expressions, making every scene she was in magical. This is what she brought to this series, to this character, and made fans desperate to see what she would do next.

“Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” could have been the launchpad series showcasing Kim Go-eun’s acting layers and abilities, but this was only the beginning. She continued to captivate with movies like “Sunset in My Hometown” and “Tune in for Love”. Yet she surprisingly impressed with her acting abilities in another pivotal South Korean drama: “The King: Eternal Monarch”. Kim Go-eun was able to bring to life the character of Jeong Tae-eul, a feisty and confident police inspector. While in “Goblin”, Kim Go-eun portrayed a character who was able to travel to other parts of the world through temporal portals, in “The King: Eternal Monarch,” her character Jeong Tae-eul was essentially a time-traveler crossing through parallel universes. So, in “The King: Eternal Monarch”, she portrayed mirroring characters depending on which parallel world she inhabited and across time. For each version, she portrayed each one brilliantly.

It takes a multi-skilled and multi-faceted actress with a great amount of creativity to be able to convey all these characters and Kim Go-eun did it expertly. She is a genius at her craft and a wondrous sight to behold. And, again similar to “Goblin”, Kim Go-eun called upon a diverse array of emotions to portray her characters in “The King: Eternal Monarch”. From dutiful daughter, hard-working coworker, and evolving believer in the supernaturally unbelievable, the depths of emotions Kim Go-eun had to portray was a huge role to take on, but she did it expertly.  

Beyond her acting skills, Kim Go-eun is an accomplished scuba diver who chose to become an advocate for the ocean that she enjoys exploring. Not only does she regularly explore the ocean while scuba diving, but she also helps clear it of garbage and debris to protect the ecosystem of marine life. She joined the television series “Sea of Hope” which featured actors and singers who open a seaside bar that provided food, drinks, and music. It was a joy to see Kim Go-eun reunite with fellow “Goblin” actor, Lee Dong-wook, along with other actors and musicians as they prepped and prepared food, interacted with the audience, staff, and cast, and sang together.

It was a series that was lighthearted and filled with lots of laughter and fun. It gave a restful and relaxing experience that audiences were able to enjoy as they listened to the live performances provided and imagined being at this seaside bar along with them. We were able to witness the collection of seaside food straight from the ocean, the careful preparation and display of delectable dishes, and hear uplifting, magical, and thought-provoking music sang and played by some of the best voices and musicians to be found. This was a delightful series that gave viewers hope in humans, their intentions, and the future of our oceans and the planet.

Kim Go-eun is a talented actress, a caring environmentalist, and is also a sought-after model for popular fashion houses. Her current brand of choice to represent is one of the biggest, Chanel. Having the grace and fine features that recognize her as both beautiful and unique, Kim Go-eun has a classic beauty that makes her stand out from other beautiful and talented women.

Her effortless style combined with her exquisite features makes her a style icon many women wish to replicate. When Kim Go-eun is photographed for either a fashion advertisement or she is seen on the streets in an outfit she has created, all clothing she displays is quickly sought out and bought by her numerous fans. She is always elegantly, yet appearing effortlessly, dressed and her style has become a trend for many to appreciate and to reproduce amongst their own wardrobes.

Kim Go-eun’s last television series was “Yumi’s Cells”. Kim Go-eun brought her wheelhouse of expert acting skills to portray the lovable and relatable character of Yumi, an office worker in search of her destined career and life-mate. “Yumi’s Cells” had a fresh perspective for a series as it was not only the actors portraying their characters, the characters of the cells within her mind would become dominant characters we enjoyed seeing upon the screen.

They spoke of her innermost thoughts and feelings even when Yumi herself was ignorant of the feelings and turmoil within her own mind. It was delightful to see Yumi’s subconscious at work, through these character cells, that gave an intimate glimpse into the workings of her mind. Yumi herself might not have been fully cognizant of the depths of her thinking and emotions. But we were delightfully entertained by these emotions as they were played out on viewers’ screens.

“Yumi’s Cells” brought the chaos and disassociation within any of our ever-evolving minds into perspective through the portrayal of these erratic cells and Kim Go-eun was able to seamlessly bring together these multiple personas to life by acting on the actions and reactions of these cells. Kim Go-eun has brought acting to a higher level through the portrayal of this character and the reactions she had to portray through the expressions and actions of her “cells”.

Kim Go-eun, and the writers of “Yumi’s Cells” did such an amazing job that “Yumi’s Cells” has been given a second season — no small feat for Korean dramas which are typically only one season long and then they are finished. “Yumi’s Cells” left the audience eager to see more of this storyline and to see where Yumi and her cells would go on to next. We all are anxiously awaiting the second season of “Yumi’s Cells”.

Kim Go-eun is remarkably talented as well as an inspiring actress. She brings creativity, spontaneity, a fresh perspective, and intelligence to each of the roles she takes on. It is fascinating to watch her portray and become the characters she creates around the expectations of writers, directors, and the fellow actors she works with. She has captured hearts through the vast array of characters she has portrayed and she has shown herself to be kindhearted and caring through her love of the planet and oceans.

She continues to mesmerize through her acting, modeling, and environmental pursuits. I eagerly look forward to seeing what Kim Go-eun does next.