Drama spinoff variety shows themed around "10th anniversaries" are appearing one after another in the broadcasting industry. To mark a decade since dramas that received passionate love from viewers first aired, cast members gather to recall memories of the works and reimagine them as variety programming.
Recently, "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God" (hereafter "Goblin") celebrated its 10th anniversary with a variety show. "Goblin 10th Anniversary Trip" began with an idea from Kim Go-eun, who suggested "let's do something together for the 10th anniversary." The show follows the drama's lead actors Gong Yoo, Lee Dong-wook, Kim Go-eun, and Yoo In-na as they spend two days and one night together in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, one of the drama's main filming locations. There, the world of "Goblin" was recreated intact, including the red door that led to and from Quebec, Eun-tak's school uniform and exam admission ticket, the grim reaper's ledger, and Sunny's "jade ring." The drama "Goblin," which aired in 2017, recorded a peak viewership rating of 20.5% (Nielsen Korea, nationwide) at the time and received enthusiastic love from home audiences.
Earlier, "Reply 1988 10th Anniversary" was released last December, reviving the "Reply 1988 fever." The drama, which depicted the stories of five families living in an alley in Ssangmun-dong, drew explosive popularity when it aired, with most of its actors rising to stardom. The cast members who lit up the drama—including Hyeri, Park Bo-gum, Ko Kyoung-pyo, Sung Dong-il, Ra Mi-ran, Yoo Jae-myung, and Kim Sung-kyun—all gathered to talk about the work, play various games, and enjoy a two-day, one-night membership training (MT) trip. Beyond appearing on the variety show, the actors also personally sang and released as music tracks the original soundtracks (OST) that adorned the drama a decade ago, such as "Every Day With You" and "Don't Worry Dear."
Both shows are based on the enduring vitality of the works, which has remained unchanged even after 10 years. The dramas can be rewatched anytime through online video services (OTT) if desired, and the follow-up stories, cited by many as their "drama of a lifetime," are consumed as ongoing content.
The growth and changes of the actors are also points of interest. Kim Sun-young and Ko Kyoung-pyo shed tears over the growth of child actor Kim Seol, who played the late-born youngest daughter Jin-joo at the age of five, and Gong Yoo, watching Yoon Kyung-ho—who had played a near-minor role as his loyal subject in "Goblin"—rise as the "biggest sensation," smiled contentedly and said, "I'm so happy that things have worked out well for him."
A tvN official said, "The fact that 'Goblin' and 'Reply 1988' have returned to viewers as variety shows on their 10th anniversaries is because the two works have established themselves as intellectual property (IP) that cuts across generations, beyond being simple hits." The official added, "The high-quality narratives, characters, and the relationships between the actors remain vivid in viewers' memories even 10 years later, and above all, because they were special works to the actors themselves, this kind of reunion was possible."
Amid this trend, KBS is also joining the flow of producing 10th anniversary variety shows. It is discussing the production of a special variety program to mark the 10th anniversary of the 2TV drama "Love in the Moonlight." Based on a web novel, the work depicted a palace romance between Crown Prince Lee Yeong (Park Bo-gum) and Hong Ra-on (Kim Yoo-jung), a eunuch disguised as a man, recording a peak viewership rating of 23.3% (Nielsen Korea, nationwide).
