Guardian Cast Reunites for Emotional 10th Anniversary Trip

The cast of Guardian: The Lonely and Great God has turned a 10th anniversary special into a fresh reminder of why the drama still carries unusual weight with Korean drama fans. tvN’s 20th anniversary edition program, Together, Brilliantly: Guardian 10th Anniversary Trip, brought key cast members back together for a Gangneung-set trip built around memories of the 2016 fantasy romance, behind-the-scenes stories, and the relationships that remained after the cameras stopped rolling.

The latest episode, broadcast on July 11, centered on a special party held during the trip. Gong Yoo, Kim Go Eun, Lee Dong Wook, Yoo In Na, Park Kyung Hye, Kim Byung Chul, and Lee El appeared in the reunion setting, while former co-star Yook Sungjae joined the conversation through a video message. The format leaned less on formal promotion and more on the emotional texture of old colleagues seeing how deeply one project has followed them for a decade.

Guardian, written by Kim Eun Sook, first aired from December 2016 to January 2017 and became one of tvN’s defining dramas. Its blend of fantasy mythology, romance, comedy, and melancholy helped make Gong Yoo’s immortal goblin Kim Shin, Kim Go Eun’s Ji Eun Tak, Lee Dong Wook’s grim reaper, and Yoo In Na’s Sunny enduring pop culture figures. The anniversary special appears designed to meet viewers in that same space: part memory lane, part cast hangout, and part acknowledgement of a show that never really disappeared from reruns, streaming, edits, and fan discussions.

A reunion built around memory, not just promotion

One reason the special has drawn attention is the sense that it came from the cast’s own attachment to the drama. Ahead of the premiere, production coverage noted that the idea of marking the 10th anniversary came up after Gong Yoo, Lee Dong Wook, and Kim Go Eun met at a concert last November. Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wook said Kim Go Eun suggested that the four central actors do something together for the milestone, whether a trip or another kind of reunion.

That origin story matters because the program’s appeal rests on informality. Instead of a studio panel simply reviewing famous scenes, the cast travels to meaningful locations, plays memory-based games, and reacts to old footage and unexpected messages. In the July 11 episode, Gong Yoo was also reported to have recreated the drama’s famous proposal mood in front of Kim Go Eun, giving longtime viewers a direct callback to one of the series’ most remembered emotional beats.

The actors also revisited the physical demands of filming. During a quiz segment, Gong Yoo recalled one disappearing scene as among the coldest moments of his entire career, while Lee Dong Wook remembered cast and crew rushing toward an emergency stairwell once cuts were called. Kim Go Eun shared that the demanding schedule and styling pressure after filming contributed to early hair loss, explaining that there had not always been enough time to properly reset her hair between shoots.

Yook Sungjae adds fuel to season two hopes

Yook Sungjae’s video message added another layer of sentiment. Looking back on his time as Yoo Deok Hwa, he described himself as a very new actor during the original production and thanked the senior cast for guiding him. He also acknowledged that people still tell him they rewatch the drama, then floated the possibility that it could someday return for a second season, saying he would be waiting if that happened.

His comment should be read as hopeful nostalgia rather than an announcement. There has been no confirmed second season plan in the reported material. Still, the remark quickly became one of the reunion’s most shareable points because it captured a familiar fan instinct: after seeing the cast together again, viewers naturally begin imagining whether the world of Guardian could reopen in some form.

The broader significance of the special is that Korean drama anniversaries are becoming more active media events. A decade ago, a hit drama’s afterlife might have been measured mostly through reruns, soundtrack streams, and cast interviews. Now, reunion travel shows, behind-the-scenes retrospectives, and platform clips can turn nostalgia into new programming. For tvN, using Guardian as part of a 20th anniversary edition also underlines how central that drama remains to the channel’s brand history.

For the cast, the trip offers a chance to frame the drama as shared history rather than a frozen success. The actors are older, busier, and attached to many other projects, but the reunion shows how one production can continue to define public affection around them. For fans, the value is simpler: the people behind characters they loved are sitting together again, remembering the same scenes, and admitting that the experience stayed with them too.

Whether or not Guardian ever receives a continuation, the 10th anniversary trip has already done what a reunion special is meant to do. It refreshed the emotional bond around the original series, gave viewers new context for famous moments, and turned a milestone into a shared viewing event rather than a date on a calendar.