This review may contain spoilers
It was Barely Watchable
I've been inconsistently watching Korean dramas for over 2 years now. I'm very careful to pick only the best and highly acclaimed ones to watch, and so far, I've been on a roll. I mostly dabble in romance- Crash Landing on You, Twenty-five Twenty-one, Start-up, etc., and these shows have convinced me that Koreans have mastered the art of writing romance. That is, of course, until I stumbled upon the bumbling mess that is King The Land.This show is... where to begin. For starters, I was not strong enough to complete this show. I gave up halfway through because I'd had enough of the poorly written characters and the downright atrocious plot.
I hate the female lead, probably more than I've ever hated a female lead in any show ever. Her stupidity is portrayed as cuteness. Her inability to keep her mouth shut gets on my nerves, and why, oh why, can't she walk without conveniently falling into the arms of the male lead over and over again? He's an issue on his own, but I have a bone to pick with HER. Let me give an instance: The female lead(I can't remember her name) was sent to a remote area for work. she insisted she climb the mountains to find the man she needed to talk to. while alone in the mountains, it began to rain. any sane person that finds themselves on a slopy mountain during the rain would stay put until later. but her? she went to the edge to harvest some ginseng. and like that wasn't enough, she started jumping around and rejoicing, AT THE EDGE OF A SLOPY MOUNTAIN. Of course she fell and the male lead whose name was just as forgettable came to her rescue. but why would any normal human being do something so stupid in the first place. Everything she does gets one my nerves. I hate the dumb things she says when she's drunk. I hate how she put up with her idiotic boyfriend for over a year, and conveniently had enough of him when a new romantic prospect showed up. I hate how everyone is mean for no reason but for the show to highlight how good of a person she is.
On to the male lead. What kind of character writing even was that? This dude literally has no life outside of FL. he waits for her texts, he waits for her to get off work so they can eat together, he waits for her to sleep in his car as long as she wants. Doesn't he have a job, social engagements, anything? No other associates? His character is so bland. he fits into the mold of he narcissistic, perfect rich guy that we've seen so many times before. They even try to add some depth to him with that storyline about his mother and how he hates smiling, but it was too boring to keep me engaged. "Oh, my life is so hard. I grew up in a mansion where all the maids and servants couldn't stop smiling at me. save me from my horrendous childhood". And why even does he like the FL. They have had no real, in-depth conversation, no actual connection. I guess she's just cute when she's drunk and that'll have to do. plus, he took a test online, so who am I to doubg his unfathomable love. And when he saved the FL. He acted like he was some kind of altruistic hero who valued human life above all else. He took up this self righteous posturing, but anyone with a brain would know that he only did it cos it was the FL who was in danger..He wouldnt have cared if it were any random employee. and the fact that he doesn't acknowledge this fact, and no other character points it out, is just laughable. This guy wants to have responsibilities and play a bigger role in the company, yet he has no actual laid out plans or strategies to help the company progress in any way. I guess we're just supposed to root for him in his quest for the company cos his sister is mean. don't even get me started with her overbearing pettiness. Constantly berating her brother for no good reason. At her age, shouldn't she be past that?
About the plot. Does this show even have a plot. it's just full of contrived overplayed romance tropes. This show basically took it's plot from other really terrible shows and meshed the ideas together. Incessant falling into ML's arms, defending her honor to her ex, and don't even get me started on the fact that somehow, they always manage to end up being together due to one work project or the other. Are there no other workers? Or what? cos she's the best talent everyone else should be stripped of all opportunity to shine? This show's popularity hinges on the visual appeal of the two main characters. It's sad. The fans will deny it, but it's true. Because what other explanation is there for a show like this, utterly lacking substance, in every sense of the word, to be rated 8.3. The cast is devoid of any real talent, and I wish the FL died brutally on that mountain... that'll teach her.
I don't think it's possible to enjoy a show when the leading characters are moronic, uninteresting and appalling. I've never been a fan of the "rich guy falls for poor girl" trope, because it's flat out implausible in real life. however, I've managed to enjoy it in shows like Business Proposal, probably due to the comedic element. However, there's nothing about KingtheLand that I found appealing. And oh, how I despise the female lead.😩😫
This show is brainrot at it's finest. even if I turned off my brain for a few hours, I still would be able to sit through it. Believe me, I tried.
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'Don't' king the land !!!
Ahhh!!! Where should I start from ?First I will talk about the Reasons to drop this show ..and trust me I have plenty ..
1) this drama has absolutely no story ..I mean it .. no story at all. The plot is flat ..like you are watching few individuals vlogging their everyday life. Come on!!
2) the consipiracy and suspension which is barely there, has no pinch of creativity to it.
3) absolutely lifeless dialogue writing which is apparently full of cringe , I mean you cannot find even a single phrase in entire 16 episode show , that retains in your mind as a good dialogue iykyk.how can any writer be so 'talentless'. There is only go- hard ,go-hard type nonsense.
4) well I am not the fan of these lead actors either .. their looks are just average and acting is even more pathetic . How in the Mary's world can you call her smile 'million dollar worth' beautiful?? 5$!!! i will pay maximum 5 $ for her smile . And my dear ML has no expression, I don't know if it's his botox or something else that man has same expression throughout the show, when he is happy, jealous or sad he looked the same. While he is quite popular in the list of top actors on MDL ..but how and why he is popular ??? Please Don't ask me.
5) no msg to the story ... I know a lot of dramas fall in no msg category but they commonly compensate it with an entertaining story ...meanwhile this drama has neither story nor msg ..AN ABSOLUTE WASTE OF TIME.
Now I will come to the reasons for which you can barely sit in front of screen and pretend like you are watching this show ( no reasons to watch for real)
1) the cindrella story plot ... See!! if you are the type who can watch just anything as long as FL and ML are in love and if you are a fan of rich guy falling for pauper girl ..you can definitely give it a try.
2) the trip/vacation segments were okaish ..
3) the segments where FL and her besties celebrating each other special occasions were the best segments in my opinion. Those scenes were funny and entertaining.plus it was refreshing to see the emphasis on sisterhood.
In the end I still can't convince myself to convince someone else to watch this show ... This one was Totally waste of time and mood as far a my taste is considered.
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Cliche or not, plot or not ... King the Land slayed anyways!
No drama needs a sophisticated plot, to be good enough. And I think we should literally stop with the cliche comments, cause this wasn't a space movie after all.Now I don't want to repeat what many have already said but, personally, this drama didn't need a lot of twists or drama or plot to make me absolutely love it. I looked forward to it every weekend cause it really felt like my happy hour and put me in such a good mood.
I wasn't here for the plot, I was here for the healing love stories, for the charming Gu Won and Ro Woon, for the green flags all the main characters were, for the life lessons, for the so amazingly strong chemistry between the leads, for the mind blowing kiss scenes (thank God they weren't cringe like most the dramas out there). I was here for the princess halmeoni that makes me cry in every drama in a way or another. I was here for the family Sarang, Pyung Hwa and Da Eul had built, for all the times Gu Won violently kicked No Sang Sik out of the office. I was here for the family Gu Won and Sarang found, and I felt part of all of this. And sorry if I didn't mind the plot or whatever you couldn't find in this drama.
I was here for the people and the feelings they intended to give to me as a watcher and guys, you did it beautifully.
Let's please thank all of the crew for their amazing job cause they might feel bad with the fans splitting into two opposite love-hate directions, let alone the offended watchers that pretty sure messed up the rating.
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Uneven Script and Direction
This series is being review bombed on Google and IMDB. I was one of the viewers who thought the early episodes were slow, but I hung in and glad I did. Regarding the controversy: I love the leads and will watch them every time. They and the rest of the cast worked hard, and they did have some good moments during the series. There were sweet love scenes and a wonderful scene between mother and son that brought tears. Junho nailed that emotional moment as he is an actor who knows how to be still and let his eyes speak for him. He can rise to the moment even with a weak script. But this drama was uneven from the beginning, even without the episode that offended many viewers and with a clumsy, dull ending. Those issues lie right at the feet of the writer and director. What a shame because the cast and audience deserved so much better.Was this review helpful to you?
Let King the Land take you on holiday prepare to laugh cry and enjoy superb.
I’ve just finished king the Land and I am a total mess. If your life isn’t great at the moment, if everything you do goes wrong. Just sit down relax and be pampered. Set in beautiful locations, it’s absolutely superb sets, the clothes, the tiniest details have not been missed. I’ll probably never ever get the chance to stay at such a grand hotel. However the drama opens the doors, takes you by the hand and says welcome. The drama brings you in to these peoples lives, you are wanting praying everything will work out. It keeps you centre stage with them. Clear story lines, brilliant wonderful chemistry between the whole cast. I would love for this to win awards. That would shut the haters up. Why can’t people be kind. The whole premise is to smile proper smiles. Thank you for letting us join in their lives just for awhile. Totally awesome. 10 out of 10 everyone concerned. I was laughing crying and clapping right at the end. I was not disappointed in anyway. Totally lifted my world. Thank you King the land. Best drama by far this year. Will be hard to top it.Was this review helpful to you?
Cliche rom-com, but the chemistry is Amazing!
This drama is the exact definition of drama Cliche; a cold, handsome, wealthy boss and a poor, beautiful, loving girl. That sums it all. They fall in love despite bickering with each other from the beginning, but their love blossoms into something profound.The whole drama is set in various hotels and you see cute and breathtaking sceneries. The story is quite simple but there are mishaps along the way for the leads too. Don't expect to see the logic behind anything that happens, as it is the nature of this drama to be funny and romantic. The leads are just made for each other.
overall, a feel-good drama with cute skinship and chemistry between the leads.
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This review may contain spoilers
A bit frustrating but, forgivable
This drama/rom-com has the makings of being one of the better ones of 2023 but, they have wasted entire episodes on fluff.Do we really need a 4 minute slo mo video of people playing in a fountain when there is so much story out there to be covered? And, why spend so much time on showing them put up with instead of enjoying their visit to another country??
The assistant - simply there for comedic relief is equally irritating in his level of overbearingness and ignorance to what is going on around him. Not complaints - but, frustrations. Him in charge of the Thailand trip truly made it a waste of their time and money. All for what HE wanted to do.
I can understand fast forwarding through Chinese rom-coms where we have to wait for the character's transformation from clown to actual human but, not for King the Land.
I did love that the ex-wife stayed her ground and put the father back in his place when he attempted to get close to her. I felt the sister's transformation was just about perfect. She stayed very well protected but, did let down a few of her guards.
Loved how they handled the finally getting together. He let her do what she wanted and was always there to support her - up to and including going to work for her. That was a nice touch.
My concern - though glossed over - was the board. They always agreed with her - going for the fast dollar. Why would you keep any of those around with her gone? Small concern but, could have easily been handled with a mention of cleaning house or, some discussion as to how things would proceed and be either onboard or, you know where the door is.
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This drama insults viewer intelligence
This was such a mess I didn't even finish it and when I did watch it, I mostly skipped or fast forward because there is so much nonsense you can only enjoy it for the eye candy.8+ hours of show are scenes created to advertise something and it's not subtle at all. When you think it can't get worse there is 1 whole episode made purely as AD for tourism. Rest of the time is stuff randomly happening because they need to so they can sell the money shots. Ofc plot needs to develop but not really, only to a point so it teases till next week and completly cop out and gets resolved in start of next week episode. Also make sure to create nice bait previews to make people stick.
Non exsistent plot and mess of a show makes sense when you see person who wrote this is a nobody doing something first time. Idk how they even got the job for something this monetary invested into.
The amount of flaws this mess that is packaged in nice wrapping paper has is so high I couldn't be bothered to write it because even just 1 episode would amount to too much effort.
I asume this was carried by actors popularity because otherwise idk how this got so overhyped and over rated.
Yes, I know it's a romcom and yes I know that it's suppose to be easy watch but come on met some basic expectations for continuity and some grounded baseline that follows something.
I am not even go into all the bad takes and messages this show had or write about plot.
Tbh I wouldn't even bother with this if it wasn't so overhyped and high viewership this got will only do damage for the future quality and expectations of kdrama.
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Boring.
I was actually giving this drama an 8/10 for the first four episodes, but the plot became tedious after that.I can't be biased like some people. Just because I like Yoona from SNSD, I must give this drama a high rating? Why lol? I'm watching a drama (so the plot and story should be considered) and it's not solely about rating her or Junho. If you believe that people give a bad rating because they dislike the actors, then you are a freak. Don't be so triggered and aggressive just because people dislike what you like.
Oh about the chemistry between the two leads, it's alright. There are other romcoms that I find better than this, so if I gave this a higher rating than those romcoms, it would be a bit funny because I'm not really enjoying this drama. Besides, chemistry is NECESSARY. You can find other dramas, especially rom-coms, because king the land is a rom-com ((so should be compared with rom-coms)) where the actors have GOOD CHEMISTRY and the drama has a GOOD PLOT.
It can take me a few days to complete one episode, but not every episode is tough for me to watch. However, there are a few that are. This is how I feel especially after Episode 6/7. The first 4 episodes are quite okay, but after that a bit.... Oh my God, it's very difficult for me to finish just one episode.
Some people also said that King The Land is doing a good job of excruciating the romance even though there's no plot. Hmm, im not sure whether I can agree on that. Business Proposal and Love To Hate You are another example of kdramas that are very lighthearted, silly, and cringe-worthy, but surprisingly, I really enjoy those dramas but not this one, so if you're saying i'm not a person who can't watch lighthearted stories, maybe you're wrong, I do enjoy it if it's fun to watch. The comedic scenes in the "business proposal" and "love to hate you" were really funny and didn't feel forced, but man, King The Land is really bad at excruciating the comedic scenes, I feel awkward after I watch them. Well, after all, you can't lie about your feelings when watching it.
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Same old soup
Same old soup in Asian dramas romance : He's rich, she's poor, daddy doesn't want him to marry anyone than the one he chose, sister's a bitch. How boringNothing new but old same crap with actors who show no emotions.
At least the Koreans girls don't have that stupid childish voice like in Chinese dramas.
Yes I'm going to watch until the end. That's what I always do when I start a movie/serie, even if it's stupid, just to see how it'll end.
What a bore.
If you are not fed up to watch the same series with the same stories, go ahead.
I wish someone would have written this before so I don't end up writing it myself.
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Pretty people being pretty and rich
The ingredients to make a most boring, stupid romcom kdrama:*AWFUL SCRIPT
*HORRIBLE DIALOGUES
*STUPID PROBLEMS
*LITTERLY PERFECT CHARACTERS
*ATTRACTIVE FACES
*JUNHO'S ADORABLE SMILE
*YOONA'S PRETTY
*OFFENSIVE SCENES
I'm going to cut to short.First of all this is a teen's modern fairy tail.All kdrama cliches meets slightly Wattpad fanfic but in more soft, cutesy way.I'm sick of 2 hours long gaze,sick of how they never have problem other than overdramatize everthing.
How about feel plot? hahah there is no plot.
Yoona's is so cute and Junho is hot.But sorry I see chemistry but it really shows that they're friend in real life because of the acting sometimes
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Very disappointing, such good performers and such a poor storyline
I initially stopped watching this show after the kiss in the kitchen. Other shows were just more interesting and I did not feel compelled to go back to this show. Since I thought I should like this show I did go back to it eventually but the lack of plot development made for a very boring experience and I did not get to the last few episodes. I do not recommend this show just watch some of Junho's videos and the red sleeve and rain or shine. Mdl is telling me my review is not long enough. Let me see.Was this review helpful to you?
