Just what I needed
I was hesitant to start this because it appeared they hated each other and there would be a lot of conflict. But, although there was some friction in the beginning, it was all due to a misunderstanding and pain from his past. The story was beautiful. I loved all the actors, down to the grandma, lazy husband, and even the clueless ex-boyfriend. Someone said there was nothing to wait for. I disagree. The conniving step-sister’s change, the hilarious friend and lazy husband’s resolution, the flight attendant and her admirer, the unjust treatment of the employees, the mother that disappeared and what happened and why, and where the leads would take us.This series was entertaining, heartwarming, emotional, funny, steamy, and, most importantly, made me happy. The leads had so much chemistry. I never felt they were acting. I really loved this series so much!
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Watch with a cup of tea on Saturday, it's slice of life romance drama.
This drama piqued my interest because the promo said about "typical romcom". This sets my expectation on the right level as I don't expect them to have a big life and death plot or epic twist.The great things of this drama imo is the chemistry. It build up, it breathes and let the couple talk a lot, stealing glances, shows their hesitation, shows their willingness to try, shows their disagreement and then makes them fall in love.
They aren't interested on each other right away but you know they will when you left them on the same work trip
What I appreciate the most is this drama feels like slice of life and full of relatable things despite the fairy tale base for the story.
Chaebol X Best Talent romance is not really happen in real life but as individual, the leads felt real.
You have female lead that works hard and prove that she deserve her spot with natural acting from the female lead.
You also got a very cliche male lead who actually listen to people around him and acted so endearing by the male lead.
I watch and finish the drama for this character and feel like life can be beautiful too and in my personal experience, strangely super relatable.
Perfect after a long hard day for me.
I think what sells it the most is the acting, not just from the main cast but for all of the cast, the supporting cast is dream comes true because they are really good on their own.
This drama has the cons, like the plot can meander to some places to do a side quest, the blatant product placement and the "vacation episode". So yeah if you waiting for the event to happen, it may not be a drama for you but do try, or you can watch the compilation of scenes on youtube to pique your interest.
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This review may contain spoilers
my mom only hated 2 dramas, into the ring and thisshe said the whole plot and characteristics felt like something made for teens should've been played by teens xD
anyway, they had three good things, 1, no breakup*, 2, no childhood connection and 3 junho's smiles
the bad, well everything... no real plot, no real thought process just a bunch of random cliches after another, no follow through and all cliffhangers/angst/conflicts were resolved and brushed over...
and tbh, woong felt too clingy, too "involved", too rushing it too fast
and sarang felt too uncarying of him, not as in love and I don't mean she put herself first but like she didn't seem as happy and she always found a reason to nag at him and lecture him..
i thought she was a bit of a gold digger but i'm glad she built her own career xD tho speaking of her successful fully booked business. no one besides woong was ever there. even the first night, no one came after booking which made me think she only had one room and he was the one always booking
mom was also sad the friends didn't visit her there, like was it really one room no one could ever book in? xD
the stupid sister building 30 years of anger over him being loved by his parents when she could've just joined in, no one hated her... and the mom leaving over the grandpa, and never coming back as if she was a side character to her son's life when even the dad still loved her... atleast they should've made a sob story of her getting ill or whatever... and ofc the deadbeat husband of 3rd fl was wrong but dang she made him a doormat... yeah fixing the problem isn't done by making another...
and the final ep, one stupid ad after another, that's how cheaply they thought of this drama, just a fan service and piggy bank...
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Disappointed. Even JunHo can't make up for the sloppy writing.
I'm sad that I didn't really enjoy King The Land. I've waited for weeks for it to finish airing so I could binge watch it, but after the first 6 or so episodes I was actually forcing my self to carry on.THE GOOD:
- There is no doubt that Junho and Yoona are very pleasing to the eye, and put together they make the perfect eye candy. They've got good chemistry, and since the Red Sleeve Ive been ready to shout at the top of my lungs that Junho is a very good actor, he doesn't disappoint here either. Yoona was decent too, I have no complaints about the acting.
- The show has very nice aesthetic, it obviously had a very big budget and so it was very well shot.
- There were definitely many funny moments, I'll give the writers that.
THE BAD:
- The OST wasn't bad per day, but to me something was missing. I've seen clips of the show on Instagram with different music which just worked so much better with the show.
- JunHo's voice. There were times, were I could tell Junho was unnecessarily making his voice deeper, and adder this baritone to it. And it hit me so hard I could not ignore it, it was too distracting.
THE UGLY:
- The writing for King The Land was sloppy, it was even embarrassingly over the top at times, to the point where it had me cringing internally.
Now don't come at me, I love RomComs. I don't expect RomComs to have great plot points, but things didn't work out here. I've seen shows like Business Proposal, Romance is a bonus Book, Weightlifting Fairy, and more do these same tropes but do them well. Here it felt the writers threw a dart on a board of tropes and just depended on Junho's good looks to pull things off.
It hurts me to say this, but this just isn't that great of a show.
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Cheesy to the point of tacky - unsure if it’s a parody drama of the mid to late 2000s?
I started the drama with my partner as it was hot topic and while his review is ‘not the best, but okay’, I was dying to finish it and get over and done with. We have a thing where we choose a drama and complete it together (bonding time) and this bonding time had me sighing and rolling my eyes too often!While I understand that the show IS about the couple and it’s purely a romance drama, there are a million other dramas that have done this 3000 times better. Some Chinese dramas like You are my glory, Hidden Love. Korean dramas like Touch Your Heart (cheesy but not tacky).
I have no idea how to truly describe how tacky this drama is. Nothing was truly sorted out or explained. Supporting ‘evidence’ of why some people acted the way they did or did what they did are extremely weak (sister’s back story, mother’s departure and return, friend’s divorce story and more).
If the point was to make it a pure romance drama then there wasn’t really a need to include all that underlying stories and then deliver them so so weakly. Hidden Love did such an amazing job at just being what it was - romance. Touch your heart too.
I am disappointed that this was such a hype but delivered just tacky, slapstick comedy and cheesy lines. I even had a thought that maybe this was meant to be a parody on purpose! Of old Korean dramas. If this was the case, it’s acceptable but still has weak delivery of every other story aside from their romance.
Best trope and character? Chorong. You go girl.
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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?
Cliched.
Pros - pretty faces, aesthetically pleasing dramaCons - Everything else. Everyone is talking about sizzling chemistry but I found it forced, predictable and cliched. If you have seen a couple of romcom kdramas there is nothing new to appreciate here. Even the secondary characters and plotlines were quite predictable - the usual granny, close best friends of the FL, one confidant of the ML, screwed up childhood dynamics of the ML with a sad/traumatic past. And so many product placements. Also so many close ups, slo-mo zoom ins and repeats of key moments which felt artificial and took me out of the drama and roll the eyes rather than enjoy it.
Also the leads get together relatively early and after that it kind of lost steam. There just wasn't enough emotional investment to keep watching it.
This drama may work for first time rom com kdramas watchers. For everyone else, a timepass eye candy drama with FF button coming in handy.
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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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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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This review may contain spoilers
a series of gender discrimination was mentioned in the series
I missed this series 😭 I loved it so much, I thought it was just a cliche and nonsense series but no, it was very lovely 😭🥺 It was full of good feelings. And finally there is a series that will make you feel good every minute 😭 and the most interesting thing was the relationship of the main couple of the series, unlike the other couples of Kdrama, the couple of this series have a very healthy and mature relationship, they don't fight or break up over trivial things. They didn't get upset, their relationship surprised me a lot. Also, a series of gender discrimination was mentioned in the series. This is what makes this series special for me. It was great, I enjoyed watching it😭🥺❤️Was this review helpful to you?
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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