King the Land

Follows the RomCom blueprint.

There’s nothing particularly bad about this. To me it was boring and I background-watched it, meaning I was either doing sudoku, painting my nails, or scrolling through/playing with my phone while it played. The only reason I stuck to it was Lee Junho.
I'm not necessarily a fan who keeps up with everything that he does but to me, he's the best idol-turn-actor I've seen yet and if I'm scrolling and see his name I click. And yes he is magnificent down to every little detail of his character, and let's be honest he looked extremely dapper in a suit.
Other than that the story was a little boring to me because there was no real pushback from anyone ( the sister was a big letdown for me) and the big mystery surrounding his mother's whereabouts was revealed in the most anti-climatic way they could think of and it took less than an episode for the whole reveal.
Every problem the FL and her friends were going through got resolved in the most idyllic way too. As you know it's not very realistic.
Now why did I say there's nothing particularly bad about this? Because your enjoyment of this drama will depend on what you're looking for. If you're looking for fluff and love and rainbows, something to get you away from the harsh realities of this world, then this one is definitely for you.
I'm just confused as to why I was not particularly in love with this one. It had its moments where I was hooked because Gu Won was swoon-worthy, the comedic timing was wacky and I loved it and the little side noona romance was a win in my books. Maybe it was not my moment to watch it or maybe it was Yoonah because, for some reason, I always have the hardest time finishing anything that she's in.

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ILOVEIT

this is by far one of my favorites dramas. I loved every single second of it and definitely will watch it again with the same joy.
I loved the characters and how the express something so beautiful as friendship and loyalty towards your loved ones.
also, loved how sarang fought for the things she knew she wanted and how she was strong enough to let go what wasn't giving her happiness anymore. I loved how won was always open to learn from others and how his past didn't affect him as a bad person and how he never felt down for his sister and the fight his father put him into.
it's seriously a lovely story

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Worst script, underdeveloped plot and characters

Mr Queen is a light and funny romantic comedy with a good story, great characterisation and well written roles, and a well developed plot supplemented by strong acting performances.

So is Gaus Electronics.

King the Land? It’s the worst writing I’ve come across for a kdrama and I’ve seen some bad ones. It’s for when you’re in a vegetative coma state and don’t have a functioning brain. Your brain has to be broken to not see how bad it is.

It’s sad that this is scriptwriter Choi Rom’s first script because it’s embarrassingly bad. It’s incoherent, there’s an absence of plot with tropes strung together to form a plot for the main characters. What do we know about them? Only that Gu Won’s mother went MIA and that he went to business school. As for Cheon Sarang, she lives and breathes customer service and is an orphan raised by her restaurant owning grandmother. That’s it. That’s also all they know about each other after 10 episodes and yet they’re declaring their love for each other.

The incoherent script is backed up by poor editing/directing choices with scenes strung together without any coherence. The script features non-sequiturs like Gu Won suddenly telling Sa-rang that he and his sister have different mothers after the writer-nim finally remembered she has to tend to a storyline. Also, Gu Won spends 5% of his working hours actually working but somehow he’s capable after six months of employment and will take over the hotel and company!

As for acting: Lee Junho is superb but I hope he selects a better script/drama next time. He’s backed up by reliably good performances of Kim Gaeun (though I’ve seen her in a few roles and they’re all of similar range) and Go Wonhee. Child actor Lee Yejoo is the other star.

Yoona’s performance is terrible, but I hear this is an improvement on her past roles.

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If you are a fan of repetitive childish romance with annoying characters so i think you must not read this review

So Allow me although I'm a big fan for lee jun hoo
I've to say this drama till now extremely bad
I'm at ep 06
The story was very weak, repetitive ,predictable,shallow, trivial
And the ML & the FL characters were extremely annoying
And i didn't see any chemistry between them
Like I saw at wok of love with reyo won

The FL seemed to be so silly with the ml
And the ML seemed to be so weak and naive with the FL
No story at all till now,
even the romance was naive and repetitive
Old cliches nothing new
Every ep I asked my self why I'm continuing this sh**

This is sure less than ok and annoying
The director portrait the characters in a very bad way
But every ep. I said to myself jun hoo is a very good actor this may go much more better next ep
But it doesn't at all
Even for the sake of Jun hoo I can't continue this show

This soooooo much like secretary Kim which I hated a lot same bad story with lots of unnecessary kissing scenes
I played the rest of eps on FF mode till the last ep
P.s I liked the air hostess couple more

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Surprisingly Sweet

Summary: Although I was a bit hesitant to watch a Korean drama with another domineering and self-important male lead, I gave this a try anyway and was pleasantly surprised. The interaction between the two leads were so sweet and it was nice that there was very little misunderstanding nor mistrust between the two (unlike usual romcoms). I do wish there was more development of characters’ backstories, relationships, and the general storyline rather than lonnnggg, dragged out staring, kissing, travel scenery, and tourism scenes that ate up precious screen time (had to fast forward a lot), particularly dialogue between the leads that could have explained what actually led them to their love for each other. There was also a heavy focus on social disparities (including bullying, bribery, lack of boundaries, etc.) among senior and junior colleagues, addressing Korea’s excessive work culture, which I found interesting and sad at the same time. Also, the amount of blatant advertising in Korean dramas lately is sickening; I mean, how many times do I need to watch someone open up a bottle of Montbest water or work a Nespresso machine or put on Paiget jewelry or spray Sauvage cologne? But I guess they need the sponsorship money to make the film. The soundtrack was solid though.

Details: Let’s start with the leads’ relationship development. While one can piece together (or imagine) what led to Gu Won and Cheon Sa-rang confessing their love at such an early point in the show, I felt it came too soon and without much dialogue (like conversations about their backgrounds or what made them who they were) to build that level of trust; there were many long scenes of them in or around water…and that was about it. I did love the bonds created between Cheon Sa-rang’s best friends and Gu Won’s crew. Cheon Sa-rang’s halmeoni and Prince Samir were probably my favorite eccentric characters, who helped push Gu Won into realizing his deep love for Cheon Sa-rang. The actress that played Gu Hwa-ran did a great job as a villain and it’s easy to hate her in the show, and I wish her character was developed a little more towards the end.

Gu Won’s smoldering stare (uhhhh @_@), which one can get lost in and I think some characters did, was mesmerizing. I was impressed by the total night and day difference between his brooding stares and cheery smiles when his character changed. He also looked a bit like a male version of one of my friends so that was a bit awkward in the beginning. Lol. One of the things I loved about Gu Won’s character is that he had some weaknesses in front of Cheon Sa-rang, like being a scaredy cat, which I thought was refreshing for a male lead.

The level of workplace social disparities shown in Asian dramas is shocking and I had not previously seen it to the extent it was conveyed in this show, which made me look up whether that was true or not. Appears it’s not far from the truth that company management and senior colleagues can often exploit their employees, forcing them to work harder, work overtime, and spend personal time outside of working hours to go drinking/dining with coworkers. The one thing I didn’t expect was Gu Won’s more compassionate perspective toward employees.

Of course, as with many Asian dramas, there’s a twist in the last episode which I thought could have come a bit sooner so that there could be more development into the ending. For example, the big decision that Cheon Sa-rang made was awesome (deviated from the usual female lead) and I would have loved to see more to that part of the story to lift up folks from a similar background. I also love how patient Gu Won was in hearing her explanation and really showed his devotion to her after that twist, which was super sweet. Would have loved to see more of their life together after a certain event. One character I do feel bad for was No Sing-sik, who could have also had a happy ending as well.

Side Notes - I had minor issues about:
- who exactly was the guy in the beginning that called him and told him he was at the wrong building; that was never transitioned or explained
- during the interview on Jeju Island, it seemed strange why Cheon Sa-rang blindly accepted but didn’t run the new set of questions by Gu Won before that embarrassing moment
- if Cheon Sa-rang was on special assignment (or request) to watch Yoon Ji-hu, why did she return so quickly to her regular job (especially if Gu Won could have bonded with his nephew a bit more)
- how none of the employees noticed Gu Won in the elevator before they gave Cheon Sa-rang the third degree about her big, embarrassing news

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Nothing truly bad will happen & the only thing you need to focus on is the male lead

As I finish writing this review I want to give it a 5/5 because I almost dropped it 4 times.
It might be that with every trope I felt a :"dun-dun-dun" dread! But weirdly, everything that presented as a difficulty was rapidly resolved. Many familiar drama tropes that everyone complains about ,(especially the toxic relationship tropes) are teased here but then dissipate with pragmatic , reasonable application of-[GASP!]- communication!! Which you think would just make every viewer happy BUT ; Basically ALL the "drama" of the story is diffused", leaving nothing but blandness. The male lead has alot of charisma & does a brilliant job emoting & the camera blatantly stays trained on him, mesmerizing you with his impressive repertoire of sincere, flirty ,soulful longing looks-all of which pushes everything that's annoying about this drama to the edges of your peripheral.
He strongly reminds me of a young Jung Ji Hoon (Rain)
This drama seems interested in fulfilling the viewer's fantasy of boyfriend material/eyecandy. And yet, it didn't engage me fully or give me that " I can't wait to watch the next episode" feeling. { & I could have binge watched it.} The many positive reviews gave me really high expectations ,but It started off well & initially captured my interest, But by the end of Episode 1, I was very close to dropping it as

1) They did a TIME Skip with both characters over 3 (?) years , putting a BIG kink in the momentum.

2) And, Unforgivably, the writers have the Male lead encountering female lead ON the toilet (having intestinal distress). This kind of humor is a "nope" for me

Thankfully, the next 2 episodes are much better. But

3) by episode 8, the female lead's unflappable smug demeanor ,with her ever present smirk, REALLY grated on my nerves.

4) All of Episode 8 is one long Tedious travel advertisement for Thailand ,(that's like a youtube video of someone's vacation.)

And I can't believe that I am saying this, but

5) There is WAY too much kissing- it just stops being cute, romantic or special.

6) Episode 13 has the male lead reacting in such an unexpected way that it destroyed every positive feeling I had towards him.
[Though, like every difficulty in this drama, it's resolved in record time.]

No misunderstandings due to lack of communication here . !

All the men (but one who gets payback) step up, show up & behave the way they should (for the most part).

7) In Episode 14 the writer's suddenly decide that women want, need & must have everything on thier list of dreams for the perfect life.
8) Infuriatingly , the male lead is ,yet again, ready willing & chomping at the bit to do all the right things , BUT the female lead needs yet MORE in her life to be fulfilled.

9) The writers fake us out with a faux split with the female lead being sorry, not sorry [for being more interested in her own personal dream fulfillment than in working towards melding her life with her boyfriend} !

10) . ANY of the many sacrifices & changes the male lead has made For HER are taken for granted, & at no time does the female lead consider that she should actually care about what the male lead thinks & wants as well.

This like every other obstacle in this series, is quickly resolved, but as always,

11) it's made clear that the direction of the relationship is directed by the female lead (all of her friends likewise are alpha females in thier relationships).

There will be a happy ending for all the couples and even the semi villains . Perhaps I might have been less inclined to put off watching episodes had I known going in that nothing bad will happen and the only thing I need to focus on is the male lead (& the Male airline steward).

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Respect Your Employee And Customer

In this K-Drama series, we can learn how to respect our colleagues, employees, and customers when we have or are working in the company. In this story, King of the Land is a VVIP business lounge, a paradise catering to wealthy hoteliers. It is owned by The King Group, with hotels, distribution companies, and an airline in its portfolio. The main character who didn't know anything had to learn from the low-level employee. On the first day, He see how his underling are playing their role. No one in there knows who is when first came into the office. After seeing his underling have a bad attitude, He shows his true identity and everyone is shocked. But in the middle of the journey, there is a backstory where He's traumatized with the fake smile which the hotel rules are they must serve everyone with a smile. Then there is a female lead who's a hard worker and has a bright smile. She has a dream of working on the King Hotel. Then She's getting hired and working at the King Hotel. Then when they meet together, that's where their journey begins.

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Come for the romance

Reviews on this are mixed, to say the least. If you are the type of person who wants a tight, detailed plot, this isn't for you. If you are the kind of person who wants a fun, supportive, no-conflict romance as the main focus of the plot, you are in for a treat. And that seems to be the dividing line, really.

I came into this drama expecting another cliche cold CEO/employee will they won't they romance and was pleasantly surprised that that wasn't what this was. I absolutely loved this drama to bits but the story outside the romance is weak, I can admit that fully. There are things I would have done differently. Plotlines are forgotten midway and picked up later rather than expertly weaved through the whole drama, some characters get a lacklustre ending, and some story beats are coincidences contrived to move the plot forward. That being said the romance is what shines here for me, and it was what I was watching for - a simple romance. The rest of the plot was gravy.

There are no break ups, no miscommunications, they actually talk to one another and resolve misunderstandings quickly, their feelings for each other are realized and accepted quickly, and they continue to support each other throughout the drama. All while being adorable together and having some killer chemistry. Absolutely delightful, fun, fairytale romance. Some people found the lack of real conflict boring, I found it refreshing. Some people found it too cliche, but I found it took the cliches I liked and removed the ones I found frustrating. Some people wanted more plot, but for me the romance was the plot.

If you can come into this drama with expectations in check it's a very light, fun, watch. If you come in expecting more than that you'll be disappointed.

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Actions actually have consequences

This show seems shallow on the surface but after watching it unfold week by week it developed into a show that had me watching two people slowly and deeply fall in love in a way that I haven't seen much of in Kdramas.
Normally I'm not a fan of Cinderella dramas because the ML never seems to truly understand how the real world works and it always feels like the power imbalance is off by too much. I get irritated by how forgiving the seemingly strong FL lead is and wonder if after the drama is over, their marriage turns into the hate-toxic one the ML's parents usually have written.
I was worried that this might be the case with how clueless he seems about everything outside his rich bubble, but that wasn't the case with this drama.
I liked that she wasn't teaching him how to be an adult, to have empathy for others or just outright teaching him to be a person as though she was his mother. She was just being herself around him, honestly speaking her mind and by being by her side he opened his own mind to things outside of his perspective.
She refused to change who she is, refusing to stop smiling or letting negativity seep into her self worth and her mental strength is amazing. She solved problems in her own way, using her own experience in life to be the best she could and follow her dreams.
I really enjoyed that there were actual consequences to his initial attention. His games and attempts at grand gestures were seen as inappropriate and often blew up in his face. I appreciated that we got to see the consequences of these moments and it wasn't done with the usual Kdrama clichés. Because in reality, his seemingly big romance gestures could have harmed her reputation and in past dramas, this would have been brushed over and forgiven because he "wouldn't have known."
The initial jealousy from others who already think low of her due to her education was realistic and the face that there were supportive people too made that usual impending doom of potential bullying scenes disappear because again, she was able to use everything in her arsenal to win them over that it would have felt hollow without a peer whose joy I could vicariously live through.
The practised smile she held throughout the show became more and more genuine as did his, their awkward photoshoot a stark contrast to their shared smile over his part timer interview.
When he approached her honestly and without all the flair, it became perfect to me. It played into is dislike for fakeness and the change in proposal solidified that for me.
There is no unnecessary breaks-ups or love triangles and they actually voice their thoughts and feelings like mature adults. This blooms into a beautiful romance that had me squealing like a giddy teenager whenever they pulled something obnoxiously cute (that restaurant photo got me!)
My only negative would have been the ML's family. I feel as though there could have been more there, especially with the father and the sister. I would have loved to have seen him grow an understanding and earnest bond with his sister, to share in the things he'd learned and heal from her feelings of neglect from childhood.

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Gets very boring midway

If you've been watching dramas for a while, you've experienced this many, many times before: New drama comes out with high production values during the first 3-4 episodes, then the show settles in.

Side storylines are quickly introduced to pad things out. It's not a generic drama without lots of filler. For King the Land, that would be the stories of the main character's friends, Airline Lady and Mall Lady. They probably have names. I honestly don't remember which one had a divorce plot that's going nowhere, but that's a thing. Scenes involving the two are good for bathroom breaks, phone breaks, or spamming the skip button on your phone until the environment changes.

Eventually, shows like these dip into immense tedium and the plot slows to a halt. There's 16 episodes and 4 episodes worth of writing, so they have to pad out the runtime. The main lead Rich Mannington has since become as bland and uninteresting as the female lead. The acting isn't terrible and the actors have damn good chemistry given the tripe they have to work with, but good actors don't make a show good alone.

Oh. The villain sucks, too.

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