This review may contain spoilers
Guilty Pleasure with No Depth of Plot
Ooh this is so long, I'm putting the summary above first.
+ Extremely fluffy guilty pleasure, no malignant problems.
+ No childhood connection, serial killer, white truck, etc.
+ Good comedy.
- Nothing but guilty pleasure, lackluster and lack of depth of the story (so that 16 ep is too long).
- Over-ecsatic romance added to almost every scene.
- A bit unnatural romantic relationship build-up.
- Overly unrealistic makjangs.
- Missed out a lot of small details.
- No closure on several problems from the supporting characters.
This show is nothing but a guilty pleasure. We all expect cheesy mainstream tropes when we watch a Korean rom-coms, but this show takes it to another level. They made almost EVERY scene to be as cheesy as possible, to the point that is cringe. Everything is just cheesy scenes that even it looks like there isn't any main plot, it lacks the depth. The problems are just there to be problems and all can be solved easily. Such a guilty pleasure, but the way they serve it can't make us feel invested to the show. With this issue 12 episodes is already quite painful, and yet they made it 16. The idea of this show is very mainstream, a boss falls for his employee, but the execution isn't even a good job. Why do they name it King The Land when most of the events don't even occur in the hotel?
Character development in this show is a bit questionable. While Gu Won is becoming better person, it's questionable what Cheon Sa Rang is doing. All the time Won has been pulling cringey and pervert-ish moves when he tries to attract Sa Rang, even when they haven't been close enough such as him offering an umbrella under the rain and taking her home, as well as taking her into multiple dinners. I don't understand how could Sa Rang falls over those acts, when there is nothing really impactful happening for a change of feeling. On the other hand, Sa Rang is head over heels to Won and King The Land as well. So I can't understand why she is just alright after being exiled to a small hotel in outskirt town. She lost her lover and her dream job, there isn't any reason why she should stay! This show also features multiple problems caused by uneccessary misunderstandings, and the problems on episode 14 afterwards are just ridiculous. Fortunately the misunderstandings doesn't produce stupid decisions.
The writers focused too much on the cheesy things that they really ignore all the small details. Things are missing out here and there. I still don't understand Sa Rang's dream of working in King Hotel that she got after she visited it during childhood. She describes herself has to live from paycheck to paycheck, so how come she got to visit "the most luxurious hotel in Korea"? Won is very sensitive while talking about his mother. However No Sang Sik who has been living with him for seven years doesn't know this. The mountain rescue is the peak makjang. Won says that Sa Rang is missing and he's unable to track her phone, yet he's calling her all the time until the dusk. Judging by the height of the cliff, it's impossible for someone to survive it without any broken bones. Yet Sa Rang only gets minimal bruises and Won is able to jump over it casually, so two people survive that damn cliff. And if you look more thoroughly, Sa Rang's make up is still on point after being left for a day under the cliff, not even any dust up there. When Won is abroad for three weeks, it looks like they are totally lost contact. However apparently Sa rang sends him a picture of "a hype cafe in the town". The director of the King Guest House is ordered to sell the hotel by Ms. Gu no matter what. How can this happen because Hwa Ran has been kicked from the King Group board of director? The writer also fails to give a proper closure to Oh Pyeong Hwa's career. How come she stays there? Kang Da Eul's reconciliation with her husband is also undeserved. No proper closure on Gu's family too, especially Hwa Ran's.
There are only two good things in this show. First is YoonA, thanks to her performance for bringing smiles and other expression into this show. Second is the consistency of (slapstick-ish) comedy throughout the show, which mostly comes from the character of No Sang Sik. Without these two elements, this show would be straight going to the drop list of most audience. Jun Ho has a really stiff face expressions, but since it fits his character I couldn't complain more. The final episode would be a good sweet episode for any other show. But all the episodes precedenting it make that episode nothing special.
This show is recommended for someone who needs a guilty pleasure, so the rewatch value is high. There aren't any mainstream tropes such as childhood connection, serial killer, or The Mighty White Truck. It's really lightweight, since the storyline really lacks the depth, no malignant plot inside. But I personally wouldn't recommend it.
+ Extremely fluffy guilty pleasure, no malignant problems.
+ No childhood connection, serial killer, white truck, etc.
+ Good comedy.
- Nothing but guilty pleasure, lackluster and lack of depth of the story (so that 16 ep is too long).
- Over-ecsatic romance added to almost every scene.
- A bit unnatural romantic relationship build-up.
- Overly unrealistic makjangs.
- Missed out a lot of small details.
- No closure on several problems from the supporting characters.
This show is nothing but a guilty pleasure. We all expect cheesy mainstream tropes when we watch a Korean rom-coms, but this show takes it to another level. They made almost EVERY scene to be as cheesy as possible, to the point that is cringe. Everything is just cheesy scenes that even it looks like there isn't any main plot, it lacks the depth. The problems are just there to be problems and all can be solved easily. Such a guilty pleasure, but the way they serve it can't make us feel invested to the show. With this issue 12 episodes is already quite painful, and yet they made it 16. The idea of this show is very mainstream, a boss falls for his employee, but the execution isn't even a good job. Why do they name it King The Land when most of the events don't even occur in the hotel?
Character development in this show is a bit questionable. While Gu Won is becoming better person, it's questionable what Cheon Sa Rang is doing. All the time Won has been pulling cringey and pervert-ish moves when he tries to attract Sa Rang, even when they haven't been close enough such as him offering an umbrella under the rain and taking her home, as well as taking her into multiple dinners. I don't understand how could Sa Rang falls over those acts, when there is nothing really impactful happening for a change of feeling. On the other hand, Sa Rang is head over heels to Won and King The Land as well. So I can't understand why she is just alright after being exiled to a small hotel in outskirt town. She lost her lover and her dream job, there isn't any reason why she should stay! This show also features multiple problems caused by uneccessary misunderstandings, and the problems on episode 14 afterwards are just ridiculous. Fortunately the misunderstandings doesn't produce stupid decisions.
The writers focused too much on the cheesy things that they really ignore all the small details. Things are missing out here and there. I still don't understand Sa Rang's dream of working in King Hotel that she got after she visited it during childhood. She describes herself has to live from paycheck to paycheck, so how come she got to visit "the most luxurious hotel in Korea"? Won is very sensitive while talking about his mother. However No Sang Sik who has been living with him for seven years doesn't know this. The mountain rescue is the peak makjang. Won says that Sa Rang is missing and he's unable to track her phone, yet he's calling her all the time until the dusk. Judging by the height of the cliff, it's impossible for someone to survive it without any broken bones. Yet Sa Rang only gets minimal bruises and Won is able to jump over it casually, so two people survive that damn cliff. And if you look more thoroughly, Sa Rang's make up is still on point after being left for a day under the cliff, not even any dust up there. When Won is abroad for three weeks, it looks like they are totally lost contact. However apparently Sa rang sends him a picture of "a hype cafe in the town". The director of the King Guest House is ordered to sell the hotel by Ms. Gu no matter what. How can this happen because Hwa Ran has been kicked from the King Group board of director? The writer also fails to give a proper closure to Oh Pyeong Hwa's career. How come she stays there? Kang Da Eul's reconciliation with her husband is also undeserved. No proper closure on Gu's family too, especially Hwa Ran's.
There are only two good things in this show. First is YoonA, thanks to her performance for bringing smiles and other expression into this show. Second is the consistency of (slapstick-ish) comedy throughout the show, which mostly comes from the character of No Sang Sik. Without these two elements, this show would be straight going to the drop list of most audience. Jun Ho has a really stiff face expressions, but since it fits his character I couldn't complain more. The final episode would be a good sweet episode for any other show. But all the episodes precedenting it make that episode nothing special.
This show is recommended for someone who needs a guilty pleasure, so the rewatch value is high. There aren't any mainstream tropes such as childhood connection, serial killer, or The Mighty White Truck. It's really lightweight, since the storyline really lacks the depth, no malignant plot inside. But I personally wouldn't recommend it.
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