9/10 – this is a controversial take, because it may be argued that this drama is just very fluffy, full of cliches, pretty shallow, and just a typical romcom and nothing special. AND I WOULDN’T EVEN DISAGREE WITH THOSE OPINIONS. But the amount of sheer glee and enjoyment I got from the charisma of the characters made this drama a win for me haha. It very much has Business Proposal/What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim vibes, and I was here for it. The plot is nothing new – hotel CEO’s son falls in love with hotel employee and slowly his icy heart is melted LOL. But I don’t know, the sheer chemistry of the main couple alone won over the mass of Netflix audiences across the world!!
The main pro of this drama was definitely Lee Junho as Gu Won, and Im Yoona as Cheong Sa-rang. Every second generation kpop fan from the 2000’s rejoiced at this pairing, and so did I. Honestly I was never even a huge fan of SNSD or 2PM, BUT I NOW PROUDLY DECLARE MYSELF A FAN OF LEE JUNHO AS AN ACTOR. Gu Won is basically your standard rich CEO’s son – handsome, intelligent, great at business, and has some form of childhood trauma that has made him prickly towards others. Cheong Sa-rang is your typical lovable female lead that is charming but humble, relatable but also gorgeous and super competent at her job.
Lee Junho as Gu Won really captured my eyes the whole drama. I have never seen him in his other works (although I am definitely going through a phase of familiarizing myself now LOL), and it’s not like his acting was otherworldly, and his role wasn’t a particularly difficult one. But I am always impressed when idols break into the acting sphere and are able to achieve in more than one area of entertainment.
Sidenote: I am currently watching The Red Sleeve, and now I realize I probably should have started with that and then used King the Land to recover emotionally…OH WELL. I’ve heard many people say that The Red Sleeve is Lee Junho’s masterpiece, and that King the Land is more of a gift to his fans, haha. Stay tuned for that review, potentially coming soon LOL.
Junho did a really good job of portraying the gradual transformation of his character from someone who was bitter and uncaring, into someone who could warmly and genuinely smile each day. I also really like how his work ethic improved drastically as he started to care about his hotel employees, and that was what motivated him to work hard and be successful, and turn his father’s hotel business into something that would be great for their guests and their workers.
Cheong Sa-rang as a character was perhaps a bit more one dimensional. She is portrayed very well by Yoona, but there wasn’t much in the way of development or growth, other than [SPOILER] her decisions about her career that she made near the end of the drama. She is characterized as a hard-working and very optimistic smiley person, and that is pretty constant throughout the story. However, she and Junho just had so much chemistry as he tumbled head-over-heels into the abyss that is love, that I felt like it almost didn’t matter that she stayed the same. THE WAY HE LOOKS AT HER WITH PURE AWE. That alone carried the whole drama, eff the plot, eff the dialogue, eff the side characters LOL.
I did really enjoy a lot of the supporting characters though. I loved the friendship between Cheong Sa-rang and her bffs Oh Pyung-hwa and Kang Da-eul. They were so hilarious and supportive of each other, through thick and thin, celebrating their victories together and problem-solving through any issues like a true sisterhood. Gu Won’s secretary Noh Sang-sik was also a huge source of humour throughout the drama. He was just so silly and dramatic, but he was also the one that connected the whole gang into one big happy family.
And I will say that despite all the classic Korean drama troupes that were employed, there were a few that THANKFULLY did not make an appearance. For one, the “idiotic hero” thing, where the girl/guy feels like they “have to” break up to save the other person/due to pressure from the family. Thank goodness both of them were devoted to each other the entire time and didn’t allow any external pressures get in the way, be it from family, the paparazzi, or random other obstacle. I’m also so glad there was never any huge misunderstandings between the main couple and other potential suitors, etc. Like anytime there was some “issue” they just met together and talked it out honestly and openly. There was NO DRAMA, just green flags and immaculate communication. I’ve heard some criticisms of the drama that it was kind of “not that exciting” because there were never any huge relationship-testing ordeals that the couple had to overcome, but honestly, the vast majority of such “ordeals” would be easily solved in real life with a quick conversation between the two people. And sometimes we just don’t need more stress and heartache in our lives. Sometimes we just need an adorable, warm and fuzzy drama to giggle along with and get swept up in the happy emotions of the characters.
So with all that being said, watch this drama if you want to turn off your brain and just smile. Like the King Hotel, that strived to make every guest’s experience a happy, care-free, and memorable one, King the Land was a joyful light watching experience that made a lasting impression on my heart.
Thought Bubbles 