King the Land (2023)

Il drama in sè non è brutto, forse ci sta per una persona che è appena entrata nel mondo kdrama, ma per chi ci naviga già da un po' è abbastanza noioso. Io amo i clichè, ma devono essere fatti bene (qui non è propriamente così) e a volte non mi dispiace quando un drama cerca di essere un po' diverso (es: Business Proposal). Ho deciso di dropparlo perchè mi stavo annoiando a morte e ho altri drama che sinceramente a sto giro hanno la priorità, poi sapevo che questo non l'avrei mai più ripreso.
Tra le cose che ho apprezzato del drama, troviamo ML che per me è l'unico personaggio (insieme alla sua spalla) che si salva. Mi sono piaciute anche in parte le amiche di FL. Musica molto molto bella, una in particolare l'ho aggiunta su spotify. Belle anche alcune scene romantiche. Il mondo del lavoro è stato rappresentato in maniera molto cattiva ma ahimè anche molto veritiera.
Fine.
Le cose che invece non ho particolarmente apprezzato sono molte di più, tipo la lentezza del drama, la backstory del protagonista che ormai incontriamo in ogni drama di sto mondo, FL che nonostante il miglioramento da K2 rimane quello che è, padre e sorella di ML , etc...
Il drama per me si potrebbe far vedere da un pubblico nuovo a questo mondo, non è malvagio ma non vale tutto questo gran tempo. Insipido.

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Hermès! Served exactly as intended: a (rarely pure) rom-com delight.

Most romance stories, in my experience as a lover of the romance genre (and as somebody who aspires to write in the genre), will follow a very specific pattern. It typically seems to go something like:

-two people who are well-suited to one another meet
-who want to be together
-and share moments of growing emotional, and often physical, intimacy
-but who struggle against internal and external obstacles
-that build up until there's a major complication
-which gets resolved happily.

Romance, as a whole, does not tend to deviate much from this structure; it's why a lot of people return to it, time and time over again. And in terms of being exactly this – a very, very sweet, wholesome, lighthearted and funny romance, in my opinion, this drama excelled.

There is no secret serial killer or hardcore thriller plotline, and in this way, it feels like a "pure" rom-com – most misunderstandings are easily resolved, and a lot of the drama consists of different scenarios involving the leads being sweet and falling deeper in love with each other, supporting each other when the relationship is tested.

The drama wastes no time in having the leads fall for and get with each other – it's certainly no slow-burn where the characters' hands brushing against each other will leave you gasping for air, but I personally found a lot of beauty in this drama's simplicity. Rather than missing the aching slowburn, or yearning for the higher stakes, this drama's low stakes kept me focused on the relationship, kept me believing in the strength of its foundations, and got me attached to them. Though these are perhaps not the most complex or layered characters, I found them well drawn out, acted, and lovable. In a lot of ways, it became my weekly dose of sunshine.

I admired how much it kept to its theme and heart in the pro-worker throughline. The ways that (especially service) workers are often mistreated, and especially how that interplays with the power/wealth disparity between the two leads as boss and employee felt like it was given the kind of treatment I'm not used to seeing just yet. I ended up liking how I felt the respect the female lead got in her romantic relationship was not only extended to her in her professional life, but to the professional lives of many in her line of service work.

To some, it might be slow, boring – I've even seen "lazy" tossed around, but to me, I don't think it was lazy at all. There were bits of symbolism, love shown in small, almost unnoticeable acts (like him closing the gate up to her apartment behind her, or them saving their names as stars and angels) that all add to the larger picture – there are themes and undercurrents of pro-worker sentiment and of the role of women, the links between their personal and professional lives (exploitation at work, and exploitation in the home – divorce, too, as a cultural taboo that threatens a woman's professional life) rippling throughout. There was meaning in their names – the male lead's full name, Gu Won, meaning "salvation" – a part of her name, Sa-Rang, meaning "love" (I'm not sure how the context/meaning is changed with her family name Cheon) – with salvation and love being the foundation of their mature, adult relationship. I found a great deal of small personal meaning in this drama.

Overall, in terms of the acting (Lee Jun-Ho's acting especially; I look forward to digging into his acting from before too – but Im Yoon-A I felt like did a very believable job of a woman working in service and of selling the chemistry too – the side cast of characters, and especially the woman who played the villainess Hwa-Ran, Kim Sun Young, who gave dimension to a character I feel like could have fallen quite flat), the direction, the writing, the music (my personal favourite from the OST being 'Confess To You' by Lim Kim) – I feel like they did a very very good job in delivering exactly what they promised: a fluffy rom-com. A bit of weekly sunlight to the airing weeks that might've otherwise felt a little cloudy.

While in terms of other, more complex and nuanced dramas that have captured my heart, it might not compare with my other 10/10s, which is why I will not rate it as such, but within its own genre, I think it deserves to be seen as extremely well crafted, and I do not believe it deserves a low rating for being what it is. For the other people this kind of lighthearted story will appeal to, I hope they feel just as well served as I do.

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It Was Just Ok... Nothing Special!

**Disclaimer: This is just my opinion, please don't take anything I say personally. We don't have to agree and I'm not here to argue with anyone.***

(I'm so picky so please take this review with a grain of salt.)

Tropes: Workplace Romance, Rich Guy / Poor Girl, guy falls first and harder, grumpy/sunshine, enemies (ish) to lovers, forced proximity.

Idk usually I love rom-com's like this but they had me in the first half and lost me in the second half. It really seemed like Gu Won's character was built around his love for Sa Rang and he didn't have much development outside of that. I feel like they did more telling than actually showing us how hard he fought for the hotel and why he deserved to be president. Idk there could've been more obstacles at work and between the two leads imo. I think I would've loved to see them develop the tourist hotel together and be happy outside of the city. Or imo they could've actually have Sa Rang and Gu Won Break up bc she feels stifled by him his dreams and wants to chase her own dream of managing her own hotel / the tourist one. I also think the arc between his mom and his sisters hatred for him could've been expanded more and their resolution could have been more developed. I feel like the last 8 episodes lacked a lot of depth / actual plot. The last 2 episodes especially seemed rushed and episode 16 specifically seemed unnecessary. I felt her entire desire of owning her own hotel was quite lame... even the name of her hotel, "Amore" (Love in Italian) What were they thinking? As in she could've used her own name (Sarang) LMAO. And the fact that she wasn't able to find any personnel to assist her, and they wanted me to think that the president of King Hotel, Gu Won, had time to assist her (whilst managing King Hotel + all those international branches and trying to expand the franchise to Europe?) – that part was so unbelievable I had to laugh.

It was honestly a struggle for me to finish this drama. The leads chemistry was just "okay" but at times I wasn't feeing it as much. I think I prefer their BTS footage as they seem less in character and more silly and free. I fell in love with the airport couple (Pyeong Hwa and Ro Woon) I thought they were cute and I'm glad they got together. It took forever but they actually made it. I thought her other friend's storyline (Da Eul) with her dirty husband was completely sidelined and her giving her husband a taste of his own medicine was questionable. It's obvious their relationship is toxic and they should get divorced. I can only see the husband not learning anything and then trying to find ways to hurt her back – like cheating on her or something. I feel like the writers didn't have a clue how to wrap up the story or create more obstacles for dramatic effect. They almost got me invested when I thought Gu Won and Sa Rang were gonna break up but they failed and immediately lost me, again.

Overall, the ending of the entire drama was what you would expect, a pathetic male lead who's whole character arc is about him being in love with a woman who does not like him at first. ML falls first and harder. FL starts catching feelings then there's the slight forbidden relationship where people don't want them to be together. Them deciding to be together anyways, dating period, proposal (but not? because the FL wants to achieve her dreams first). ML still supporting her through everything a year later, her finally accepting the proposal. Then finally marriage and them living happily ever after.

This drama was boring and severely overhyped. I don't think I would rewatch. It definitely could have been wayyyy better especially when you compare this to other workplace romances like Business Proposal, Touch Your Heart, Suspicious Partner, Her Private Life, My Secret Romance, What's Wrong With Secretary Kim etc. Like they had so many blueprints and yet... it did not live up to the expectation. It's disappointing bc I feel like I wasted my time and then felt like I HAD to finish it for completion sake.

Anyways, what you see is what you get so if you're looking for a lot of romance with barely any plot then this drama is right for you.

After careful consideration, I gave it a 6/10.

THANKS FOR READING!

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Simple and Refreshing

I just don't understand why people are hating on this drama for being smooth and not having any kind on twists..... This is a smooth sailing drama.... and I perfectly love it.... if you want twists so badly then I guess this drama is not for you.... try watching some thriller...... This is the perfect blend on Romance and Comedy..... I just love the chemistry of both the leads and everything is going soo perfectly.... I don't want any kind of heart breaks.... breakups etc etc like any other drama.... even if they are included in the upcoming episodes.... I will be okay.... bt seriously..... what kind of twists do you want in this drama.... The storyline is just going straight.... and it is the best for the ones who just finished watching some serious thriller or dark dramas or with many heartbreaks.... I guess then they need something refreshing and this drama serves that....

I personally loved it and will recommend it to the ones who loves RomCom with simple story lines..... The actors did a great job.

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No Plot .

This drama is the most unrealistic drama of all time. They spent a ton of money just to make it look aesthetically pleasing. Every Korean romcom has a story but this drama doesn't even have a plot.
First of all, the male lead just randomly falls for the girl. He had no reason to fall for her.
Secondly, his only character is doing romantic things for the girl. He doesn't do anything else in his life. He only keeps gifting the girl lavish things and waits for her to finish work so they can eat together. In other dramas like business proposal and what's wrong with secretary Kim the men had a life outside romance and worked hard to build up their empire. But over here, the male lead doesn't care about the hotel that has handed over to him or about anything else.
It gets annoying after a point.
He's like the typical rich boy with good fortune with no ambition or personally whatsoever.

This is definitely very overrated and not worth the hype.

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Maybe being so focused on success, King-The-Land almost lost track of the core of a KDrama´s heart

As far as I am concerned, "King the Land" triggers extremely ambivalent feelings. I'm still undecided whether to classify this KDrama as a Trojan horse or as a successful prototype AI product. In other words: is it deliberately engineered brainwashing (that at times comes very close to even insulting the human intellect), or is it the result of an AI (programmed for max audience share) as showrunner in its first, but surprisingly successful test run?

"King the Land" is a Rom+Com. A fairy tale we have known and loved for generations. The unthinkable becomes possible: the hard-working girl next door finds Knight in Shining Armor - a Jaebeol offspring who can afford the luxury of not even being interested in the rich heritage of the conglomerate. Well, if you feel like something like that, you get a highly polished version of a cheerful, trivial (and conservative) love story that opens up clichéd insights into the upper segment of the shamelessly high-end luxury world.

Here my criticism. My irritation. Even annoyances.

--> These days, we can (and obviously have to) get used to product placement. That´s nothing new. However, "King the Land" undauntedly puts an almost obscene shovel on top of that. It goes so far that at times I felt like I was stranded in a 16-episode commercial, which I consider quite intrusive. Shameless. Apparently it can always be worse.
I rarely fast forward. But rarely have I fast-forwarded as much as in "King the Land". Usually, I'm ready to get involved in moments - looks, gestures, stand still, in my opinion all of that can be part of the dramaturgy. But here the long takes far too often serve a product placement or a Lifestyle-Statement being deliberately staged on the occasion, or some triviality that may or may not be considered nice, yet without any impact for the story. Just for fun, so to speak, because it is (supposedly?) so pretty. Most of the time it's about a haunting, almost mean display of a lifestyle in the highest-priced luxury segment, which will probably never play a role for the vast majority of the audience. Then I get angry. Not because the story is set in an exclusive social class, but because it is staged in such an oversized manner, while giving it a lot more screentime than would be necessary or coherent for the feeling and understanding of the story.
My understanding goes like this: The high-gloss, stylized luxury lifestyle of the absolutist elite hides a message between the lines that is addressed to all classes below: “”” You'll never get there! Forget it. Enjoy what you have. Make an effort, then it could even be a little more. Yet, be aware: WE play in another galaxy, light years away from you. Give up. Surrender. Let us do it all. Then it shall not be to your harm.”””

---> Additionally: The KDrama chooses a nasty mixture of proven dramaturgical elements and links them with another hidden, questionable message that might be hardly noticeable, yet effective.
There is the world of the employed, that so many people in the country (and elsewhere in other countries) share. In particular in South Korea this is often enough about an authoritarian hierarchy within a corporate structure. This includes almost as a matter of course: bossing around, exploiting, abusing, and some more exploiting. This goes through all instances. It is nothing new. This is everyday life for many.
Thus, a rebellious protest is always welcome in KDrama. “King the Land” also grabs into this box - courageously and with some humor as the hero immediately counters the frustration that nothing ever changes. He rebels. Dares to speak back. Pushes through, with vigorous means when necessary. And keeps the upper hand. How wonderful! … It's just too bad that he happens to be the chairman's son and can afford to do that... Here, and there, and almost everywhere...
So, the positive, rebellious (democratically inspired?) message turns into the (autocratic) opposite: “””Only those who swing the scepter of (monetary) power can change something, because they are the ones, who actually have something to say. The ones at the top. An this is, because they are at the top for a good reason, because they have the background, the stamina and the right genes to de facto be responsible for the rest.”””
“King the Land” never tires of throwing this message into the audience's eyes and ears - in all its possible epic breadth. In particular, embodied by the protagonist's stepsister and antagonist, but even by the protagonist's trusted secretary. Sure, our hero ticks differently, but (this is the harmless insight to take home with us): “””It's not the evil chairmen, but there is an economic reality with which all people who think and act halfway responsibly have to put up with. Period! These are given contexts that one cannot escape from when in such a responsible position. Ergo: THOSE up there are no worse than we down here. On the contrary: THOSE up there bear responsibility, we down there don't. And THOSE up there actually mean well with us. We can actually be happy: we are doing well after all...”””
Yes, it may be true, that many are better off than others, that they lead a more comfortable life than their parents or grandparents did. Nevertheless, I feel this message (that so often resonates in this KDrama) as one that basically wants to keep people little and hold their potential down. I personally don't like that.

Therefore: Is “King the Land” trotting along as a Trojan horse of the autocratic backroom masterminds, selling their notion for a modern absolutistic society?

Or - with a wink:-) - another assumption: Is "King the Land" an AI product? An AI, which with all its algorithms, its heuristic search for solutions and its logical conclusions, yet blind for socio-political nuances, reaches into the colorful pot of success guaranteed dramaturgical determinants, inflates those for even more success and breathes life into it with popular (success-guaranteeing?) mimes, music and light. However, one can sometimes get the impression that the heartbeat is missing. Its rather forced here and there. (Some even reproach the KDrama for lacking any cross-cultural sensitivity.)

In my opinion, the 'done with love' of this KDrama bobs back and forth between 'yes' and 'no'. A pretty face has to be enough, a harmonious tune, a touching gesture, a look, a kiss at the right time to make amends for the rest. Towards the end, the KDrama tries hard again, the amorous and yet tricky relationship dynamic emotionally comes to the fore a little more (e.g. as a relationship that isn't appropriate for the Heir), and some processes come across quite promising, to the extent that maybe something actually might possibly change about the cemented corporate culture of King Group. Nevertheless, being embedded within the absolutist brainwashing of the overall scenario, it loses some of its charm. (For me) A bland taste remains.


--> However, the good news at last:
I cannot say I totally wasted my time. If in between I was able to ignore all of the above-mentioned allegation (which was actually possible!), then the KDrama also delivered: a nice, clichéd love story in the Jaebeol milieu, with some cat-and-mouse games, without much depth, but with extra (!) cream. Simple as that. (By the way, some are already treating "King the Land" as the KDrama with the best kissing scene...)


--> Conclusion:
Maybe being so focused on success , “King of the Land” almost lost track of the core of a KDrama´s heart. However, at least a few within the production team obviously tried to put quite some effort into emotional finetuning, too.
So, I'm ambivalent. In spite even the unabashed style I criticized, I watched to the end. Not only out of professional curiosity. Despite all the indignation that inevitably spread through me again and again, at times I eventually enjoyed it, too. (Otherwise I would have dropped it - and then quite early.)
For all that, that's KDrama, too...

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This drama needed a soul......it was so lifeless and cringey

The minute you label the genre as romantic comedy, then a thousand expectations are dropped but yet only a handful remain.
And if you can't even met those then the drama needs to be trashed.

ML : basically the only person/object/character worth watching. He is the only reason I endured 16 hours of cringey material.
FL : goddess of goodness. I wish more girls like this existed - but they don't because her character was fake and so was her smile. Outrageously created do-gooder, star winner......just nauseating.

Main Couple : I couldn't find the chemistry within 16 hours of torture. Romance is tepid, no sizzle, no heart fluttering scenes. Please don't call it a romance if you cannot make our hearts flutter. It's the only request we have for you.

The friendship between 3 females : they should really edit out all the scenes with the 3 friends because it is an embarrassment to young women. Who behaves so idiotically? Are these stolen clips from a 70's drama?

Bad coworkers : Yea,right
Trip to Thailand: ridiculous joke
Arab Prince: The comment and review sections are filled with this so go figure.

This drama had a hope, some good bones. Unfortunately they wanted a quick fix so the whole thing came crumbling down.

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Every vacuous cliché in every vacuous episode

When you’ve already hit the record for maximum clichés in an episode in the first week of broadcasting, you know where it’s going. Recycled cheese.

Accidentally falling into ML’s arms? Check: so many times I lost count.
Toilet joke. Check: in your face x 2
Mean work colleagues. Check: 100% all round.
Ridiculously unbelievable “heroism”— look no rope. Check: (give me strength).
Umbrella in the rain scene. Check x 2
Pulling FL out of the path of an oncoming scooter: Check.
FL carried bride-style for no good reason. Check x 2
Wall to wall, endless, inappropriate PP. Check.

And on and on and on…

I really looked for something original in there but totally failed to find it. (No actually, come to think of it, the fully and explicitly enunciated English language, “What the Fuck!” in Ep 8 was pretty original.) Even compared to other productions in its genre I don’t think it stands up.

The script is the sort of random mess that doesn’t have any highlights except for the obligatory stepping stones of a common or garden romcom which it forces onto the characters regardless of character integrity. It manufactures ridiculous scenarios in order to include endless PP (episode ten was unbearable, just skip it) or linger endlessly on eyes gazing longingly at each other. A teenage dream fantasy fulfilled at least once in every episode and twice on Sundays. I was just sooooo bored.

The majority of the characters were cookie cutters with no discernable defining characteristics and no opportunities in the script to show depth. Were there secondary relationships? Maybe, it was so long between interactions I’d almost forgotten who the characters were.

So is there a saving grace? Well yes there is, but it’s the only one I can find. Fantastic, sizzling chemistry and eye candy. All those years of idol training haven’t gone to waste, Jun Ho is pose perfect in every close up and Yoon Ah knows very well how to melt into an embrace (no ironing boards here). Seeing as that is probably the number one requirement for many viewers it would probably explain the ridiculously high rating for the show (8.4 at time of writing). Will it up the rating as far as I’m concerned? Well… no.

Maybe I’ve missed the point. Perhaps the whole raison d’être of the genre is to be a sucky blanket of repetitive clichés with no discernible plot to showcase pretty faces, and I’m doing that unforgivable thing of criticising something for what it never set out to be. But I’m stupid enough to live in hope that somehow this genre will one day produce something clever, witty, memorable, funny and original. Just give up why don’t you!!

I think my problem is that I really want a funny-romantic sucky blanket too. Who doesn’t? But just not like this. I want something more sophisticated and worthy of the quality of the actors that star in it. ‘Cause I’ve been a fan of Jun Ho ever since “Just Between Lovers” and consider that the guy can act and has taken on some non-standard roles. (He was the only reason for considering watching this in the first place.) I was cringing with secondary embarrassment for both of the leads at least once an episode. Jeez these guys earn their living.

Okay, next time you see a romcom on my Currently Watching list, kindly do me a huge favour and msge me a reminder that I’m going to spend the entire time rolling my eyes and pushing myself to the end of the episode, so not to bother however much I might want to consider it as a reviewer.

What may rating means: 3+ Totally unbearable, but often compulsively watchable as you really can’t believe that it can be this bad.

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disappointing ...

I will start this review by saying that I am a regular rom-com enthusiast. I absolutely loved Business Proposal but King The Land failed to achieve anything that Business Proposal did in the span of 12 episodes.
King the Land had a flimsy, basically non-existent, plot and absolutely no proper conflicts or red thread to carry on the drama. I am not saying that shallow romcoms can't be good but jeesus fucking christ there was NOTHING to wait for. Maybe this drama was great for those who just wanted to watch Yoona and Junho but I couldn't manage the last 4 episodes without skipping maybe 50-70%. And don't get me wrong, I do think they make a beautiful couple but this drama was borderline garbage. I have never been this bothered by product placements in my 7+ years of watching kdramas. The plot and the characters were such shallow cardboard cut-out humans that I couldn't even enjoy the romance by the end.
Were we supposed to act like the sister was in any way a proper villain. She seemed like a child who needed attention and craved for love but decided to be a bitch in her 40s. I just felt mildly annoyed by every scene she was in. She just kept being like "I want the hotel -_- humbh you have no right to the hotel". Like I don't care?
The business talks were the most ridiculous bs I've ever seen. I don't know anything about business but those scenes were so romanticised that I felt like slamming my head through a wall. Just shut up. When did Gu Won ever even work (literally in like one scene)?
Also the other friend in a sh*t marriage and all that was played out for a few laughs and cute bossy kid moments?? Am I supposed to feel okay that at least now she is the head of the household? Like ummm okay ... what a creative way to promote staying in loveless marriages I guess?

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Underwhelming, Cliche-Riddled "Fairy Tale" That We've Seen So Many Times Before!

I’m not sure why I continue to fall into the trap of watching these romantic dramas that overuse cliches that have been done hundreds of times before. It’s the biggest reason why I stopped watching American romantic comedies because they’re mostly all the same. However, perhaps it’s because I’ve seen enough refreshing takes on the genre in K-Dramas that I remain hopeful, that there are still a few gems out there. This series isn’t one of them.

Once again, we have the super-wealthy man who swoops in for the plain working girl. We’ve seen this duo so many times, that it’s literally become tiresome. It’s also insulting that women today—in any part of the world—are made to feel that the “jackpot” is still the rich man. Look around, and you’ll probably find that many such relationships don’t last or end well.

There is little innovation or creativity in this series. It’s about as predictable as you could imagine. It follows this predictable formula: wealthy son has a problem, so he’s a bit of a recluse. Wealthy son has a parent who is unhappy with him and, of course, he disapproves of the girl he likes and is told to get rid of her. Always a power struggle between the guy and a sibling or rival. Regular girl doesn’t have much self-esteem and struggles to make ends meet. Regular girl begins to question her value as soon as any objection is made against her, especially by his parents. Wealthy guy miraculously recovers from his problem, usually with the help of the girl, and we see him begin to soften and see life in a different way. Wealthy man treats the girl to many exotic events that nobody could possibly experience (bought out restaurants, amusement parks, lavish hotel rooms, etc.) as if this is the only way to enjoy each other’s company. Everything is miraculously wrapped up in the last episode so that everything ends on a happy note.

What we end up having is a very predictable series where we already know what’s going to happen from the very start. This formula is used in nearly every Hallmark movie ever made. In fact, I wondered if the writer stole their template to use for this series. It wouldn’t surprise me.

The series could have been brave and chosen to go off in a totally different direction. Perhaps the guy gives up his wealth to pursue his own dreams and happiness. Or how about this? Why can’t the woman be the wealthy one and the guy be the regular shmo? Because culturally, we still live in a world where women continue to believe that ultimate happiness lies with a wealthy man, which is beyond sad. It’s pathetic because it’s so completely untrue.

Gu Won (Lee Jun Ho) is the reclusive son of a wealthy company and hotel owner. His mother suddenly disappears from his life at a young age, and he doesn’t trust people who smile. He views such actions as fake as well as insulting as if the person is hiding their true feelings. He’s not entirely wrong. There is nothing so superficial as a fake smile. He comes back to Korea after years in the UK to learn the business, even though at first, he has no interest in taking over.

Cheon Sa Rang (Im Yoon Ah) is a young woman who’s always dreamed of working at the King Hotel. It’s a place of warm memories from when she was a child, and because of her customer service skills, she finds herself moving up the ladder to King the Land—an exclusive VIP floor of the hotel, only for the very richest of people who demand special service. She’s very good at her job, and when she’s asked to interview Gu Won for a promotional scheme, of course, there is immediate friction, especially when he demands that she stop smiling.

As you can already guess, these two are whisked away alone (you have to hand it to the writers who scheme to come up with some plausible way to force these two characters to be alone in order to break the ice!), and they begin to learn about each other. The sad part is that by the end of the third episode, Gu Won miraculously recovers from his problem of seeing people smile. This is an area that could have, and should have, been explored much more thoroughly than it was. This was a missed opportunity.

Cheon Sa Rang has two other friends who both work under the same company. Kang Da Eul works at a duty-free shop. And Oh Pyung Hwa is a flight attendant. All three women are very immature, cowardly, and weak. Wallflowers are never attractive or appealing. Sa Rang constantly allows herself to be abused at work. Kang Da Eul is abused by her in-laws and husband. It’s sad that her little girl has more maturity than she does. And Oh Pyung Hwa has her past held against her, and she’s also abused by the pilot and co-workers. None of them ever speak up and stand up for themselves.

To be fair, Korea is arguably the most competitive country in the world. And what we see is a very cutthroat mentality in which workers are expected to fall-in and do whatever they’re told without argument or complaint. This leads to a hierarchy of those above abusing those below. In one of the high points of the series, Gu Won attempts to correct this oversight. His plan is for companies to appreciate their employees and to treat them as valuable commodities rather than throwaways. This is a philosophy that is sorely needed in today’s world, but perhaps especially in Korea. This point was actually my favorite aspect of the series, so it wasn’t a total loss.

Lee Jun Ho is the glue of this series. He has a very natural acting style that makes you appreciate his acting chops in nearly every scene that he’s in, and in many ways, he single-handedly prevents this “ship” from sinking completely.

I’ve always loved Kim Young Ok (Grandma) who dazzled us in “Hometown Cha Cha Cha” as well as “Tomorrow.” She’s a true delight in everything she does. I smiled when I saw her in her first scene.

Im Yoon Ah is the weak link in this series. this woman is like a Jekyll and Hyde actress. She's either upbeat, bubbly, and warm, or she's cold, rude, aloof, and indifferent. She has no other "speeds" which is why her range isn't very good. She has no clue how to build up a scene. She can only hit one button or the other, which really hurts her performance. Too often, she looks uncomfortable in scenes where she shouldn't be. I found it ironic that she’s the last one to smile in the wedding of the last episode. She looked so uncomfortable, and it showed. She has a good grin, but she hardly has “the best smile.” Her performance is very inconsistent and lacking believability in many scenes. I certainly won’t be watching any more series that showcase this actress. She’s decent at best.

Kim Sun Young plays Gu Hwa Ran, Gu Won’s sister, even though she looks more like his mother. While she played the character well, Gu Hwa Ran is way too one-dimensional. This was another character that should have been explored with much more depth.

Finally, we have Ah Se Ha playing No Sang Sik (Gu Won’s assistant). There is a fine line between playing the idiot and playing the funny man. The buffoon is rarely appealing, and the Thailand trip was cringeworthy and easily my least favorite part of the series. It takes someone with real acting chops to toe the line between being annoying and funny. He was easily my least favorite character of the series, making me question why he was there.

I prefer series like “Business Proposal” that showcased strong, mature women who could fend for themselves. Women who didn’t act like wallflowers who wilt under every kind of pressure, which is what we have here. “Hometown Cha Cha Cha,” “Our Beloved Summer,” “Touch Your Heart” and “Love To Hate You” were vastly superior to this series. These writers really need to start thinking outside the box instead of hammering us with the same plots and weak characters that have been done to death.

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Nothing Burger!

Well I am surprising myself with this assessment. I was sincerely looking forward to this drama. Let us be honest, we have not had many great k-dramas in the past year or so. This seemed to have a great lineup and fairly upscale production. I was not anticipating a masterpiece, but a fun, light hearted romantic comedy.
But in reality the show turned out to be a whole lotta nothing burger. The set looked great, the visuals were great...but the magic was missing. I was hoping this to change as the story progressed...but the pace of the story remained the same. I finished watching the show purely out of loyalty to some of my favorite cast members, but they deserved better.

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