9.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 South Korean romantic comedy series with 16, 60-77 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique Synopsis then reviiew.

Synopsis

Cheon Sa-rang (Im Yoon-ah) has finally landed her dream job as a concierge at the King Hotel. She has a smile that was made for the role and her beauty and above average capability has her climbing the ranks at the hotel rapidly. Although her aspirations and goals are on path, Sa-rang often finds herself squarely in the cross hairs of Goo Won (Lee Jun-ho) the handsome chaebol who is set to inherit the conglomerate.

At first the two only find the other annoying. But they soon realize there is way more common ground in common as they each pursue their dreams in the hotel world.

Review

This was very good and perfect for anyone that likes a slow build, well developed, heartwarming and enduring romance. The lead couple had perfect chemistry to the point if you discovered they were dating in real life it would not be a surprise. It has a happy ending and all major plot points are resolved.

Spoilers*
Lee Jun ho plays a chaebol that is sensitive and caring and very sweet. He has a gruff exterior but it is a very thin veil for a vulnerable but very kind person. Once he fell for her he did not change his feelings or interest from that point despite family and social pressure.

Even those who tried not to like Sa-rang were unsuccessful. Her amazing competence and unflappable concern for the customers and all those her around her won over virtually everyone.

I loved that she reached the dream team level and realized that it was not all about providing an experience and making people happy. From the classic maid uniform to the tone of that highest privileged experience of serving the Chairman and his guests, it was clear that it was about the elites flashing their elevated status by having the best wait staff at their beck and call. It paid extremely well but she did not think it was worth prostrating your pride on the alter of social narcissism. It was disillusioning for her. So when she decided to quit the King Hotel and create her own experience it made sense. But I was not a fan of the cliff hangar where it made the viewer think she was going to break up with him for his or her own good. I hate that trope and it just so happened that was the episode I was ending on for that night. It was a good and surprising twist but not one I was fond of.

I loved Sa-rang’s grandmother, Cha Soon-hee (Kim Young-ok) is a character that is always in lead girl’s camp, strongly supporting her in all she does. Soon-hee plays the elder in many dramas but thus very cantankerous exterior was a new twist on her usual much more amiable roles. Social status did not intimidate her or overly impress her and she felt her granddaughter was invaluable and not someone to be won with mere money and social status. Her relationship with Won was endearing. Although she made it hard to win her favor, once she decided he was the one she was proud and happy to have him as her grandson in law. It was cute he tried so hard but also that he seemed to genuinely care for her and felt like her trials were reasonable as he understood it reflected the deep caring and love she had for her grandchild.

I did not feel like the story between Won’s parents made a lot of sense. She was supposedly his great love where he was willing to buck social traditions, and be with her, but the minute she did something his father seriously disapproved of not only did he abandon their relationship, but he stole her son and cast her out. They never showed who the wife of his daughter was (his other wife and someone that was socially acceptable) and that might’ve helped explain how that whole situation went down. It just did not make sense that somebody who loved another enough to go against society would so easily give up on them. Later when she comes back, he doesn’t seem to have any remorse over what happened in the past, and instead sort of doubles down on the way he is with his son until the very end when he does have a slight reversal. On has a brief touching encounter with his mom but, other than her attendance at the wedding, we do not get to see the mother and son grow closer. Overall the way that played out did not do justice to the build up to that point. .

The other minor plot flaw was how much it showed her roommate and friends unfair treatment at work without significant satisfaction is seeing them flip the script. I mean the airline stewardess revealed who the ex was and kicked him in his sensitive parts (which he well deserved) but you never saw her make that next level. There was significant screen time devoted to jer desire to become purser and how she was continually passed over unfairly. The romance with her friend and fellow flight attendant was bonus level but it would have been good to see some positive resolve to her unfair work situation. Her other friend had a dead beat husband who she got back at but it never seemed like she had the relationship with him she deserved.

When Won’s sister gets in a verbal altercation with her soon to be ex husband and he slaps her, I was shocked and not okay with that scene. It played through like she had it coming but I personally do not think partners should be physically violent with each other, She slaps him back and that was slightly satisfying but still, men should not hit women in general. Now if it is some psycho woman who started things, and he has no choice, then defending himself is acceptable. But that was not the case, he was angry she bought his girlfriend off and slapped her. Men are built more robustly than women and have greater muscle mass so they should protect not harm.

#KingtheLand
#ImYoonAh
#LeeJunHo