Three things.
1. The title, “King the Land”
In English, there’s an idiom “to stick the landing,” which means to execute a flawless gymnastic routine, like an Olympic athlete dismounting from the unparalleled bars without hopping or slipping on the mat.
In my opinion, to “king the land” is the opposite of a perfect performance. It means to fail spectacularly while executing a difficult stunt with seeming ease and poise, like how the male lead parachuted to work on his first day of employment, only to land on the wrong helipad.
It’s hard not to miss the name on his parachute: “King.”
That’s where I got the idea that that the title refers to a flop. Though the intention of the stunt is to bolster one’s image, the outcome is quite the opposite. The male lead self-destructs his image.
Here are the other examples of the male lead “kinging the land”
a. Working as an intern because of the lofty idea that he’d start at the bottom of the corporate ladder. however, he got fired right away
b. Buying the two last limited editions of the tiger shirt only to have the shirt brand him as a pervert
c. Holding a press conference to introduce himself as the new director but encountering stage fright
d. Pushing his suitcase in a “no-look pass” to the female lead but the suitcase hit a stranger instead
2. The metaphors
Four metaphors are easily detectable in Episode 1.
a. The first one is the parachute. The male lead parachuted down to his job is a visual metaphor of how he got the internship. As son of the owner of the King hotel, he “landed” the job because of nepotism.
The Korean word for parachute “nakhasan” (낙하산 ) is commonly used to insinuate that an individual was hired due to connections, rather than merit.
b. The second metaphor is the broken shoe. The shoe heel of the female lead snapped off on the way to her job interview. Visually, the broken heel represents her lack of connection. She’s like a “baepsae” (or small bird) who broke her legs for trying too hard to catch up a long-legged stork.
But I like the way she pretended to walk with both heels on. Despite the mishap, she displayed poise and balance, and a lot of pluck.
c. The third metaphor is the glistening white hotel lobby.
The white lobby reminded the female lead that she was in the “happiest place of earth” ala Disneyland. She once visited the place with her mom when she was a child and had fond memories of the place. Nostalgia was the primary reason for her desire to work there. She wanted to recreate the same thrill she had as a young guest of the hotel in the present guests of the hotel.
She smiled as she gazed steadily at the multi-leveled interior space.
In contrast, the male lead considered the white lobby as emblematic of his quest to find his mother. He struggles to find any traces of her because of the multi-level cover-ups. There were so many floors and so many doors where the real identity of his mom could have been hidden away. Uncovering the secrecy would be the primary reason for his desire to work at the hotel.
He was frowning as his eyes shifted right to left.
d. The last metaphor is the smile.
The female lead along with her friend who works in the duty-free shop and her friend who works as flight crew worked in the hospitality industry. They must maintain a happy image, and the outward sign of happiness is a smile. However, given that they deal with troublesome people non-stop, it’s virtually impossible to have a smile stuck on their faces unless they fake it. For the male lead, the smile has become synonymous with fakeness.
3. “King the Land” vs “A Business Proposal”
Just like last year’s big hit, “A Business Proposal,” this kdrama is based on webtoon, and rewritten for the tv. But unlike ABP this kdrama didn’t amuse me for a single minute.
I didn’t burst out laughing like I did when the female lead in ABP cheekily introduced her boobs as her best friends Samantha and Rachel to the stunned male lead, or when the male lead in ABP was called an archaeopteryx numerous time. The audacity of the female lead won me over instantly and the stiffness of the male lead was on point.
In comparison, the two meet-cutes of the leads in KTL are flat as a sparkling water without fizz.
In the first meet-cute, there was an attempt to tie the male lead with the tiger because of the shirt he wore. The tie-in was contrived, though. At least, the male actor in ABP actually looked like an archaeopteryx, so the running joke was spot on. But Lee JunHo as a tiger? Uh, no. Maybe a cat.
Moreover, the female lead in KTL came off as impulsive and reckless in their first meet-cute. She should thank her lucky stars that she wasn’t sued.
As for their second meet-cutes, the toilet joke wasn’t funny for a second. If I were stumble on a hotel staff using the toilet like the female lead did (and she didn’t clean and disinfected the seat after her use!), I’d request for a change of suite right away.
And what’s wrong with this female lead’s basic sense of hygiene anyway? She was told to wipe the sweat off gym equipment, but she didn’t use any spray cleanser or wet wipes. Disgusting!
Unlike other viewers who turned their noses up at romantic clichés, I’ve said repeatedly that romcom tropes are perfectly fine as long as they’re given a fresh look, a new slant, or an unexpected twist. ABP managed to do those very well. The screenwriter and director were able to make witty and entertaining episodes despite the clichés galore. It also helped that the actress in ABP was naturally effervescent; it was a joy watching her on tv. I had no problem believing her oddball character could draw out the male lead from his shell.
Too bad I can’t say the same of KTL.
The setting of the drama is definitely ritzy, and I don’t mind the director’s fondness for this imagery of the lead characters being oblivious to each other.
So near and yet so far.
But the attraction between the lead characters is forced.
Seriously, he’s mesmerized by a girl with bouncy hair??
I would prefer that he was moved by her spirit and personality rather than her appearance This is look-ism at work.
Same here. She’s entranced by the sight of him in a suit?!
Even if this drama doesn’t purport to be profound or cerebral, I wish it would ease up on glorifying beauty, and show instead that character matters. That was the core tenet in “A Business Proposal” which I find sadly missing in this kdrama.
Thanks for your take on the title @pkml3. I wondered what it was supposed to mean and your explanation fits. I saw somewhere else that this show was also called ‘King of the Land’ and yes it did say in one of the episodes that the VIP lounge was called that.
As I enter another busy period, it’s just as well that Shows like this will just be light, easy on the eyes and require no deep analysis. Let me just slurp up the handsome man in 3-pc suit porn and pretty girl smiles. At least IYN/LYN did not annoy. 😉 😌 🙄 😀
thanks for the review, it was on my watch list but can remain there.
@Kelley,
Just binge-watch it after it’s completed. That way you can skip the boring parts.
Thanks for this. I love ABP. 🥰 I’ve done a couple of rewatch on it.
So you won’t watch this one, I gather?
I’m here for Junho. 🥰
I loved ABP and I hope this drama will gain traction. @packmule3, I liked your take on the meaning of ‘King the Land.’ This guy just won’t get it right without hearing some home truths. Toilet humour isn’t my favourite, so I hope that’s now past.
I am interested in Gu Won’s sister, too. She is determined to hold onto her claim on the hotel empire. But she’s not all bad — it was she who hired Sa Rang despite her broken shoe and her lack of education. She could see Sa Rang’s worth for the hotel, unlike her brother. Sa Rang’s airport outfit and Won’s reaction made me think of the saying, ‘He/She cleans up nice’. He couldn’t see past the uniform earlier. 😜 Sa Rang’s name reminds me of saranghae – I love you in Korean so I guess it’s similar to Aimee in French/Amy in English. Haha. Gu Won is doomed, right?
Yes, it’s going to be clichéd. It reminds me of that other hotel k-drama, My Secret Romance, down to the big white seaside hotel in the first episodes. But I quite enjoyed that one, shallowly, and will probably enjoy this more modern drama. It’s a bit of a ‘beach novel’ which is fine with me atm.
I think hotels are prime rom-com settings — for those who don’t travel much they can be incredibly romantic. The more opulent or atmospheric the better to be an escape from the ordinary look of home. I remember when (aging myself) the Hyatt Regency O’Hare opened near Chicago. We had a large family so motels or cottages were our normal vacation lodging style. My mom took us to look at the Hyatt lobby which is very similar to the hotel in this drama. I think we were like the younger Sa Rang, gawking at the glass capsule elevators and tiers of hotel floors rising up with hanging gardens cascading down. Come to think of it, free tourism during the long summer break was one of my mom’s specialties. We also went to the airport and walked out to the furthest gates to watch the planes landing and taking off.
@Fern, I used to do the same! We’d bring the family to look around town, have breakfast in hotels although we didn’t stay there LOL, and go to the airport to let the kids run around in a big space.
I still like to visit hotel lobbies, (although I hardly do anymore!) especially during the Christmas (or any festival) light up. The decorations get me feeling all festive. Even the interior decor may change so that the same spaces look fresh. I’m all for free tourism!
WRT the Show(s)… I did watch ‘My Secret Romance’ too. Sheer fluff. I didn’t remember it enough that this show rang any bell. Yes the meet-cute etc happened in the hotel. I sort of recall that it was the FL’s mother who was getting married again in a hotel.
I kind of feel bad for Gu Won’s sister. The father obviously wants his son to run all the business, regardless of how competent and faithful his daughter is. I believe I saw that GW’s mother is listed as the Director of the hotel in some record or other, although he cannot find current records of her. Perhaps he wants to be a place-holder, and when he finds his mother, he intends to restore the Director’s position to her.
@GB, your idea about the father’s preferences is good. He claims to be unbiased and even open to hiring CEOs from outside the family, but perhaps not.
I think that Won’s aversion to fake smiles has to do with the time his mother ‘disappeared’. He was only a child and perhaps the household staff knew more than he did about what happened. They may have been told not to upset him further or they may simply have been trying to cheer him up. Now he’s trying to find his mother. I hope there’s no skullduggery involved.
I don’t like how the step-sister (half-sister?) is trying to sabotage Won. It’s not fair play. The interview question swap is particularly savage. Despite the father saying that the interview will be reflected in the share price of the hotel, she went ahead. She’s not self-sacrificing, so is she planning something to do with lowered share prices?
The parachuting sequence reminded me of Gaus Electronics in 2022. A fantastic silly sit-com full of over the top moments. I suspect that this show might go the extra mile in derpiness. Gaus Electronics went with the wacky humour, totally embraced it and did it with gusto. It kind of showed me where this show might be heading. That said I am still mid episode 1.
Hi @FGB, I left you a post in the Silent thread.
As for King the Land – I don’t mind if this show goes full out wacky. There are some manhwa-ish aspects in it from time to time as they seem to go OTT. Whichever way it decides to go ie crazy-wacky or normal-rom-commy, it’s obvious that we’re not meant to have to go too deeply into anything that Show offers, just enjoy the brainless fun.
I’ll keep going with the glowing visuals LOL.
Written back there @GB 😉 .
The little girl intimidating the *supposedly* responsible adults made the episode for me 😀
@FGB4877, I wish I had known someone was watching Gaus Electronics. I started it among several others but lost momentum viewing it on my own. I will try it again.
I still have to start episode 7 dear @Fern 😉
Just like “Oliver na Inu, (Gosh!!) Konoyarou (2021)” it is an unexpected delight when you find gag after gag successfully landing. Never thought that both Koreans with “Gaus Electronics” nor Japanese with “Oliver” could land such hilarious sit-coms and I am happy to be proven wrong.
Dear @FGB4877, thank you for listing some other possibilities!
@Fern, I loved Gaus Electrionics! It was slapstick to the point of me feeling so embarrassed for the poor guy! Every time we see Aziz, we want to laugh because he is either too innocent or too smart. There’s a cdrama version that came out not too long ago called “Never Give Up” but I gave up on it. The kdrama version was way too good.
I watched the 2 episodes of King the land…for Junho, like you @agdr03.
It doesn’t have the oomph like ABP for sure but I’ll keep at it and hope it gets better as the episodes go on. It is not that bad to make me drop it at this point. I’m ok with the brainless fun after bingeing the heavily action packed “Bloodhound”.
@pm3, I love your point on the parachuting in having so many level of meanings for the start of this show.
@grace, how did you find Bloodhounds? I’ve seen clips and interviews, but am a bit nervous about how it will progress and end. I like both actors. I remember Lee Sang-yi from Hometown Cha Cha Cha. I was hoping that he would win out over the ML mostly because I like the way his shirts fit. 🤭 How shallow — I know!
I’m looking forward to King the Land this evening.
@grace, @Fern, @FGB, I took a quick peek at ‘Gaus Electronics’. LOL. I think I have to be in the mood for something off the beaten track, but it looked fun.
= = =
I watched Ep 3 of King the Land.
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
Once again it’s the humble underling who gets the job done professionally, while the parachuted boss self-centredly does what he wants. Fortunately he has not blighted Sa Rang’s prospects but instead, she has saved his reputation and promoted the hotel so that she gets rewarded. I like that she didn’t need the man’s help or the boss’ help at all. If anything, he was in danger of getting in her way.
I liked the tongue-in-cheek humour about being able to doctor any photograph. We consider which are the true smiles and the fake, not only by people around Gu Won but from Gu Won, himself. He’s so uppity and judgmental, but he has yet to look properly at other and at himself.
Sa Rang is well placed to put him in his place LOL. Especially now in the King The Land VIP Lounge.
I liked how GW finally gave in to buying the macarons for Sa Rang only to see that she has a boyfriend. The closing door in that scene was most apt. He thinks that door is closed to him but Sa Rang was stiff and unsmiling with her so-called bf and it’s just a matter of time before becomes her ex-bf.
Meanwhile SR’s air-stewardess friend, Pyeong Hwa may have a much younger man interested in her.
I’m wondering where other friend, Gang Da Eul’s husband is. There’s mention in AsianWiki of Seo Choong Jae, who’s likely her husband and father of Seo Cho Ryong, but I missed seeing him about.
One more theme that this episode brings up is the idea of all people being equal, or that treatment should be about the same for all in terms of offering respect or expecting favours. The rich should not be scammed because they’re rich, the hard-working common people should be respected for upholding integrity when they choose to earn their wage fairly and the seniors should not bully the maknae into buying snacks for them and the air-stewardess team leader should have had her weight taken too to prove that she had the right to take such pleasure in fat-shaming/insulting her team-members.
I liked that Sa Rang was sharp enough to notice that Gu Won was really wounded by the questions in the interview, and sensitive enough not to probe further. I believe her apology over the question moved him a bit.
And of course my fave scenes are the biking ones and when he looked at her and smiled naturally LOL. That smirk of his was something awful!!! LOLOL.
I agree with all you have written above, @GB. Overall, we see that Sarang is clever and Gu Won think he is. He keeps bursting his own balloon. The photoshopped pics were hilarious and obvious; the fish and especially the mirrored/symmetrical smile. Wasn’t he furious about that?!
I liked the Gapado hotel bill scene. GW didn’t understand why Sa Rang wanted to take the time to negotiate a fair bill. She has to explain integrity as it relates to money to GW. It made me wonder how he was raised and schooled to be THAT ignorant. She was quite intuitive and smart about the situation. She taunts him about nepotism.
I was glad there wasn’t drunken sex. Haha, it’s come a bit quickly for me in k-drama standards, but in less than 24 hours Gu Won has gone from hate to infatuation and had to check on the computer for verification — probably because he’s a noob to love. I wondered why Sa Rang didn’t ask GW why the question bothered him.
The father seems like a chaebol caricature – yelling that there’s no such thing as love and respect for their type of people. Saying that he did everything to preserve his father’s legacy and that GW needs to do the same. Is he covering up his own hurt or is he just like that? The half-sister (if that’s what she is) is still bent on driving Gu Won away despite him saying she needn’t be afraid of him. There must be another reason, apart from her hotel position, don’t you think? I’m hypothesizing that the father married GW’s mother for love, but married Gu Hwa-ran’s mother to bring more money into the family businesses.
Oh dear, I should have responded to @GB’s post under the episode 3 & 4 post. Please could it be moved there?
Hi @pkml3, it looks like I posted Eps 3 & 4 comments under this thread. Pl move it and @Fern’s reply to the correct thread. Thanks!
@PM3 So it’s a no? I am trying to find a Kdrama that will lure me back to watch in full. I have dropped every drama I started so far. 😑. I was going to try this for JunHo but I was never a big fan of Im Yoona. I never understood her allure. I still can’t wipe out her portrayal of the haunted Dances with Ramyeon “Anna” in K2. 😂.
@grace daughter dear told me to download all 8 eps of Bloodhounds to watch on our flight tomorrow to Singapore. I asked her why and her reply was…Woo DoHwan. 😂 Say no more. Let’s hope our air sick pills don’t make us too drowsy and we can fully enjoy the…erm…physicality…oops sorry I meant…great acting of WDH.
@nrllee, enjoy your visit to Singapore! I hope you enjoy Bloodhounds, too. I’ll look forward to your review on WAWW June (please). Hey, Singapore must be the place to be these days!
@Fern did I miss a post? What is WAWW June? 🤔
What Are We Watching?
@Snowflower thank you for that 🍪. @Fern if you’re referring to my review about the later eps of Good Bad Mother, it’s not happening. I never picked it up again. It was another drama I dropped. Apologies if you were waiting for a write up about it. Did you finish it by any chance?
No, @nrllee, I was referring to you watching Bloodhounds with your daughter. 🙂 I was teasing you to weigh in with your valued opinion of that adventurous drama once you had started it.
I didn’t finish Good Bad Mother either although I know that it was popular. I enjoyed clips that came up on my feed, but I couldn’t be persuaded to watch the actual drama to the end.
The life of me I cannot remember the first two episodes. The third one was better I thought. I am enjoying Sy i m 19l much more.
@nrllee, how was Bloodhounds?? I have to say the fight scenes was really very good but I’m not the kind of drama watcher who enjoys fight scenes so I pretty much glanced at it or FF it, not because it was bad but because it was too real! I wanted so much for them to win and you know it wasn’t going to happen till the end. I loved their tenacity, their brotherhood, their sense of wanting to right the wrong. It was #1 for a while in Netflix SG when it aired in June.
Are you in SG now? Enjoy the morning rains! And if you happen to be around the Marina Bay this saturday, there will be a LOT of road blocks but there should be plane fly past, fireworks and stuff as there are National Day rehersals going on.
@grace Daughter and I enjoyed WDH’s dorky character and his action scenes (his well muscled torso was…eye candy 😂). Story wise…was nothing to write home about. We fast forwarded a lot. It’s not one of those dramas where you’ll miss much if you’re bored with the conversations and just want to watch more of WDH in his element. Although we did hit the fast forward button in some of the gory scenes – bad man slicing his face deliberately was one of them 😬. We only got to ep4. We’ll watch the other eps on our flight back to Oz.
Tried doing the Southern Ridges Walk yesterday only to find that the Forest Walk was closed for maintenance. 🙄 So we didn’t get to walk all the way to Hort Park. Did some shopping at Bugis and Plaza Singapura. Will try to do some cafe hopping tomorrow. Ducking off to JB for a side trip next week before heading home. Coming here from a freezing winter is not advisable. As soon as we exited the airport the wall of humidity and heat took our breath away. It took us a good 2-3 days to acclimatise. 😂
Where’s Bugis again??!! Tourist areas of Singapore have become a blur in my mind. I did treat my hubby to the chili crab at Long Beach since it’s his first time there. 😂 He found it too spicy so I had the dish to myself. 😂😂 He did like the buns, though.
@packmule3 Bugis (Junction) is somewhere in between Little India and Suntec City. It has a lot of little boutique clothing shops (catering to the young) so we frequent it often when we visit. She’s into this brand – acme de la vie. When she showed me their tshirts, I wasn’t particularly impressed. It was just a black tshirt with a girl drinking milk on the front of it? But apparently it’s all the rage? Just feasted on chilli crab with the buns last night. 😋. Daughter and I can’t quite get over why we constantly feel “full” 😂. We normally don’t eat 3 full meals a day. She’s going cafe hopping today on her own whilst I catch up with some friends. Will meet her somewhere later (maybe The Glasshouse at CHIJMES?). We’ll try to catch the night show at Gardens By The Bay one night this week.