King the Land 킹더랜드 [2023]

[mademoiselle]

Behind the Scenes

 

[mademoiselle]

E11 Pre-release

Gu Won is finally seen working! 🥹 @abs-oluteM

[abs-oluteM]

8 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

Gu Won is finally seen working! 🥹 @abs-oluteM

I am glad he knows how to type ...he did do his Masters abroad right? hahahahaha

[mademoiselle]

3 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

I am glad he knows how to type ...he did do his Masters abroad right? hahahahaha

Yes, in England

Wouldn't even be surprised if Secretary Noh did his homework for him!

[gilaswan]

Was that the longest Travel Thailand ad ever! Right up till Episode 12 they were still talking about Bangkok and Tiger Balm (which is a Singapore brand!). At least the show is starting to get exciting although a bit late in the show. I’m just thinking - she made a mistake in service on the Dream Team! Oh no! But anyhoo…

 

Gu Won’s actually been written as a rather reckless character. His sending the girls on a trip out of company account - I’m just surprised it hasn’t blown up in his face yet. I’m always wondering when the 2 of them are going to be discovered by staff and then all of Sarang’s good work goes down the drain cos everyone would assume she got wherever she was because of him. 

 

And then Mr No - he’s got to be a double agent, no?

 

These elements, while interesting, seem very haphazardly thrown in. I’m still liking the show, but boy is it messy in structure and development. The story telling is a bit randomly paced with all sorts of things happening all over the place. Much like life, maybe. 

 

[mademoiselle]

 

[mademoiselle]

 

[abs-oluteM]

On 7/24/2023 at 9:46 AM, gilaswan said:

Was that the longest Travel Thailand ad ever! Right up till Episode 12 they were still talking about Bangkok and Tiger Balm (which is a Singapore brand!). At least the show is starting to get exciting although a bit late in the show. I’m just thinking - she made a mistake in service on the Dream Team! Oh no! But anyhoo…

 It was nice to see GW having some ambition. He lacked a reason before this and needs answers with regards to his mum. I liked how he handled the 100th anniversary celebration but I do agree that he can be quite reckless. I am assuming he has a plan with regards to his sister. I was hoping the sis would have a softer side ...but seeing how she's just all business and doesn't even care about her son, GW needs to go all out and prove himself to his father. 

 

This Dream Team thing though...the way they are dressed like maids - am not sure if this is a promotion or not. Nothing against people who work as maids or waiters etc but I felt that the dressing does not feel professional at all ( like kind of insulting) for what is supposed to be for a high level of service ..no wonder she felt that it was strange. (I don't know why I kept thinking of those maid cafes in Japan.)

 

Anyway, on a lighter note, I am pleased to see that Lee Jun Ho has maintained his physique from his time in The Red Sleeve. 

 

 

 

[Chocolate]

I'm amazed that all you rational people are still watching!

 

This drama is like an excuse for them to kiss! 🤣

 

 

[peperomia]

8 hours ago, Chocolate said:

This drama is like an excuse for them to kiss! 🤣

 

You are spot on about this! I do think this is why the ratings are high.

 

I was curious and skimmed the comment section on MDL and it’s quite interesting, even comical. There is one camp complaining about it still having no plot development and the second camp defending this is romcom so why should we expect a plotline. Not sure what to think here. LOL. Probably just depends on what one is looking for. (Oh, and I did notice one of the MDL tags is "steamy kiss" so there...LOL.) 

 

I am already 10 episodes in and I do like Jun Ho so I will likely finish it. I am not in a hurry though.

[mademoiselle]

@Chocolate

Spoiler

🤫 I'm not

 

🤣

 

 

Edited July 26, 2023 by mademoiselle

[abs-oluteM]

On 7/26/2023 at 9:01 AM, peperomia said:

was curious and skimmed the comment section on MDL and it’s quite interesting, even comical. There is one camp complaining about it still having no plot development and the second camp defending this is romcom so why should we expect a plotline. Not sure what to think here. LOL. Probably just depends on what one is looking for. (Oh, and I did notice one of the MDL tags is "steamy kiss" so there...LOL.) 

Oh yes!! This seems to be the general comments everywhere - two camps - one cursing the lack of plot and the other one defending it to death about rom-coms not needing one.

My mum and I are watching this together and we both agree this show has not much substance in terms of plot but we've come too far to give up. After all  the leads are pleasing to the eye and it's what I consider a mindless watch. 

--------------------------

Just in case there's anyone here who's not gonna watch but still keen to know the "story" :

In  last night's episode,  the leads made it clear to each other that they have no intention of breaking up with one  another.  GW did tell all concerned that he's in love with someone else but like all chaebol families  that is not of importance since marriage is a merging of empires more than anything. :D The girl says he can go fall in love and be done with it and come back to her. On the business front , GW impresses his father with his proposal and get chosen as the President of the hotel.

 

Sarang crosses path with Ji Hu - GW's nephew who still hasn't gone back to US. JH took a liking to Sarang and the Chairman asked Sarang for a favour to look after him for a few days since JH has asked for Sarang's company. So lots of scenes of Sarang - JH bonding and later on GW too bonds with JH when he finds out what a lonely boy he is since his sister doesn't care for the son at all. 

 

GW did go see the lady who knew his mum. Seems like the mum is alive but GW decided he doesn't want to meet her because he doesn't understand how any woman could just abandon their child like that.

-----------------

Okay...that is all 

[Chocolate]

19 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

On the business front , GW impresses his father with his proposal and get chosen as the President of the hotel.

 

I'm almost afraid to ask. What did GW do to impress his father?

 

 

[gilaswan]

@Chocolate Actually, not just a proposal. He went ahead and got certain things going to get King Hotel to become an international hotel chain than just a local luxury hotel. Which is great and all, but back to the plot and holes - lots of them - how does anyone just pick up the phone, make calls, and ta-dah! Hotel is on its way to become an international chain with international offices. Makes his sister look helluva stupid if she, being in this line for so long, could not see that the solution was so simple? Gu Won must have lotsa connections for being sent (presumably) to top international prep schools in Europe... So perhaps like what she's believed all this while - Gu Won has simply been favoured all this while because he simply has been the male child she could not be. 

 

So plot holes remain and the storyline is still all of cotton candy fluff, cos no matter how difficult it seems to be now for Sarang (being exiled to King Tourist Hotel and all that), we know she's gonna come out of it alive and well, Gu Won is not just going to be President of King Hotel but President of the entire King Group since dad has effectively kicked her out of the company already (which by the way, was also exceedingly easy to do).

All said, I'm still enjoying all of the senseless fluff, cos that's what fairytales are made of, and I do so enjoy myself a fairytale every now and then.

[mademoiselle]

Behind the Scenes

 

Thanks @abs-oluteM and @Chocolate, that is a great question! LOL

 

This fairytale seems too easy. Even Prince Philip had to work hard fighting Dragon Maleficient before he is able to kiss Princess Aurora awake. Half sister makes a terrible villain in this fairytale, LOL.

[abs-oluteM]

10 hours ago, Chocolate said:

 

I'm almost afraid to ask. What did GW do to impress his father?

 

 

Exactly! What did GW do that impressed his father ? ... It is as per what @gilaswan mentioned.
Like it was amazing how he cut all these deals behind the scenes while spending all his time sitting at King The Land romancing Sarang. :D But of course, I understand the point the writer is trying to make . GW's idea to turn things around is about revenue generation ( which is of course more optimistic ). His sister's idea is cost cutting. If they were both politicians, of course GW will win the hearts of his voters. Anyway, nothing about the entire plot of this show makes sense , so I just take all this with a pinch of salt. LOL

 

---------------------

@mademoiselle

So anyway picking up from Saturday's episode, sister sent some spies to take photos of the pair and exposed them in hopes of getting GW removed as president. GW , as we would expect, decided to take things public and declare his love for SR. And sister's plan backfired on her since the reporters brought up the father's own Cinderella story ( his affair with GW's mum). Father was so angry and fired the sister. Since GW declared to the world he was in love , and father does have a soft spot for SR after what she did for the nephew, he supposedly decided to leave them alone. 

 

However, the father I think is more cunning than he appears. At the time when GW was headed overseas for 3 weeks to wrap up all these deals he had made, father spoke to Sarang and gave her an order to go away for awhile so that she can seriously think about whether this relationship can work. She was actually "exiled" to one of the King Hotels in some faraway place. But of course SR doesn't bring this up to GW (roles my eyes here) and they managed to squeeze in an amusement park date (before GW went abroad)  in between all that drama :D 

 

GW returns and finds his SR missing . He finds out what happened to her and just as he was heading out to look for her, his mum comes to KTL to look for him and the episode ends. From preview, GW is gonna propose to SR. Mum talks to father and evil sister is not done yet.

 

[Chocolate]

18 hours ago, gilaswan said:

Actually, not just a proposal. He went ahead and got certain things going to get King Hotel to become an international hotel chain than just a local luxury hotel.

 

Great! Did this at least take 5 minutes of the episode?

 

18 hours ago, gilaswan said:

Which is great and all, but back to the plot and holes - lots of them - how does anyone just pick up the phone, make calls, and ta-dah! Hotel is on its way to become an international chain with international offices.

 

Perhaps not 😂

 

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by Chocolate

[gilaswan]

@abs-oluteM Love your summary ending: "... and evil sister is not done yet." Hahahah...

@Chocolate I would like to think it was at least 5 minutes of screen time, but nah.... Some scenes of him and Mr No burning the midnight oil, Sarang coming to deliver food and sweet smiles, and then ta-dah! Announcement of all he has done to bring dad's dream to fruition. And all of that with his 2-man team. And one cheerleader. You definitely have to clap for that. Hahaha...

Evil sis has her sad story of coming home with an achievement certificate to show dad, only to find him having a good family time playing with Won while his second wife watches with smiles and all... perfect family moments that excluded her. And so she tears up her certificate in bitterness, not having even once tried to show it to her dad. His sister is just full of bitter envy, but the entire back story isn't clear you see. Did her mother pass on, and then dad moves on and finds new love and a new wife? Or did dad's first marriage end up in a divorce because of an affair? That bit's not clear. As Won himself says, he's not an illegitimate son. But it will never be easy for a child to see her parent remarry. 

In any case, Won's sister represents the old chaebol mentality, dad represents those who tried to change but could not, and Won is the panacea for it all because he will show it can be done!! Heh heh heh...

[mademoiselle]

BTS

 

OST 8 & 9

Spoiler

 

 

 

16 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

From preview, GW is gonna propose to SR.

I saw comments saying Sarang might ask for a break up here...

 

@abs-oluteM @gilaswan What are the updates for Sarang's BFFs?

[abs-oluteM]

1 hour ago, mademoiselle said:

@abs-oluteM @gilaswan What are the updates for Sarang's BFFs?

Hmmm the one with the kid caught her husband playing indoor golf when he said he had some team dinner. Later on she found out that he had actually been sacked over a year ago and had been using his severance pay to finance his lifestyle. So now she has the upper hand and makes him do all the housework but he's still so whiny. She finally told her in laws about it when they were wondering why she forced  him to help out. The twist was her in laws got so mad at the son and now officially appoints her as the head of the household , and they agree with her that the son needs to be the one doing the chores. I still think she should just divorce this useless man.  As to the air stewardess, not much has happened to her but I think she is standing up to her colleague who got promoted over her and refuses to push the duty free sales when the time is not right. I wasn't paying much attention to her story. 

[peperomia]

On 7/31/2023 at 8:35 AM, abs-oluteM said:

GW returns and finds his SR missing . He finds out what happened to her and just as he was heading out to look for her, his mum comes to KTL to look for him and the episode ends. From preview, GW is gonna propose to SR. Mum talks to father and evil sister is not done yet.

 

I'm not fully caught up yet, but I'm excited to know GW's mother finally appears. I've been looking forward to this moment. (I peeked at the preview. I like the actress playing his mom. She was actually his previous co-lead in drama, Confessions. I also loved her in Chimera.)

 

But really, I'm curious to know why she left the father and especially GW. GW's feelings are valid as to why a mother would abandon her son. Also, the father seems to miss his mother based on how he was reminiscing about her and her "happy" hotel project idea. (This was right after the 100th anniversary ceremony.) This shot seems to allude her name is Han Mi So and was part of the hotel's strategic planning team.

 

Spoiler

 

Anyway, I finished up to episode 12. I do think the storyline got better after the Thailand trip. That was SO LONG. Also, I didn't think the couple trying to hide their relationship from their friends all through that time was funny. So, it was comical when the friends walked in on them during their intimate moment at Sa Rang's house. I actually laughed out loud because I wasn't expecting that to happen. LOL.

 

8 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

I still think she should just divorce this useless man.

 

I'm not here yet, but YES! 

Edited August 1, 2023 by peperomia

[peperomia]

I'm fully caught up.

 

I have to admit...the couple are super sweet together. My only disappointment so far is SR leaving to the exile hotel without telling GW as he was worried about her. It may be her need to clear her head about what GW's father said and if she thought she and GW can overcome the expectations that they're ill fated just like GW's parents. We'll see...

 

The father's core doesn't seem all that bad. Just maybe he prioritizes his company over family, even love. If the information the evil sister fed to the media is true about GW's parents, they were married, but divorced for reasons unknown yet.

 

The evil sister is ice cold. So sad to see the way she treats her son so distantly. You would think because she was neglected by her father, she would be the opposite to her son. Good thing he has a good relationship with GW. Uncle and nephew are adorable together. Back to the sister, she only wants the hotel because GW wants it so she will stop at nothing to get it. The reason makes her look pathetic. Unfortunate she is misdirecting her issues at GW.

 

I'm relieved Mr. No wasn't bought out by the evil sister and remains loyal to GW. (Though I'm guilty of questioning him as the informant for a quick moment. LOL.)

 

I'm not a fan of the friend's husband at all, but I know when there are children involved in marital matters, it's not easy to up and leave. He better do a complete 180 in changing to be a better husband and father.

[mademoiselle]

Special OST

 

[mademoiselle]

Some lovely OTP photos!

 

Spoiler

 

[ktcjdrama]

I have put this drama on hold because I was trying to catch up on other dramas (eg. Revenant). It was fun reading on all your comments and summary above. I was wondering why our thread owner use the word “Finally” when updating the thread title 🤣🤣🤣 now I know. I will still watch and finish this drama (for the eye-candy of course) just not a priority at this point.