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King the Land korean drama review
Completed
King the Land
5 people found this review helpful
by oakowl62
Aug 4, 2023
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 6.0
Story 3.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 5.0

The plot is tissue paper thin but let's be real, no one is watching for the plot.

The writers took one look at the current kdrama landscape filled with shorter shows with better pacing and tighter scripts and said absolutely not, we are going to create the first 16 episode drama that is made up of ONLY filler episodes. This is less of a drama and more of a very extended commercial for luxury hotels, 3 piece suits, duty free, Audi cars, Thailand tourism, and Danish butter cookies for some reason (I'll admit I was utterly delighted every time they opened the tin and there were actual cookies and not sewing supplies inside, if you know you know). Watching this show felt like taking a vacation and it was fun to leave reality behind and step into a world even more magical than Daeho - a world where rich bosses actually care about their employees' well-being (can someone force Bezos to watch this?).

There's a tiny nugget of a succession storyline buried beneath layers and layers of fluff, and if you squint, there are hints of a genuinely compelling and thought-provoking message about how capitalism favors profits over people and the value of labor, making it clear that the writers did actually put some thought into this before eschewing any sort of broader message in favor of putting Yoona and Junho in increasingly ludicrous situations to fill the time. As someone who likes to multitask but doesn't speak Korean, it was honestly great to watch a kdrama and only half pay attention and still not miss any important info and that's not entirely a criticism.

This drama is akin one of those insane milkshakes that used to be all over Instagram. It's not going to be for everyone but it also doesn't pretend to be something it's not. This isn't for people who want a deep, thoughtful meditation on life and love. It's for us simple bitches who want to look at pretty people doing fun, lavish things and not have to think too hard. Are there better dramas out there? Absolutely. But Yoona is a delight and Junho is always great at playing the rich, slightly pathetic failboy (see: Good Manager) and together, they are two dumbasses in love and I love that for them.

With the last 4 episodes, the drama seems to have taken a turn towards the melo, which I'm not overly fond of (if you've been personally traumatized by Moon Lovers, raise your hand) so I will probably skip or fast forward through the end, but again, that's not really a criticism.

I probably won't remember this show a year from now but I had fun watching it, which is all I can really ask for, and what I will remember is this absolute banger of a quote: "I just chased happiness and ended up here." May we all be so lucky.
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