King the Land (킹더랜드) is a 2023 South Korean romantic comedy built on one irresistible setup: a chaebol heir who despises insincere, fake smiles falls for the hotelier celebrated for having the most genuine one. Across 16 episodes, the series wraps that opposites-attract premise in marble lobbies, designer suits and corporate boardroom intrigue, making it one of the most talked-about K-dramas of the year.
What it’s about
Gu Won (Lee Jun-ho) is the heir to King Group, a luxury-hotel conglomerate, and a man allergic to the performative smiles that surround him. Pulled into a tense family inheritance struggle, he is cool, guarded and quick to see through pretense. Cheon Sa-rang (Im Yoon-a) is the opposite: a warm, hard-working hotelier known as the “smile queen,” who joins King Hotel, a place tied to some of her happiest childhood memories.
The two clash on first contact. But as they navigate the high-pressure, white-glove world of the hotel and the maneuvering inside King Group, that friction slowly softens into something neither expected. It is a classic rom-com arc, executed with shine and confidence.
The leads and their chemistry
The casting is the whole engine here. Lee Jun-ho (이준호) of 2PM plays Gu Won with a restrained, slow-thawing charm, the kind of leading man who barely smiles early on, which makes every later crack in his composure land harder. He earned industry recognition for the performance, including honors at the Asia Artist Awards.
Im Yoon-a (임윤아), better known to global fans as YoonA of Girls’ Generation, is the bright counterweight as Sa-rang, all sincerity and quiet steel. The pairing works because each actor leans into the contrast rather than fighting it, and the back-and-forth between Gu Won’s reserve and Sa-rang’s warmth gives the series its momentum.
Around them, the supporting cast fills out both the corporate and the personal worlds: Son Byong-ho (손병호) as Gu Won’s father and King Group chairman Gu Il-hoon, Ahn Se-ha (안세하) as Gu Won’s friend and secretary Noh Sang-sik, and Go Won-hee (고원희) and Kim Ga-eun (김가은) as Sa-rang’s best friends Oh Pyung-hwa and Kang Da-eul.
The luxury-hotel appeal
Part of the draw is simply how good King the Land looks. The hotel setting is a fantasy of polished surfaces, and the show uses it well, from sweeping lobbies to glamorous overseas detours. Episode 10 even takes the characters on a trip to Bangkok, Thailand, shot at locations like IconSiam and the Ong Ang Canal.
But the most charming moments are the smaller ones. A standout is a humble ramyeon date between Sa-rang and Gu Won by the Han River, the kind of down-to-earth scene that grounds all the glitz and gives the romance room to breathe.
On the Korean side, much of the hotel atmosphere was captured at the Jungmun Parnas Hotel on Jeju Island, whose lobby served as the main King Hotel setting, while a sweet bicycle date was filmed on Jeju’s Gapado Island, with additional scenes around Moseulpo Port and the Handam Coastal Trail. Seoul-area landmarks, including the Han River and the Gangnam district, round out the locations.
Where it aired and how it traveled
King the Land aired on JTBC over weekends from June 17 to August 6, 2023, broadcasting on Saturdays and Sundays. It streamed worldwide on Netflix and was also available on TVING in South Korea.
Internationally, it was a genuine hit. Through July 2023, the show was a strong performer on Netflix’s weekly non-English TV chart, reaching No. 1 in some weeks and ranking a little lower in others, with figures around 30.8 million hours viewed in the July 3–9 window. Its popularity was especially pronounced across Asia. It’s worth noting accurately: rankings shifted week to week rather than holding a single top spot, but the overall global reach was substantial.
One point of criticism
The series did draw some controversy. Episodes 7 and 8 introduced an Arab prince character, Samir, shown enjoying nightlife, clubs and drinking with multiple women. Some viewers and social-media users criticized the depiction as a stereotype insensitive to Arab and Muslim culture. The production faced no formal sanction, but the criticism was widely reported at the time.
Worth a watch?
King the Land is comfort viewing done with real polish: a tidy, spoiler-friendly rom-com with two charismatic leads, a glossy world to escape into, and just enough corporate intrigue to keep the plot moving. Directed by Im Hyun-wook (임현욱) and written by Choi Rom (최롬), it delivers exactly what its premise promises, and its global numbers suggest plenty of viewers were happy to be charmed.
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