King the Land

There was a lot of talk about this one when it came out, not all of it good (apparently there's an Arab character later on and it's done very badly), but the clips I'd seen (none of which have that character) seemed pretty good, so I thought I'd try it. Also have now realised that King the Land has Lee Joon-Ho aka Junho (from 2PM) as the lead (Gu Won) and I've been wanting to see him in something else since Wok of Love. The bromance in that show was WAY better than the romance and I really liked him in it, so it's nice to see him in something.

It's been awhile since I watched a chaebol type drama too, so that didn't hold me back. They drive me crazy sometimes, but it's been enough time that I think I can handle one. I've watched three episodes so far and am enjoying it. 

Anyway -- the story. Gu Won is the son in a chaebol family with an older sister who seems very back-stabby and works hard to keep him away from Dear Daddy. There's some mystery about Gu Won's mother as well--he seems to be trying to work out who she was? Or something. It's not been super clear on that, but obviously they must have different mothers. And he's so persistent about it that I honestly don't understand why the dad or half-sister doesn't just tell him what's up. You'd think the sister would just to get rid of him when he's been clear that he's not there for the company (though, honestly, isn't he? At least partly? Maybe not. Three episodes in and I haven't actually seen him do any work as far as I can tell). Anyway, she seems like a total bitch and very two faced. Dad is the standard chaebol dad: All Duty, No Love.

Our female lead is Cheon Sa-Rang played by Lim Yoon-A aka Yoona from Girl's Generation. I know who she is but haven't really watched much with her in it. Sa-Rang is from a much humbler background and also has some type of mom thing (probably dead?). She's always wanted to work at a hotel and has good memories of going to a King hotel with her mom when she was young. Strangely enough, it's evil big sis that hires her and keeps promoting her, seeing Sa-Rang's go-get-'em attitude and hard work. 

Ok. So, Gu Won got some kind of hint about his mother, which is why he's back in Korea (he's been living in the UK for the last 7ish years and got his MBA, etc. So he and Sa-Rang keep running into each other and, ya know, hijinks ensue. Oh, and Sa-Rang has a rubbish boyfriend currently that I'm sure she's about to split up with...

What I like so far -- Go Won has actually already started to realise he's got a bit of a crush, which is refreshingly early for a show like this. And I'm happy to see Junho in something. Also like that Sa-Rang's two best girl friends seem to have storylines of their own with a decent amount of time devoted to them. Oh, and so far the chaebol inheritance stuff has been relatively minor in the plot. I'm sure it'll increase, but I'll enjoy it while I can.

Don't like the sister, though I'm not supposed to. Though it has been interesting to see the contrast between how she's helped Sa-Rang and the way she treats her brother, presumably because she sees him as a threat. I don't really get it. They've got more money than any one person can possibly use. Why squabble and backstab over it? Be a family FFS.

Will report back either at the end or in the middle, but so far so good.

Edit: Ok, so I'm about halfway through. Hit the bit with the Arab prince. The initial episode with him wasn't TOO bad though he is over the top compared to any Muslim I've ever met (and he drinks alcohol). They mostly seem like old school friends that rag on each other (him and the dude), though can't say I love the dynamic. I am guessing the next episode will be the one that really stretches things out of whack, but we'll see. 

As for the romance part, I do always like the shows where the guy realises the attraction first. And this definitely has that. 

Edit: Ok....through the episodes with the Arab prince and they weren't as bad as I feared they would be. Yes, off that he drinks alcohol and Go Won talks about him being a womanizer and "dating lots of girls" and multiple marriages, but nothing the character actually does is that terrible. He proposes and graciously accepts it when she turns him down. Mostly, they just played as two friends that tease each other all the time. 

Other than that, I am finding the show to be in the middle of slow-paced-ness, but things are slowly moving along. I partly haven't watched many more because of an exercise timing thing. When husband is home, I only get 45 minutes to exercise at the gym, so I've been doing either the one Chinese show that's around that or watch anime instead.

Edit: Hmmmm so I started episode 9 today and...I just stopped it about halfway through. While they've finally confessed their feelings (yay), I just...wasn't feeling the pace? I dunno. I may just have not been in the mood. I guess because it feels like they're doing the typical thing of oh they love each other now, let's throw everything we can at them to break them up for some noble idiocy or something. Like, the chaebol antics are kicking off. The well-intentioned but idiot family stuff where grandma is ragging on him because he doesn't have a house...can they just freaking tell the friends and family that he doesn't just WORK at the hotel, his family OWNS it? Not that that should be the important thing, obviously, but, eh, you know how these shows go. I just wasn't in the mood for all of that. And, honestly, while I feel like I see his attraction to her (he's had it the whole time), I don't really feel the zing from her? 

So, I dunno, may try again later.