Chemistry and comedy make 'King the Land' a must watch

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Chemistry and comedy make 'King the Land' a must watch

Published: 15 Jun. 2023, 17:11

From left, director Im Hyun-wook, actors Yoona and Junho pose for a photo during the press conference for ″King the Land″ at a hotel in Guro District, western Seoul on Thursday. [JTBC]

In an era flooded with genre-twisting watch-until-the-end content, JTBC's new drama "King the Land" aims to go the opposite way to show that a truly well-made romantic comedy can succeed with "terrific" chemistry between two lovers.

“King the Land” is a new rom-com drama set to air its first episode on Friday. Centering on hotelier Cheon Sa-rang, played by Yoona, and hotel chain heir Goo Won, played by Junho, the drama will be a “perhaps clichéd but therefore classic” story of love and comedy, according to the leads and director.

“We made a romantic comedy drama that is very true to the genre and which viewers can watch lightheartedly,” said Junho during a press conference for “King the Land” at a hotel in Guro District, western Seoul on Thursday. “Romantic comedies are meant to make people want to fall in love and laugh without a serious thought. The chemistry between Yoona and me will definitely make viewers that way.”

“I am usually very keen on getting the aesthetically right shot when filming works, but the chemistry between Yoona and Junho was so good that it was easy to get the best-looking image on screen,” said director Im Hyun-wook during the press conference.

Main poster for ″King the Land″ [JTBC]

Yoona, who debuted as a member of girl group Girls’ Generation in 2007 and has had a 15-year career in acting, said “King the Land” is a turning point for her in terms of the type of characters she has played recently.

“I wanted to dramatically turn away from my previous work, which was a dark noir drama, and meet with viewers through a bright and bubbly character,” said Yoona during the press conference. Yoona’s most recent drama was last year’s “Big Mouth,” a story that surrounded a murder case and was drastically different from what “King the Land” promised to be.

“Not that I did not enjoy filming ‘Big Mouth,’ but I wanted to have a change of atmosphere in my roles and also do a classic rom-com drama.”

While romantic comedies have traditionally been aired in Korea around springtime and genre-bending works are more in fashion these days, the power of a well-made rom-com is still relevant, said director Im.

“Dramas and films that twist between the genres and offer a blend of different types of stories are very popular now and we acknowledge that, but a classic rom-com is also very appealing for viewers, I think,” said Im. “A good rom-com with the perfect chemistry between the leads such as ‘King the Land’ will certainly entertain viewers.”

Yoona and Junho — who also has a K-pop background having debuted as a member of boy band 2PM in 2008 and made an acting debut in 2013 — have previously garnered popularity as a duo, performing in a special performance on MBC’s Gayo Daejejeon in 2021. The video of their performance of “Señorita” (2019) garnered nearly 8 million views on YouTube as of Thursday. The experience of having collaborated together has lent the pair to more comfortably act on the set of “King the Land.”

“We already knew what working with each other was like, so it made us settle into our roles better,” said Yoona. “I do think that our chemistry is very good. And that is essential to romantic comedies. I hope viewers will be just as entranced with ‘King the Land’ as they were with our previous collaboration.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]