Before the highly-anticipated premiere of King The Land, the lead pairing and director grace their presence at the recent press conference.
King The Land is billed as a romantic comedy about a man who despises laughter and a woman who needs to keep smiling because of her job.
Writer Chun Sung Il of the global phenomenon drama series, All Of Us Are Dead, is the creator of King The Land with Choi Rom penning the script and director Im Hyun-wook (Reflection of You) steering the production.
Backing up the production are BY4M Studio and NPIO Entertainment which produced The Red Sleeve, Forecasting Love And Weather, and A Time Called You.
Portraying Gu Won, the heir of King Group who has innate dignity and charisma is Lee Jun Ho. With a brilliant brain and chic charm, he has everything but memories of his mother who suddenly disappeared.
In search of his mother, he enters the King Hotel to find clues and answers to his goal. There he meets Chun Sarang, played by Im Yoon Ah.
Exactly the opposite of his detached personality, Sarang is nicknamed the “smile queen” of King Hotel. Her hard work and great personality have led her to climb from the lobby information desk to the VVIP lounge, King The Land – which is the dream of hoteliers.
Troubles begin to arise in her simple dream of wanting to become a hotelier who gives happiness to people when Gu Won, the Hotel King heir enters her life.
“King The Land” Lead Stars Reveal Charming Points of the Series
Greeting the media people warmly, the lead stars and director responds to the questions raised by the press people.
Regarding the reason why they chose the project, Im Yoon Ah responds that King The Land is a classic rom-com and coming from Big Mouth, she wanted a bubblier role. Likewise, Lee Jun Ho who impressed viewers immensely in The Red Sleeve shares the same thought.
“This is like a classic rom-com. It is my first try. I want to try something cheerful, fun and exciting.” – Im Yoon Ah
“I kinda felt like what Yoona said. I want to go with a lighter story. I want to do something fun, easygoing and heartwarming.” – Lee Jun Ho
Working together for the first time as actors, Lee Jun Ho and Im Yoon Ah are acquainted as they are members of idol groups in the thriving K-Pop industry. But this is the first time they work together on a drama project.
When asked about their initial thoughts of collaborating in a series, they remark confidence in each other as well as excitement for the series.
“Rather than feeling like idols, we met with a new experience. After a period of activity, I would have been silent when there were slightly different scenes, but I had a lot of comfortable conversations. We got along like friends. I thought that the character of Sarang suited Im Yoon Ah well.” – Lee Jun Ho
“It was nice to meet Jun-ho through a project. We went back to those good old days, talked and exchanged opinions. We created a friendly interaction. I thought he would be an actor who could express the various emotional changes of Gu Won.” – Im Yoon Ah
Reinforcing Classic Korean Rom-com
Typically, Korean rom-coms are well-represented in K-Dramaland. Evidently, the pressure is always there for the creators and actors presenting a new project. Conveying the strength of King The Land compared to other romantic comedies, Director Im shared his preparations.
“I thought about that part the most. I thought it was important which actors take part in the rom-com genre. My intention is to capture two people’s chemistry in the most original and loving way. When I was organizing it, I had high expectations for the love progression, and I was able to raise that expectation. So, if there is a difference, it is the chemistry of the lead pairing.”
Echoing Director Im’s insights, Lee Jun Ho relayed his thoughts about the project.
“It is somewhat cliché, but it’s classic. I thought about how to express the lines and scenes no matter how familiar it is for rom-com story. Because those parts existed in a good way, I think you will be able to see how I made some variations. I look forward to seeing how the story unfolds.”
Supporting the leading man of King The Land, Yoona revealed talking a lot and exchanging opinions in creating the saccharine scenes.
“For romance dramas, chemistry and interaction are important. We can say we met the points of the couple scene very well. Particularly the gaze and the voice in these scenes.”
Taking the baton from successive well-received JTBC Korean dramas this year, Director Im felt confident about continuing the successful run thus far.
“It’s a very good situation. I’m confident that it will be better than the burden. Lee Jun Ho and Im Yoon Ah completed the visual beauty. So, it became a beautiful picture even more.“
Character and Story Preparations
Romantic comedies depend on how much the public sympathizes with them. Regarding the empathy points of the characters, Lee Jun Ho said that people might not be able to relate to hoteliers and chaebols but there may be elements in that job categories that viewers can sympathize with.
“I think that love shared by the characters was a feeling that could be sympathized with. The moment love burns, or when it hurts. I think the story contains emotions that can be easily sympathized with up close. I thought about how to approach the conglomerate heir character convincingly.”
Talking about how she colored her character, Im Yoon Ah understood her character to better express her emotions.
“I thought, ‘Shouldn’t I be like this, too, seeing Sarang’s attitude, who always had to smile. Rather than playing safe with my role within the drama, I empathized with the characters in the drama. I took note of Sarang’s heart and resonated with Gu Won. I think that’s the most important point, and the most interesting thing.”
Lastly, Director Im and the lead pairing reveal their promises and impressions of viewership ratings.
Modestly, Director Lim said he is confident, but still, it is unpredictable. He hopes to be the first place in the hard-fought 2023 K-Drama race.
“I prepared a lot, and no matter where I put it out, good quality work will come out. Please send the same affection and interest until the end. We filmed while laughing happily on set. I hope it will be a work where everyone can smile brightly. Please watch until the end so that you can feel that smile.”
King The Land premieres on June 17 on JTBC! International fans can stream it on Netflix!
abbyinhallyuland thanks Netflix for the invite to the media conference
All photos/video courtesy of Netflix
