King of the Land

Gu Won (Lee Jun-ho) is the heir to the powerful King Group, a conglomerate that owns, among other things, hotels, an airline, and duty-free shops. Intelligent and charismatic, he hates forced smiles more than anything and finds himself embroiled in a succession battle with his half-sister Gu Hwa-ran (Kim Sun-young).

Upon his return to the King Hotel, he meets Cheon Sa-rang (Im Yoon-ah), an employee passionate about her work whose constant smile has earned her the nickname «Queen of Smiles.» At first irritated by what he considers to be her artificial demeanor, Won gradually discovers that Sa-rang is a sincere, hardworking young woman who must constantly deal with the demands and prejudices of the hospitality industry. Their conflict-ridden professional relationship then turns into attraction and eventually into a true love story.

All around them, Noh Sang-sik (Ahn Se-ha), Won's secretary and best friend, as well as Sa-rang's two best friends, Oh Pyeong-hwa (Go Won-hee), flight attendant, and Kang Da-eul (Kim Ga-eun), a duty-free shop employee and mother, each have their own stories to tell.

Through the main couple, King of the Land deliberately plays with the classic tropes of Korean rom-coms (chaebol heir, boss-employee relationship, and social differences), while exploring respect in the workplace, the pursuit of happiness, and the desire to build a healthy relationship.

Impact and Success

King of the Land met a major success in South Korea and internationally in 2023.

On JTBC, the drama debuted with a national viewership rating of 5.075 %, quickly surpassed 10 % and ended with a personal best of 13.789 % nationally and 14.534 % in the Seoul area. Its national average stood at 10.205 %, making the series one of JTBC’s television hits that year. The series also benefited from significant exposure on Netflix: U.S. streaming data cited in the source reports 3.7 million unique viewers on Netflix for the week of June 26 through July 2, 2023, alone.

The chemistry between Lee Jun-ho and Im Yoon-ah has become one of the main drivers of their popularity. At the 2023 APAN Star Awards, the two actors won the Best Couple Award; Lee Jun-ho also won the Daesang, the Global Star Award, and the Popularity Award, while Im Yoon-ah won the Female Popularity Award. Lee Jun-ho also received the Daesang—Actor of the Year—at the Asia Artist Awards, and King of the Land won the Grand Prize at the Korea Communications Commission Broadcasting Awards in 2024.

The series' success has spread beyond Korea: a Turkish remake was announced for 2024, among other things. Despite a deliberately simple plot centered on romance, King of the Land has thus established itself as one of the most prominent international Korean rom-coms of 2023, thanks in particular to the duo of Lee Jun-ho and Im Yoon-ah and its lighthearted and unapologetic take on the genre’s major clichés.