“King The Land” Viewers Are Confused About The Male Lead’s Relationship With Another Character

Netizens are very confused about a character in the new JTBC K-Drama King the Land. 

YoonA (left) and Junho (right)

King the Land is an ongoing K-Drama currently being distributed internationally via Netflix. It stars Girls’ Generation‘s YoonA (also known as Lim Yoon A) and 2PM‘s Junho (also known as Lee Jun Ho) as hotelier, Cheon Sa Rang, and King Hotel heir and general manager, Goo Won, respectively.

Amid a tense inheritance fight, a charming heir clashes with his hardworking employee who’s known for her irresistible smile — which he cannot stand.

— Netflix

Viewers have been loving King the Land so far, praising it for its “old-school rom-com vibes.” While we are only three weeks in, there has been little drama, violence, etc. It’s a rarity these days to have such a wholesome show that is strictly romance and comedy.

king the land is gonna be one of my fav romcoms ever i already feel it in my bones pic.twitter.com/9W7vZPWbt5

— (@minahfile) June 15, 2023

king the land is what a real romcom should be like

— cher (@soheesxo) June 17, 2023

watching king the land with a straight face abt to impossible. I love yoonah and junho sm like they are PARENTS pic.twitter.com/SQGJK9sApU

— nuha (@shiplifys) June 17, 2023

Yet, it would not be a K-Drama without an antagonist. For King the Land, that character is Goo Hwa Ran, portrayed by musical actor Kim Sun Young. 

Kim Sun Young as Goo Hwa Ran | JTBC

Goo Hwa Ran leads various departments of King Group, so you’ll often see her involved in the hotel and even the airline. Viewers can easily tell that she is the main antagonist to Goo Won, but many mistook their relationship.

| JTBC

With the recent episode’s release, viewers expressed their frustrations with Hwa Ran via social media. While we all love Goo Won’s scenes with Sa Rang, Hwa Ran always manages to interfere somehow in his life.

@sansepiphany

like she irritate tf outta me pls dont piss me awfffff #kingtheland

♬ Your not talkin about nathanyards – Snoopmoneychaser

@archivekdramasoul

he is so busy #kdramaeditss #kdramaedit #kdramafyp #junhooedit #kingthelandkdrama #kingthelandedit #junhoyoonaedit #junhoyoona #leejunho #yoonaedit #yoona #imyoona #kingthelanddrama

♬ orijinal ses – archivekdramasouls_

@kdramaatlas

NO BC WHY IS SHE ALWAYS DOING THE ABSOLUTE MOST LIKE CALM. DOWN. #kingtheland #kdrama #kdramas

♬ its gonna be okay girl – erik

As some of the fans’ TikTok videos went viral, other viewers were shocked to see Hwa Ran be referred to as Goo Won’s sister. They mistakingly thought she was his stepmother!

Goo Hwa Ran is actually Goo Won’s older half-sister. So, she is the eldest child of King Group. Consequently, her motivations are due to her succession goals, which Goo Won has interfered with.

| JTBC

Viewers might have been so confused with the characters’ relationship partly because of See You in My 19th Life. That K-Drama is also airing internationally on Saturdays and Sundays via Netflix. Like King the Land, it also focuses on a rich heir (Ahn Bo Hyun) who works at a hotel but previously lost his birth mother.

when seoha's mother was dying and lying on the bed, his father was busy having affair with his now step mother, and jieum witnessed that. so jieum remembers her when she met her at the hotel she is working at now#SeeYouInMy19thLife #SeeYouInMy19thLifeEp2 pic.twitter.com/1KrPsuBEX5

— ∆ (@__simba10) June 18, 2023

So #KingTheLand and #SeeYouinMy19thLife both have similar plots in which ml have rivalries to regain their hotel from evil step mom.

— for wooyoung (@jwyjls) June 18, 2023

His antagonist is his stepmother (Bae Hae Sun) rather than a half-sister. Watching the two somewhat similar K-Dramas simultaneously likely has caused viewers to mix up some details.