Will Lee Jun-ho, JTBC's 4th consecutive hit be a hit?

Singer and actor Lee Jun-ho returns to the small screen after two years with the drama 'King the Land'. As the JTBC drama has achieved four consecutive hits at the box office, interest is naturally focused on the next runner, 'King the Land'.

Lee Jun-ho will appear in 'King the Land', which will premiere on the 17th of next month. It is a follow-up to ‘Doctor Cha Jeong-sook’, which is currently airing. 'King the Land' is the story of Guwon (played by Jun-ho Lee), a man who despises laughter, and Cheon-rang (played by Yoon-ah Lim), who must laugh, creating a day when they can really smile brightly at 'King the Land', a VVIP lounge that is a hotelier's dream.

Expectations for ‘King the Land’ are high. This is because JTBC's weekend dramas such as 'The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family', 'Agency', 'Sacred, Divorce', and 'Doctor Cha Jeong-sook' received a warm response. 'Doctor Cha Jeong-sook' is gaining popularity, recording a viewership rating of 16.9% and ranking first in topicality. In particular, Uhm Jeong-hwa, who plays the title role of 'Doctor Cha Jeong-sook', also ranked first in the topicality category.

Additionally, ‘King the Land’ is Lee Jun-ho’s comeback film. In 2021, 'Clothes Sleeves' MBC's 'Clothes Sleeves Red Tips' (hereinafter referred to as 'Clothes Sleeves') gained syndrome-like popularity. With this work, Lee Jun-ho won the Best Male Actor Award in the TV category at the 58th Baeksang Arts Awards and the Best Actor Award in the Miniseries category at the 8th APAN Star Awards.

Lee Jun-ho early shed the label that many idol-turned-actors receive. Lee Jun-ho, who has established himself as an actor through KBS2's 'Chief Kim', SBS's 'Greasy Melody', and tvN's 'Confession', shined with 'Sleeve'. As interest in Lee Jun-ho increased due to the popularity of 'Sleeves' at the time, his previous works also ranked high on OTT.

The combination of Lee Jun-ho and Lim Yoon-a is also a hot topic. Both are receiving favorable reviews for their acting skills and are called ‘acting idols.’ The teaser video for ‘King the Land’ was released on the 12th. In the video, Lee Jun-ho and Im Yoon-ah seem to fall in love right away, but they say sharp things like "Don't meet me" and "I'll avoid them."

Although it is expected to be a typical cliche of a 'romantic comedy' where the two main characters who were enemies eventually fall in love with each other, fans are already excited by the atmosphere they give off.

Lee Jun-ho's role in 'King the Land' is Gu-won, the only son of King Group, a leading conglomerate in Korea that owns hotels, airlines, and distribution. This means that he is transformed into a second-generation chaebol. He is a character with a my-way personality who is picky and does not pay attention to what others think. The production team said, “Actor Lee Jun-ho’s unique friendly energy is making even Guwon’s harshness endearing.”

With JTBC's continued success, Lee Jun-ho must be under a lot of pressure. Attention is being paid to whether Lee Jun-ho will be able to once again enjoy the popularity of 'Sleeves' through 'King the Land', and whether JTBC will be able to maintain its reputation as a 'drama restaurant'.


Ten Asia Reporter Kim Seo-yoon seogugu@tenasia.co.kr