Lee Jun-ho and Lim Yoon-ah's homework... Will the unprincipled male lead and the candy-type female lead work in 2023?

At some point, the formula for romantic comedies disappeared. In the works from the early 2000s to the late 2010s, the love between a ruthless male lead and a candy-type female lead was regarded as a formula, like a 'real version of Cinderella'. In the 2020s, it is changing to a romantic comedy that pays attention to reality rather than fairy tales. However, the JTBC drama 'King the Land' seems to be applying the formula that disappeared as if it had gone backwards in time. In 2023, how much will viewers be able to sympathize with the unscrupulous male lead and the candy-type female lead?

'King the Land', which first aired on the 17th, is a romantic comedy about a man who despises laughter (played by Lee Jun-ho) and a smile queen Cheon-rang (played by Lim Yoon-ah) who must laugh at the VVIP lounge 'King the Land', a dream of hoteliers. Lee Jun-ho, who played the role of Crown Prince Lee San, who ascends the throne in his previous work, 'Red Sleeves', played the role of Nam-joo Gu-won, a conglomerate man who is unscrupulous and careless in 'King the Land'. Cheoncheonrang, played by Im Yoona, is a character who aspires to become a hotelier and never forgets her bright smile.

Looking at the two characters, something feels familiar. In the first episode of 'King the Land', salvation appeared on a parachute. He hid his identity and went to work as an intern for the first time, but he showed an irresponsible attitude that hit him soon after without even trying to adapt. Although Cheon-Rang was from a two-year college that did not meet the recruitment requirements of the King Hotel, he overcame his academic background and went from being a one-month apprentice to a lobby desk. Gu-won and Cheon-rang, who passed by in the hotel, meet again like fate at the King Hotel after 7 years.

There was a time when it was called the heyday of the romantic comedy genre. Hyun Bin of 'Secret Garden' stole the hearts of many women by saying, "Since when did Gil Ra-im be so pretty?" and Lee Min-ho of "The Heirs" asked, "Do I like you?" So Ji-sub in 'Master's Sun' fell in love with a blunt, gruff female lead, and Park Seo-joon in 'What's Wrong with Secretary Kim', a latecomer, appeared as a narcissistic and self-centered male protagonist, but sweet to his own woman.

What these works have in common is that they are a poor but bright heroine and a bad man who is intertwined like fate. Back then we were drawn to bad boys. Even in 'The Innocent Man' starring Song Joong-ki and Moon Chae-won, Kang Maru (Song Joong-ki), a nice but poor man who ended up in prison on behalf of the woman he loved, decided to become a bad man after getting stabbed in the back. Positions that reveal the ranks of the 3rd generation chaebol and the chairman, which worked like a cliché, also played a part. The male lead is a man who always has a lot of money, but does not feel much interest in the world. On the other hand, the female protagonist is located below the rank or lives hard under any adverse conditions.

The trauma of the past and the fateful setting of the meeting began to disappear slowly along with criticism that it was anachronistic. It has changed to women who solve problems independently. Perhaps, the classic romantic comedy has gradually disappeared, and the trend has changed to a romance that is combined with the genre. The recently ended drama 'How I Ran into You' combines fantasy and romance, 'Our Blues' mixes human drama and romance, and 'Paper Moon' connects suspense and romance.

There was also a work that saw the game as authentic. The JTBC drama 'Understanding of Love', which ended last March, is the representative. The love that 'Understanding Love' says is not a narrative to save each other, but a narrative to understand. This work delicately depicts the intertwined minds of Ha Sang-soo (Yoo Yeon-seok), Ahn Soo-young (Moon Ga-young), Park Mi-kyung (Keum Sae-rok), and Jeong Jong-hyeon (Jung Ga-ram), who work at the Yeongpo branch of KCU Bank. In this work, in the end, no one is loved. A single hesitation, not a beautiful love like a fairy tale, leads to catastrophe. Also, salvation leaves an empty seat as if it were its own share. While some viewers showed a favorable attitude reflecting the realistic aspect of this judgment not being the correct answer, there were also opinions that it was complicated and unreasonable. However, it received a lot of favorable reviews in that it is a form of love that has been transformed to suit the times.

How about 'King the Land'? Although only two episodes have been aired yet, you can get a glimpse of what this work is trying to say in the copyright text of the official poster. A man who despises laughter and a woman who must laugh. It is a salvation narrative revealed from the name of salvation, which Lee Jun-ho was in charge of.

Will the romance that viewers want in 2023 be the love story we have seen that depicts a beautiful fantasy like a fairy tale? 'King the Land' probably started out with a familiar relationship to us. It is still impossible to guess what the form of love portrayed by Guo-gu and Cheon-rang is, but I think we need to think about what kind of love we really want to see in this era.

Reporter Lee Ha-neul, Ten Asia greenworld@tenasia.co.kr