We were thinking that Sa Rang and Gu Won’s story in King The Land may have redefined what a meet-cute is. They both had reasons to be embarrassed, Sa Rang more than Gu Won, by their meeting, and years later, when they are together, it is going to be terrible to tell their friends how they first met. Either way, Gu Won is as extra as can be, and Sa Rang is able to handle him so far with grace. Considering that King The Land is a “mushy” series, we were not expecting to like her, but she has ranked very highly in our opinion so far. That is how this goes in Episode 2 recap.
Spoilers Alert
What Happens When Sa Rang And Gu Won Meet?
We spoke at length in our recap of the first episode of King The Land regarding how awful Sa Rang and Gu Won’s first and second meetings were. Continuing from that, when Gu Won sees Sa Rang on the toilet, he recognizes her. When she comes out, he reminds her of their first meeting years ago and how she treated him. When Sa Rang remembers that, we believe that a bit of her embarrassment disappears and is replaced by indignation. She calls him a pervert and refuses to apologize for that time, though she does say sorry for the bathroom mishap now. Gu Won is left confused and intrigued by this girl, who smiles through the insults she throws at him.
Sa Rang comes to know who Gu Won is soon enough when the hotel staff holds a welcome ceremony for him as he is joining them as a head manager. This also serves as a heartbreak for Kim Soo Mi, who had mistakenly been under the impression that Sang Sik was Gu Won. She had even orchestrated a date for herself with him, but seeing that Sang Sik wasn’t the head manager after all, her interest dissipated. As for Sa Rang, Gu Won comes to know that she was named the “Best Talent” at the hotel, and he takes this chance to question her. When he asks why she called him a pervert, and she recalls the incident from before, he clarifies that it wasn’t him. Understanding that a mistake was made, Sa Rang genuinely apologizes this time before she promises to stay out of his way. But even that pledge doesn’t last long.
Sa Rang is asked to attend the welcome dinner for Gu Won as the staff representative. This is where we come to know that King’s Land is the VIP area of the hotel, where most regular staff are not even allowed to go. It is reflected in the snobbery that Sa Rang has to deal with from the staff on that floor. However, she impresses the Chairman with her manners and the very bright smile that seems to irritate Gu Won. In return, he gifts her the head of tuna fish, the delicacy that they were enjoying at the dinner.
Elsewhere, Sa Rang is increasingly annoyed with her boyfriend, Yoo Nam. He is a social butterfly, whereas Sarang is more reserved. But the trouble lies in the fact that he is very inconsiderate of her. He forgot the plan they made to go to Namsan Tower and neglected to mention to her that he was going to Busan. In fact, when they finally ended up going to the tower, he forced her to walk to the top in her heels, all in the name of working out. Once they tied the lock with their names, he did not throw away the key, which is indicative of the fact that he did not think they would last. Yoo Nam even forces Sa Rang to go to his reunion, where he completely neglects her. It is evident that Sa Rang is getting the ick from him, and she is well on her way to hammering in the final nail in the coffin.
In the meantime, her friends are going through their own struggles in their jobs. Pyeong Hwa is a competent flight attendant stuck with an incompetent supervisor; hence, she has to be self-reliant while not getting the due credit for the work she does. Lucky for her, she runs into a charming colleague who lends her a helping hand and gains her interest. On that note, does Go Won Hee (Pyeong Hwa) remind anyone else of Jane Wyman? As for Da Eul, she is promoted at work and is looking to bring in some changes that would make life easier for her juniors. We believe that the three friends’ jobs and relationships are going to clash going forward.
What Is In The Interview Questions For Gu Won?
Sa Rang runs into an unruly customer, Mo Seong Ae, at the reception desk who wants a free upgrade to a suite and simply won’t take no for an answer. Soo Mi refuses to get involved, forcing Sa Rang to handle the situation by herself. Mo Seong Ae is doing what influencers all over the world are constantly accused of doing: asking for freebies in exchange for a review. However, it looks like King Hotel is successful enough for them not to have to rely on such reviews, and Sa Rang has to stick to the rules of not giving upgrades. When this causes a scene, Gu Won steps in and orders Seong Ae to leave the hotel immediately. Obviously, this offends her, and she continues to badger Sa Rang for an upgrade, which is when Gu Won orders Soo Mi to deal with her after telling her off for not handling the situation sooner. He takes Sa Rang to his cabin to ask her why she kept up with the smile and polite attitude. Sa Rang honestly replies that it is part of the manual, and she must hold back her words at her job, unlike in real life. While this is what every person in the hospitality industry does, Gu Won finds her special. He tells her that he wants her to interview him for a promotional show, and though Sa Rang is dumbstruck at this sudden turn, she has no choice but to comply.
When Sa Rang meets Gu Won at the airport, we know that he is already falling in love. He cannot look away from her as she walks towards him, a vision in white. Gu Won even gets a little possessive of her when Sang Sik is a bit informal with Sa Rang.
When they finally reach the hotel where the interview is to take place, Sa Rang is prepared with her list of questions. But those questions are changed right before they start shooting, on the orders of Hwa Ran. The timing was deliberate: to not give space for either Sa Rang or Gu Won to review the questions or edit them. At the end of episode 2 of King The Land, Sa Rang is awestruck at Gu Won walking towards her, the same way he had been when he saw her at the airport. While the episode ends on a dreamy note, there might be hell in store for Gu Won. Hwa Ran is extremely manipulative, and though she appears to be constantly supporting Gu Won in front of everyone, she makes sure to keep him away from the family at all costs. When the Chairman had asked Gu Won to come home after his celebratory dinner, Hwa Ran had made sure that he stayed back in the hotel by delivering some well-timed hurtful words. She could be the reason why Gu Won hates smiling because it makes him wonder about the people’s ulterior motives behind it. In the new set of questions given to Sa Rang, we believe that there is going to be something personal about Gu Won that will shake him up and ruin the interview.
Final Thoughts
We believe that we need to give some more time to King The Land because something about it is not working for us. We feel that the show is doing everything right, but it doesn’t have our attention the way it should. On the other hand, we like that the leads are already falling in love. We have never been fans of slow burns. We also really want to see more of the leads’ friends. Korean dramas depict friendships a lot better than relationships. The coming week’s developments will be crucial to our opinion of the series.
