Netflix’s latest Korean drama, King the Land, adds a healthy dose of romance with a heaping amount of humor to the weekend.
Set in the service industry of the King Group, the story unfolds around Go Won, the prince of the King Group, and Cheon Sa Rang, an employee at the King Hotel.
The romance between Cheon Sa Rang, an employee with an angelic smile, and Gu Won, the chaebol heir who hates smiles, is bound to face its own challenges. Yet the elements of humor make for satisfying entertainment.
King the Land Episode 3 Recap
Jaws drop as Gu Won enters the venue for the live broadcast. And Cheon Sa Rang is not immune. The duo has one of their mini-banters, with Sa Rang teasing Gu Won for his hair and him calling her out for her nervousness.
Sa Rang, unaware, uses Gu Hwa Ran’s changed questionnaire and begins with questions about Gu Won’s mother. This causes Gu Won to storm off, but Sa Rang manages to smooth over the situation. This earns her brownie points from Chairman Gu Il Hoon.
Gu Won returns, having realized Hwa Ran’s plot, and throws away the set questions. Having to wing it, Sa Rang comments on the beautiful sunset. This prompts the two to watch the sunset together. Their closeup shot goes viral on social media.
Still from Episode 3 of King the LandAfter the rocky yet successful broadcast, Sa Rang confronts Gu Won. She warns him not to let the random stones he throws for fun affect her career. But Gu Won takes a threatening step closer and questions whether she knew what stone she threw at him.
The following day, Gu Won and Sa Rang partake in the photoshoot at various locations of the Jeju King Hotel as models. Sa Rang is very cooperative with the shoot, sporting the hotel’s signature ‘Hermès’ smile. Creating a stark contrast are Gu Won’s very robotic poses and stoic face.
After a squabble with Sa Rang over his lack of a smile, Gu Won “decides” to do it. But the photographer calls him out for his smirk. While the photographer is frustrated with Gu Won’s expressionless face, the assistant suggests Photoshop.
For their final photos, the duo promotes the hotel’s fresh produce on a boat in the middle of the sea. The boat malfunctions, and the captain refuses to sail a longer distance. So the boat makes a U-turn toward Gapado.
Stranded on the island without cell service, a visibly and comically scared Gu Won finds following Sa Rang the safer choice. He tries to put on a brave face but fails the very next moment at the sight of a hen. He tries to redeem himself by air boxing but faints at the sight of an older woman in white.
Gu Won wakes up in K-Drama’s signature island clothes, surrounded by talismans, masks, and an older couple sharpening blades. He screams around the place, calling for Sa Rang, and finally manages to find a window open for escape. Elated (and still calling for Sa Rang), he climbs out and promptly falls face-first at her feet.
Sa Rang had carried him all the way in. The older couple takes them for newlyweds—all that bickering!—which they quickly refuse. The older woman encourages them to get together, causing them to argue over the other not being their type.
The older hosts bring out their special Chinese Bushclover wine. And as has been the case with the two so far, they start to quarrel, which swiftly escalates into a drinking competition. At the first sip, Gu Won and Sa Rang realize how strong the alcohol really is. Yet neither decides to back off, and they get drunk soon.
Bottles later, they’re drunk and still arguing. Sa Rang decides he is Snobby Gu, while Gu Won dubs her Phony Cheon. Soon, Gu Won finds himself enamored by Sa Rang’s smiling profile. He orders her not to smile in front of him, even if it is not fake and even if they are not at work.
Way too drunk, they decide to call it a night and proceed to their respective suite rooms, which are but a single room separated by a sheet. Unfortunately, it is not discovered until the next morning, when Sa Rang tries to remove her socks and falls, with the sheet, on Gu Won.
Using a bicycle that the old man had given them, they both ride around the island until the boat is ready to set sail. Gu Won wears a small smile the entire time they are riding, affected by Sa Rang’s excitement.
Still from Episode 3 of King the LandHowever, they later find out that the boat had not malfunctioned. The captain and his parents, the older couple, had created a scam and tried to overcharge them. Sa Rang stops Gu Won from paying and deals with the price of their stay.
King the Land Episode 3 Ending Explained
The duo returns home with a bagful of memories. Sa Rang apologizes for the stone she threw during the interview. She might not know what it actually was, but she had noticed the hurt in his eyes.
His father reprimands Gu Won for his behavior during the live broadcast, which had to be handled by a mere employee. Following this, the latter warns Hwa Ran not to play petty tricks as he is uninterested in the company.
The following day, Sa Rang is visited by Gu Il Hoon, who promotes her to King the Land. Meanwhile, Gu Won becomes increasingly aware of his attraction. Going through their pictures, he zooms in on a smiling photo of Sa Rang and smiles. Noh Sang Sik startles him, and he swiftly changes the picture to his own.
Sang Sik reveals that the PR team had already chosen the photos for the promo. Seeing the hilariously photoshopped pictures, Gu Won orders him to call the photographer. While alone once again, he goes back to staring at Sa Rang’s picture.
He clicks on a pop-up ad for a psych test about feelings. While answering the questions, he already had an idea of where things were going. The test reveals that he has a crush on the other person.
He goes out to the lobby for a breather, spots Sa Rang, and swiftly hides behind the decorative plants. When he sees a box of macarons, he is reminded of the macaron she tried to eat before the broadcast but couldn’t. He takes a box and goes to confess.
Gu Won follows her out. He is about to call her out to wait. But Sa Rang gets pulled and hugged by Gong Yu Nam.
King the Land Episode 3 Review
That might be the fastest heartbreak ever. But authors would probably not be so cruel as to stretch this period for Gu Won.
Most of the episode was focused on the main leads. The other characters did appear, but their screen time wasn’t much.
Junho has a very attractive smile and smirk, but the one at the beginning looked very spooky. His smiles at Gapado, however small, were much sweeter. We need more of those.
Still from Episode 3 of King the LandAt the very beginning of the episode, it was mentioned that Gu Won’s mother was one of the founding members. It is yet to be determined whether it is his birth mother or Hwa Ran’s mother.
We have finally entered the forced proximity stage of the enemies-to-lovers trope. Our male lead has fallen first. And it is always a pleasure to see these charismatic men chase romance.
Complications in their relationship are expected, especially with the drama reminding us in practically every episode that Cheon Sa Rang was hired by Gu Hwa Ran. How that facet will develop is yet to be noted.
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