bideshi

Truly, I don't think you need to worry that any reasonable person watching these episodes will think that all Arabs, all Muslims, are like Amir, or that the show is intentionally trying to insult Arabs/Muslims. I think it's clear that this is not an allegory where Amir represents the Arab/Muslim. Does it perhaps play with a stereotype of the fabulously rich, powerful Arab royal family--some of who have been involved in scandals? Yes, but that's what comedies do--just as Gu Won has some stereotypes of the rich chaebol heir.

I have no idea how Korean TV has represented Arabs in the past (or how often). Is it always negative? Is it always in one-dimensional characters? Does it never touch on the truth in any way? If so, I'd agree that it'd be good for Korean TV to have more nuanced, interesting Arab characters in the future. (And it wouldn't be hard to have someone more interesting than Amir.) But keep in mind that by definition, such characters would have both negative and positive sides, they'd be conflicted about morals and face difficult ethical decisions, perhaps even involving religion. And for the show to be any good, you can't predetermine that those Arab characters will never do anything that is forbidden in the Quran, or say that any Arab character that goes against the Quaran is an insult to Islam. That'd make for very boring television.

He's shown like a clown because his role is to be a clown: an irresponsible, immature spoiled young man who does and says ridiculous things for comedic effect. What doesn't make sense is why such a clown would be sent to take care of a matter of national security. The insult isn't that he's a clown, but that the Saudi(?) government had nobody more qualified to deal with the purchase of fighter aircrafts. And perhaps what's most ridiculous is the idea that Korea is in the business of selling fighter jets to anyone in the Middle East. But hey, in a comedy, we have to accept these kinds of ridiculous scenarios, instead of getting all bent out of shape for no reasonable reason.

Serious question: is it insulting a whole culture to show one cartoonish immoral person from that culture? Do you seriously think that the point of Amir's character is to say that all Arab men, much less the royal family, are womanizing party animals? Or is it possible to see Amir as an outlier, as a cautionary tale, as a black sheep who has perhaps lost his sense of (Arab/Muslim) morals--recognizable to every viewer as an example of what can happen to a young man who has all the power and money in the world? Is it ever OK for a TV show to portray any negative aspect of any culture? And do you not see that in King the Land the show portrays negative aspects of Korean culture, shows how the Korean chaebol system is flawed and has immoral people running it? If you're not seeing the comedic jabs at Korean culture in the show, then it's hard for me to take your perspective/offense seriously. The show was neither perfect at the beginning nor is it racist trash now. Let's be more discerning and thoughtful in our responses.

Let's remember the genre. This is a comedy, not a documentary or even a serious drama. I'm not saying that the portrayal was done well--it wasn't. It was a bit cringey, unsophisticated, and most importantly, not funny. Not being funny is the mistake, but I don't think it should be off limits to use another country's royal family for a bit of light comedy. The drama is poking fun at the Korean service industry, at the arrogance and petty competitiveness of the powerful Korean families who run luxury hotels and malls (and everything else). The portrayal of Amir was in the same vein: they wanted to show a spoiled, rich, powerful person who can flirt with Sa Rang and put Gu Won in uncomfortable situations, not making fun of his religion. I don't think they needed to make him an Arab or a prince; any powerful, rich person could have been used. However, I think the writers wanted it to be a surprise, an interesting twist, that this person could speak Korean, and so they used someone with an "exotic"/unusual background.
So while I can understand why an Arab person might not have liked the inaccuracies in Amir's portrayal, I think the reaction is a bit overblown. I don't think the purpose of TV shows is to portray any country/culture/industry in a positive light. And given that there are so many dramas about the corruption and injustice in just about every facet of Korean society, I don't think we can accuse the Korean TV industry of somehow only giving unflattering portrayals of other countries/cultures.

She is probably my second most hated type of character: the self-centered spoiled person who has not one bit of empathy/sympathy. And somehow it's worse when she cares so much about a dog. And somehow it's even worse than that when the dog is so ugly. I could have a little bit of sympathy for her if she loved a golden lab, but to me her dog is more like a woman's accessory than a real dog.

My most hated type of character is the lying, conniver who is willing to hurt anyone and everyone to get what they want. For some reason, lying to get what you want is the epitome of immorality, and so it bothers me even more than a thug that beats up people for not paying their loan on time.

Not sure where it'll end up, but the mood of the first 2 episodes is nothing like Interest of Love. Much more likeable characters who talk/act more like real people.