SNSD's YoonA Reveals Reasons Behind Joining 'King The Land' Series

SNSD member YoonA is back with a new K-drama that will showcase her versatility as an actress.

Following the success of "Big Mouth" — her crime-noir MBC drama with Lee Jong Suk — the 33-year-old South Korean artist is taking on a lighter and more refreshing role for her upcoming romantic-comedy series "King the Land," where she stars as the smiley Cheon Sa Rang.

Ahead of the series' premiere, YoonA revealed why she decided to take on the role, telling Soompi, "I normally enjoy romantic comedies and since my last work was of the noir genre, I thought it'd be nice to greet viewers with a brighter and more cheerful project next."

"I also chose [this drama] as I was reminded of how many people liked when I portrayed proactive characters with bright personalities. The fact that it's set with a hotel VVIP lounge as the background also had quite a unique charm," she added.

The JTBC drama, which will also stream on Netflix, will follow a man and a woman from two different worlds who eventually develop romantic feelings for each other.

YoonA will play a hard-working hotelier who is nicknamed the "queen of smiles" for constantly smiling while working at the King Hotel. Her love interest Gu Won, the heir of the King Group's chain of hotels, will be portrayed by 2PM's Lee Junho.

Describing her character, the idol-turned-actress said that Sa Rang is a person who "does her job incredibly well and has both responsibility and a sense of duty."

She further explained that the hotel had a huge influence on her character's childhood memories, so when she acted as a hotelier, she always kept in mind Sa Rang's "sincere heart and meaning for the King Hotel."

Though some may think that the drama will be just like any other romantic-comedy series and will be full of clichés, YoonA teased that "King the Land" will feature "all kinds of fun ... from comedic elements to a sweet romance."

"In particular, seeing Cheon Sa Rang discover her real smile and the cute side of the cold Gu Won who transforms after meeting Cheon Sa Rang will leave lasting impressions. Additionally, as we had many location shoots, you should look forward to the visual aesthetics," she concluded.

"King the Land" is slated to premiere on June 17 at 10:30 p.m. KST on JTBC and Netflix. It will run for a total of 16 episodes, with new episodes to be released every Saturday and Sunday.

Catch the official trailer of "King the Land" below.