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When peace between North and South Korea is the main goal, a royal wedding seems to be the best method of bringing them together.  But can a carefree prince and a military-trained sniper put aside their differences for the common good of both their countries?  Together, they will have to fight against a powerful and influential enemy who is more interested in his own financial stability then the peace of two warring nations.  

Ha Ji Won as Kim Hang Ah

Kim Hang Ah has risen through the ranks as a soldier of the North Korean Elite Forces.  But what she really wants is to find love, get married, and settle down.  But when her father sets up an arranged marriage between her and the handsome prince of South Korea, she isn’t sure what to think.  She is attracted to him but it’s impossible to tell how he really feels about her.  But for the sake of her father and her country, she packs up and moves to South Korea to begin training as a princess.  After the King is murdered, and her intended takes his place on the throne, she decides to throw caution to the wind and devote herself to her new job as the future Queen.  

Kim Hang Ah is a wonderfully complex character from the very beginning.  A highly trained soldier with nerves of steel when life and death are on the line, she is innocent and naive in terms of men and relationships.  Her innocence allows her to wear her heart on her sleeve for everyone to see. This proves to be an advantage in the end, because Jae Ha can easily read her true feelings and that allows him to trust her and open his heart to her.  Ha Ji Won is perfectly suited to this kind of role as a tough warrior with a sensitive and compassionate heart.  Her eyes can go from steely and determined to soft and vulnerable in a matter of seconds and her facial expressions convey a depth of feelings.  

Jo Jung Suk as Eun Shi Kyung

Eun Shi Kyung is a military officer who leads South Korea’s team at the WCO.  His father is the Royal Chief Secretary who is one of the King’s most trusted advisors.  After the Princess’ accident, Shi Kyung is assigned as her private bodyguard.  While spending time with the princess, Shi Kyung falls in love with her and helps her heal from the trauma of her accident and her brother’s death.

♥ Royalty as People

Rather than relying on the overly dramatic royal traits that many dramas use, “King2Hearts” chose to make their royals much more down to earth and realistic.  Before their deaths, the King and Queen are shown as a loving and well-grounded couple.  And the Queen mother, while initially unsure about her son marrying a North Korean sniper, eventually becomes one of her staunchest supporters.  She doesn’t throw a tantrum or resort to sneaky and underhanded methods to get rid of her, which tends to be the norm for kdrama Queen Mothers.  This is the kind of royal family that feels like real people and I really appreciated the balanced portrayal of them.

♥Creepy Villains

The villains in this drama are strangely terrifying.  They are maniacal in the most calm and unsettling way imaginable.  I often find myself feeling disgust or extreme dislike for kdrama villains, but these villains instilled fear in me.  I never felt like they overacted or pushed things too far.  And maybe it was that firm control that gave them their sharp edge.  All I know is they left an impression on me that felt more real than drama.

Foreign Cast

Every once in a while, a kdrama will use English speakers who don’t seem to have much acting experience, and I try not to be too critical.  But “King2Hearts” isn’t just one or two actors.  There is a large cast of non-Korean actors whose acting distracts from the overall story and was just uncomfortable to watch.  I’m sure it’s hard to find actors in Korea to fill these roles, but I wish they would at least keep their speaking to a minimum.

Shi Kyung’s Death

Ok, I admit it.  I hate when great supporting characters die.  But this one was another heart-breaker for me.  After all he had done for the royal family, I thought he would get his happily ever after with the princess.  Up until the very end, I kept hoping his death was some ploy to throw off the villains. I also would have like to see more of Jae Ha’s reaction to losing his closest friend and ally.  The 10 seconds spent discussing Shi Kyung’s inability to hold alcohol didn’t seem like enough.  Everybody loves Jo Jung Suk, so I can’t be the only one who felt this way.  

“King2Hearts” brings everything to a nice closure with mostly happy endings.  The exception, of course, is the death of Shi Kyung, and the Princess’ loneliness because of it.  The final episode gives us a great good vs. evil showdown, where the good guys win, and the bad guys mostly get what they deserve. Although there is always a feeling that John Mayer will still get out of it somehow, which makes it a bit less satisfying.  War is averted and our happy couple finally get married.  Our final scenes show a 4 year time jump.  It’s time for the WCO again and the former team is in Seoul to help train the new group.  They take a minute out of their happy reunion to pay tribute to Shi Kyung.  Meanwhile Jae Shin also remembers him, while imaging the 2 of them back up at the wall talking.  She is still in the wheelchair, but both her mind and body seem to be healing slowly.  Jae Ha and Hang Ah, together with their adorable son, face the press, smiling for the cameras.  Until their toddler makes the mistake of using North Korean pronunciation while calling his mother.  The press go crazy but the King and Queen Mother laugh it off lovingly. Jae Ha and Hang Ah stand strong and united in the face of political opposition and seem to live happily ever after.