Gang Da-Eul is a supporting character in King the Land and serves an important role in protagonist Cheon Sa-Rang’s life while contending through a slew of professional and personal struggles of her own with unrelenting competence.
Gang Da-Eul is recognized by her two best friends Pyeong-Hwa and Sa-Rang as the most accomplished of the lot. It’s not a far-fetched statement to make as Da-Eul is the only one of them who’s a working woman while also being married and a mother to a child.
However, the struggles don’t end there for Da-Eul, as she has to deal with impossible goals set by greedy new superiors and an incompetent husband at home, and his lazy parents.
Unavailable husband
Seo Choong-Jae is shown to be on the phone with Da-Eul the first few times he first makes an appearance on the show. Each time, Da-Eul has some favor to ask of him, all of which don’t even amount to some actual favor but rather a duty he must oblige to as part of the family.
However, each time the only thing he’s got to say is that he’s busy and he can’t attend to the simple ask of his wife. Sometimes it’s just dropping their daughter Cho-Ryong to the school but he’s always busy apparently.
At home, he lazes about on the sofa watching TV while Da-Eul has to tend to the household chores, which just makes her workload all the more egregious. However, she still does it all while he makes excuses and fakes sleeping so he doesn’t have to go grocery shopping.
Unemployed husband
The outrageous lack of support from her husband becomes even worse when Gang Da-Eul finds out that he is also unemployed.
She finds it out on her way home from shopping when she spots Choong-Jae socializing with his golf friends on his way to play golf instead of going to the job.
She follows him there and confronts him, in addition to offering some well-deserved beating. Her exasperation only gets more severe when she finds out that he’s been fired from his job and has been unemployed for over a month.
House husband
Gang Da-Eul has finally had enough and it’s time to bring about a paradigm shift in her household. Choong-Jae is finally shown the hierarchy that he must abide by, and while he’s unemployed, he must do all the household duties that his wife has been doing all this time despite her job.
His parents later arrive and express shock at the state of their son, as he works basic chores. They confront Da-Eul who then tells them the truth about their son.
They realize just how much of a loser their son has been and finally understand where Da-Eul is coming from. They then switch sides and claim her to be their child, while scolding Choong-Jae, ordering him to embrace his new duties until he finds work.
He reluctantly begins his new role and bemoans it quite frequently. However, Da-Eul, and in her absence, Cho-Ryong is always there to see to it that he doesn’t cut any corners and does his job sincerely.