'King the Land' reigns as the undisputed top international show on Netflix, surpassing all others by a significant margin. In terms of viewership numbers, it is in a league of its own. The K-drama has garnered close to 5 million views in just the past week and has maintained its position in the Netflix Top 10 for an impressive six weeks.
Though the headlines have been garnered by its lead actors, Lee Jun-ho as Goo Won, the heir and head general manager of the King Hotel, and Im Yoona as Cheon Sa-rang, a hotelier and the "smile queen" of the King Hotel.
With the show accumulating a staggering total of approximately 65,100,000 viewing hours since its release, here are 10 interesting facts about its lead actress, Im Yoona.
1- In August 2007, Im Yoona made her debut as a singer as a member of the girl group Girls' Generation, which subsequently emerged as one of South Korea's highest-selling musical acts and gained immense popularity as a leading girl group both domestically and internationally.
2- In 2002, Im was selected for the SM Saturday Open Casting Audition and dedicated five years to rigorous training in singing, dancing, and acting, immersing herself completely in her craft.
3- Commencing her journey in acting, Im took her first steps in 2007 with a minor part in MBC's drama Two Outs in the Ninth Inning. Following this, she went on to feature in MBC's Woman of Matchless Beauty in 2008.
4- Im's first acting lead role happened in May of 2008 with KBS's drama "You Are My Destiny," in which she played the character of Jang Sae-byuk.
5- Im won her first acting award for You Are My Destiny. She received dual honours as the 'Best New Actress' at both the 2008 KBS Drama Awards and the 45th Baeksang Arts Awards.
6- Im is known as the 'CF Queen' owing to her numerous appearances in various television commercials. CNN recognised her as a prominent figure in the Asia-Pacific area, contributing to the rise of Korean beauty brands' popularity in China.
7- In 2010, Im achieved the distinction of being the first idol to represent S-Oil, a prominent South Korean petroleum and refinery corporation. Then, in 2013, she achieved another milestone by becoming the first international endorser for Alcon Taiwan.
8- Among the brands that Im has lent her endorsement to are Michael Kors, where she made history as the brand's inaugural ambassador in Korea, and Estée Lauder, for which she became the Asia-Pacific representative of the luxury cosmetics label.
9- In 2014, Im was selected as the ambassador for UNICEF's 'UNIHERO' campaign, an initiative that encourages individuals to step forward as heroes for underprivileged children worldwide.
10- In 2019, Im achieved the distinction of being the first female celebrity to receive an appointment as an ambassador from the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organisation.
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