The lead actors of the ongoing drama "King the Land", Im Yoon Ah and Lee Jun Ho, recently found themselves at the center of dating rumors.

On July 3rd, a media outlet suggested that the two stars were involved romantically, basing their claim on an anonymous entertainment industry source. The source reportedly revealed, "Lee Jun Ho and Im Yoon Ah evolved into a couple prior to filming 'King the Land', which influenced their decision to participate in the drama together."

Quick to respond, both actors' agencies, SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment, firmly dismissed the speculation. They clarified that while Im Yoon Ah and Lee Jun Ho share a close bond, they are not involved romantically. Consequently, the whirlwind of dating rumors subsided.

Despite the agencies' clarifications, certain observers proposed that the dating rumors were a promotional strategy for the drama. Comments like "Dating rumors often emerge amidst drama broadcasts to boost its visibility, right?" and "That's standard promotion for a rom-com. Dating rumors are inevitable," surfaced on various platforms.

Most members of female-centric online communities concurred that the rumor was strategically leaked to promote "King the Land". However, a section of the audience contested this view, arguing that the production team had no need to resort to such tactics as "King the Land" was already garnering high viewership ratings.

While the true intentions behind the rumor remain a mystery, if the objective was to create buzz around the drama, it seems that the production team has indeed succeeded.

A viewer commented, “I began to watch ‘King the Land’ after YoonA and Junho’s romance rumor broke out. The drama is pretty good. It’s quite interesting. They set up a fake romance rumor to attract people like me, right?”, adding “I don’t often watch dramas because I’m quite lazy to follow them, but once I start, I will watch until the last episode”, drawing relatable feelings from many other netizens.