k8s is relatively straightforward, it's the ecosystem around it that is total bullcrap, because you won't only run k8s, you will also run Helm, a templating language or an ad-hoc mess of scripts, a CNI, a CI/CD system, operators, sidecars, etc. and every one of these is an over-engineered buggy mess with half a dozen hyped alternatives that are in alpha state with their own set of bugs.

How Kubernetes works is pretty simple, but administering it is living a life of constant analysis paralysis and churn and hype cycles. It is a world built by companies that have something to sell you.