Drama Review: Crash Landing on You (tvN 2019)
Crash Landing on You (tvN) is the love story of a South Korean woman who literally crash lands into the arms of a North Korean soldier on the North side of the border!
I’m not usually into romantic dramas, but I was intrigued with this idea. And you can’t go wrong with Hyun Bin, can you? I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since Hyun Bin starred alongside Ha Ji Won in the hugely popular drama Secret Garden. Songs from the OST are still some of my karaoke faves. 💕
Yes, I got drawn into the story and enjoyed the chemistry between the two leads. But I was particularly interested to see how North Korea would be presented in the drama. More about that later.
First the plot…
The heroine Yoon Se-ri (played by Son Ye-jin) is the daughter in a rich chaebol family. She has looks and money and a career. And so she’s used to calling all the shots. But then she finds herself in North Korea where things are very different. Suddenly she’s faced with the no-nonsense approach of Ri Jung-hyuk, a North Korean soldier (played by Hyun Bin). Their relationship is fun to watch.
Here’s Hyun Bin and Son Ye jin answering fan questions about making this drama…
The North Korean Setting
The setting of the drama makes for some exciting scenes. There are serious baddies here who have access to all sorts of military weapons. Lives really are in danger. Luckily, our lead has the skills to deal with them (more believable since Hyun Bin actually served in the marines for his military service!)
Everyday life and the ordinary folk in North Korea are presented in a positive way. The stereotypical images of starving workers in barren fields are nowhere to be seen. Perhaps the drama is trying to say that after North and South are united, there is nothing to worry about as the two countries are not really that different.
Of course, there aren’t the same comfort levels of the capitalist South, but Se-ri doesn’t experience hunger or any serious hardships. Actually, she is more traumatised by the ‘outdated’ fashion and hairdos she has to deal with in the un-cosmopolitan North! (Well, she does run a fashion company in Seoul)
And if North Korean soldiers are all like the stoic, but sensitive, character played by Hyun Bin, well, what’s not to like about that?
The good old days?
The setting allows for plenty of opportunities to feel nostalgia.
South Korea is presented as a rich country that has become superficial and materialistic. Se-ri’s rich chaebol family are deeply unhappy and despicable people fighting for power.
Meanwhile in the North, the dramatically less techy lifestyle reminds older viewers of how it used to be in the ‘good old days’. In the North they still use landline telephones, have regular blackouts, and the lack of fridges means kimchi is stored underground, like it used to be here too.
Of course, freedom is different and citizens can easily be stopped and questioned on the street. BUT there is a community spirit with people living in small houses in close communities rather than huge apartments – where more and more people in modern life live alone and isolated.
Emphasising Similarities
The drama emphasises the similarities and closeness between the North and South. The differences are played down. Or presented in a humorous way. We discover that they have chicken and beer restaurants in the North too. South Korean cosmetics are readily available on the black market. And one soldier secretly watches South Korean dramas when he should be on watch.
There are some minor language and cultural misunderstandings between Se-ri and her new North Korean friends. Unlike the South, the North Korean language doesn’t have any borrowed words from other languages. This point is thought-provoking and emphasises the different recent histories of the two countries.
Crash Landing on You has similarities with Descendants of the Sun (KBS2). They are both have comedy romance, they both have a military theme, and are both in exotic foreign settings. But Crash Landing on You has the added bonus of addressing the unique relationship with North Korea. And along with the great cast and fun script, the drama is a winner.
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