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''Crash Landing on You'' () is a South Korean television series written by Park Ji-eun, directed by Lee Jeong-hyo, and starring Hyun Bin,
Son Ye-jin Son Eon-jin (; born January 11, 1982), better known by her stage name, Son Ye-jin (), is a South Korean actress who rose to fame in 2003 in ''The Classic (2003 film), The Classic'' and ''Summer Scent'', which were followed by the commercially ...
, Seo Ji-hye and Kim Jung-hyun. It aired on tvN from December 14, 2019 to February 16, 2020, every Saturday and Sunday at 21:00 ( KST). It is also available for
streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...
on
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
. At the time of airing, ''Crash Landing on You'' became the highest-rated tvN series and the second highest-rated series in Korean cable television history in both viewership ratings and number of viewers.


Premise

Yoon Se-ri (
Son Ye-jin Son Eon-jin (; born January 11, 1982), better known by her stage name, Son Ye-jin (), is a South Korean actress who rose to fame in 2003 in ''The Classic (2003 film), The Classic'' and ''Summer Scent'', which were followed by the commercially ...
) is a successful South Korean businesswoman and
chaebol A chaebol ( , ; , ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group. Several dozen large South Kore ...
heiress. One day, while paragliding in
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
, she is blown off course by a tornado and crash-lands in the North Korean portion of the DMZ. Ri Jeong-hyeok ( Hyun Bin), a member of the North Korean elite and a captain in the
Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) encompasses the combined military forces of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). The KPA consists of five branches: the Korean People's Army Ground Force, Ground Force, the Ko ...
is patrolling and discovers Se-ri. He is persuaded to hide her and help her return to the South.


Plot

One day, while Yoon Se-ri (
Son Ye-jin Son Eon-jin (; born January 11, 1982), better known by her stage name, Son Ye-jin (), is a South Korean actress who rose to fame in 2003 in ''The Classic (2003 film), The Classic'' and ''Summer Scent'', which were followed by the commercially ...
) is
paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or in a cocoon-like 'pod' suspended be ...
in
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
, a sudden tornado blows her off course and knocks her out. She awakens to find her paraglide hanging in a tree in a forest in the North Korean portion of the DMZ. There she meets Ri Jeong-hyeok ( Hyun Bin), who eventually gives her shelter and develops plans to help her return to South Korea secretly. Over time, they fall in love, despite the divide between their respective countries. Back in South Korea, Yoon Se-ri's family suppresses the news of her disappearance, fearing it will depress the stock price of Queens Group. Just before Se-ri went missing, her retiring father had told his family that he intended to make her his successor, based on her ability as a businesswoman, which she proved by building her own company, Seri's Choice. Her half-brothers, Yoon Se-jun (Choi Dae-hoon) and Yoon Se-hyung (
Park Hyung-soo Park Hyung-soo (born December 3, 1980) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in dramas such as ''Arthdal Chronicles'', ''The Devil Judge'', Ballerina (2023 film), Ballerina, ''Crash Landing on You'' and ''Happiness (South Korean TV ...
), each hoped to be their father's replacement but they have struggled to manage the subsidiaries under their control. The brothers are supported by equally-ambitious wives, Do Hye-ji ( Hwang Woo-seul-hye) and Go Sang-ah ( Yoon Ji-min), respectively. In Se-ri's absence, Se-hyung uses unscrupulous means to win the succession battle, while his wife Sang-ah attempts to take over Se-ri's Choice. Se-ri and Jeong-hyeok's story is intertwined with that of Seo Dan ( Seo Ji-hye) and Gu Seung-jun ( Kim Jung-hyun). Dan is the sophisticated daughter of a wealthy North Korean
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
owner. She has been studying the cello in Russia for several years but returns to marry Jeong-hyeok, to whom she is engaged through an
arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of Marriage, marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures, a professional matchmaki ...
though they have only met a few times. As she returns to
Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...
, she crosses paths more than once with Gu Seung-jun, who has fled to North Korea (with the protection of corrupt North Korean officials) in order to escape the pursuit of Se-hyung, under whose incompetent watch he had embezzled large amounts of funds. The first half of the story (episodes 1–9) follows Jeong-hyeok's attempts to hide Se-ri and facilitate her return to South Korea. They are impeded by Cho Cheol-gang ( Oh Man-seok), a corrupt and ruthless officer from the Ministry of State Security, who previously arranged the murder of Jeong-hyeok's elder brother, an officer who tried to expose him for crimes against the North Korean regime. Jeong-hyeok's attachment to Se-ri distresses not only Dan, his fiancée, but also his father, a high-ranking political figure. If it became known that Jeong-hyeok harbored a South Korean citizen, it could be used by rival officials to ruin their family. In the second half of the story (episodes 10–16), Se-ri has returned to South Korea and resumes leadership of her company, surprising her family and others who had thought her dead. Cheol-gang is convicted and sentenced to
life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...
but escapes custody and infiltrates South Korea to go after Se-ri for revenge. Jeong-hyeok goes to South Korea to protect Se-ri from Cheol-gang. His subordinates follow, sent to Seoul by his father to retrieve him. Meanwhile, in North Korea, despite hostile initial encounters, Dan and Seung-jun fall in love and she shelters him when corrupt officers betray him to Se-hyung's gangsters.


Cast


Main

* Hyun Bin as Ri Jeong-hyeok ** Lee Chun-moo as young Ri Jeong-hyeok ** Kim Seung-chan as teenage Ri Jeong-hyeok : A proficient but emotionally-reserved captain of Company Five in the
Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) encompasses the combined military forces of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). The KPA consists of five branches: the Korean People's Army Ground Force, Ground Force, the Ko ...
who is stationed along the North Korean portion of the DMZ. He is well-respected by the unit he leads and the locals of the rural village he resides in. A piano prodigy, he was studying to become a concert pianist in Switzerland before being forced to join the North Korean military after his elder brother died in a mysterious car accident. While he comes from a powerful political family, his father being the Director of the General Political Bureau, he prefers to hide his lineage in order to secretly investigate his elder brother's death. He protects Se-ri after she accidentally crash-lands into his patrol territory. As he tries to help Se-ri find her way back into South Korea, he begins to fall in love with her and realizes that he has met her before when he was travelling in Switzerland with Dan. *
Son Ye-jin Son Eon-jin (; born January 11, 1982), better known by her stage name, Son Ye-jin (), is a South Korean actress who rose to fame in 2003 in ''The Classic (2003 film), The Classic'' and ''Summer Scent'', which were followed by the commercially ...
as Yoon Se-ri ** Kim Tae-yeon as young Yoon Se-ri : A successful South Korean CEO and
chaebol A chaebol ( , ; , ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group. Several dozen large South Kore ...
heiress. She has a troubled family history as she is her father's illegitimate child, resulting in a strained relationship with her stepmother due to a childhood misunderstanding. She is also involved in an upcoming family succession battle, the latter making her the target of resentment from her half-brothers and their wives. After she rejects her brother's attempt to force her into an
arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of Marriage, marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures, a professional matchmaki ...
that would send her to the United Kingdom, she has numerous casual relationships with celebrities, but never develops any close companionships. She is nonetheless an independently wealthy businesswoman who runs her own successful fashion and beauty company, Seri's Choice. She is known for being a demanding boss, and a picky eater who practices
intermittent fasting Intermittent fasting is any of various meal timing schedules that cycle between voluntary fasting (or reduced calorie intake) and non-fasting over a given period. Methods of intermittent fasting include alternate-day fasting, periodic fasting, ...
. She meets Jeong-hyeok after accidentally crash-landing in North Korea due to a
paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or in a cocoon-like 'pod' suspended be ...
accident, and falls in love with him as he shelters her in the North Korean military housing, where she becomes close to the ajummas and four of his subordinates. * Seo Ji-hye as Seo Dan ** Park Seo-yeon as young Seo Dan : A North Korean
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
heiress and aspiring cellist who is also Jeong-hyeok's fiancée through an affianced marriage arranged by their parents. Seo Dan and Jeong-hyeok are supposed to get married as soon as Seo Dan finishes her study. While she has been infatuated with Jeong-hyeok since they were middle-school classmates, he doesn't reciprocate her feelings but agrees to the marriage out of a sense of duty towards his parents. Before the wedding, Dan desperately tries to prevent the marriage from becoming a sham after realising that Jeong-hyeok has never loved her from the start. She eventually falls for Seung-jun. * Kim Jung-hyun as Gu Seung-jun / Alberto Gu : An intelligent, charming, but poor South Korean
conman A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibi ...
with British citizenship. After his father was scammed by Se-ri's father, leading to his family's
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
, he ingratiates himself with Se-ri's brother, Se-hyung, in order to embezzle from Queens Group. Se-hyung attempts to marry off Se-ri to Seung-jun, but Se-ri senses his ill intentions on their first meeting and rejects him. Seung-jun nonetheless successfully cheats a fortune from the company under Se-hyung's watch, and flees to North Korea to avoid arrest, while under the pursuit of gangsters hired by Se-hyung. He eventually falls for Dan after they run into each other on many occasions.


Recurring


North Korean soldiers in Company Five

* Yang Kyung-won as Pyo Chi-su : An acerbic sergeant-major in Company Five, who enjoys drinking "medicine" on and off the job, and antagonizing Se-ri because of his paranoia against South Koreans. Despite his grumpy attitude towards Se-ri, he eventually grows to care for her. * Yoo Su-bin as Kim Ju-meok : A jovial corporal in Company Five who uses his fascination with
Korean drama Korean drama (), also known as K-drama or Koreanovela, refers to Korean language, Korean-language television shows made in South Korea. These shows began to be produced around the early 1960s, but were mostly consumed domestically until the rise ...
s to explain South Korean culture to his colleagues. He is frequently called out for watching dramas instead of working and is an avid fan of
Choi Ji-woo Choi Ji-woo (; born June 11, 1975), born Choi Mi-hyang (), is a South Korean actress. Considered one of South Korea's most beautiful women, she has received critical acclaim for her work in a wide range of melodramas, most notably '' Beautiful ...
. * Tang Jun-sang as Geum Eun-dong : An innocent lance-corporal in Company Five, who is the sole provider of his family and the youngest member of the unit. He has over nine years of military service left to complete and misses his mother dearly. * Lee Shin-young as Park Kwang-beom : A quiet staff-sergeant in Company Five, oblivious to his model-worthy good looks.


People around Yoon Se-ri

* as Yoon Jeung-pyeong : Se-ri's father and the chairman of Queens Group. After serving time for financial malfeasance, he looks to name one of his children as successor. *
Bang Eun-jin Bang Eun-jin (; born August 5, 1965) is a South Korean actress and film director. She is best known for starring in Park Chul-soo's ''301, 302'' and Kim Ki-duk's ''Address Unknown (2001 film), Address Unknown''. Bang made her feature directorial ...
as Han Jeong-yeon : Se-ri's stepmother. She struggles to reconcile her resentment towards Se-ri as a product of her husband's infidelity with Se-ri's sincere love and affection towards her. * Choi Dae-hoon as Yoon Se-jun : Se-ri's immature and hot-headed eldest half-brother who sides with Se-ri against Se-hyung. * Hwang Woo-seul-hye as Do Hye-ji : Se-jun's materialistic but supportive wife. *
Park Hyung-soo Park Hyung-soo (born December 3, 1980) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in dramas such as ''Arthdal Chronicles'', ''The Devil Judge'', Ballerina (2023 film), Ballerina, ''Crash Landing on You'' and ''Happiness (South Korean TV ...
as Yoon Se-hyung : Se-ri's unflappable second elder half-brother, whose greed and naiveté allowed Seung-jun to embezzle funds from Queens Group. * Yoon Ji-min as Go Sang-ah : Se-hyung's intelligent and ruthlessly-ambitious wife who covets Se-ri's company. * Go Kyu-pil as Hong Chang-sik : Se-ri's over-stressed team manager who, along with Su-chan, tries to discover Se-ri's whereabouts after her disappearance. * Im Chul-soo as Park Su-chan : Se-ri's insurance agent who becomes obsessed with proving that Se-ri survived the paragliding accident.


People around Ri Jeong-hyeok

* as Ri Chung-ryeol : Jeong-hyeok's father, the Director of the General Political Bureau and a vice-marshal of the Korean People's Army. He is also a father who at first is most concerned about family and its reputation, but slowly has changed. * Jung Ae-ri as Kim Yun-hui : Jeong-hyeok's mother and a former actress. Like her husband, she still grieves her elder son's death. * Ha Seok-jin as Ri Mu-hyeok : Jeong-hyeok's deceased elder brother. He is an army captain who died in a staged accident after threatening to expose Cheol-gang.


People around Seo Dan

* Jang Hye-jin as Ko Myeong-eun : Dan's ambitious mother who is also a successful North Korean department store owner. She is eager to see her daughter marry Jeong-hyeok and enjoys a playful, occasionally violent relationship with her brother, Myeong-seok. She has a tendency to insert English words into her speech to appear more sophisticated. * Park Myung-hoon as Ko Myeong-seok : Dan's cheerful maternal uncle who is also a powerful major-general in the Ministry of State Security.


People in the North Korean village

* Kim Sun-young as Na Wol-suk : The no-nonsense chief of the People's Unit (head of the village) who occasionally gets into arguments with Se-ri but eventually warms up to her. She has a tendency to drink and say embarrassing things. * Kim Jung-nan as Ma Young-ae : Senior Colonel Kim's wife who strongly influences her husband. The other women in the village fawn over her and she is easily susceptible to Se-ri's flattery. She is frustrated by her son's subpar performance in school despite hiring a university student to tutor him. * Jang So-yeon as Hyun Myeong-sun : Man-bok's supportive, shy and kind wife. She is the first to show support and bring food to Young-ae when the Senior Colonel is arrested. *
Cha Chung-hwa Cha Chung-hwa (; born on 28 April 1980) is a South Korean character actress who has worked extensively on stage, screen, and television. She has been nominated for Baeksang Arts Awards for her role as court lady Choi in tvN historical drama ...
as Yang Ok-geum : A hairdresser who wears bright makeup. She is closest with Wol-suk. * as Jung Woo-pil : Man-bok and Myeong-sun's son. * Gu Jun-woo as Kim Nam-sik : Senior Colonel Kim and Young-ae's son who gets bad grades. * Lim Sung-mi as Geum-soon : A market vendor who secretly sells South Korean goods.


People in the North Korean Forces

* Oh Man-seok as Cho Cheol-gang : A lieutenant-commander in the Ministry of State Security who is the principal villain of the story. An orphan, he is corrupt and heads a vast criminal operation that stretches across the Korean peninsula, including harboring fugitives such as Seung-jun while having no qualms about turning them over to the highest bidder. * Kim Young-min as Jung Man-bok : A North Korean wiretapper coerced by Cheol-gang to facilitate criminal activities, which has made him feel guilty about his work. He is known as "The Rat" among members of the village due to his job, resulting in his family being ostracized. Forced to facilitate Mu-hyeok's death despite being a recipient of his kindness, Man-bok hopes to atone for his betrayal by assisting Jeong-hyeok. * as Kim Ryong-hae : A senior colonel who is Jeong-hyeok's superior and Young-ae's husband. He is known to be controlled by his wife. He dislikes Jeong-hyeok but, after learning of his real identity as the son of the Director of the General Political Bureau, he tries his best to please him. * as Cheon Su-bok : A corrupt North Korean government official who helps people illegally enter and stay in North Korea.


Others

* as Manager Oh : An intermediate broker who connects Seung-jun to the North Korean "keeping business". * as Chief Kim : Chief of the National Intelligence Service. He understands the relationship between Jeong-hyeok and Se-ri, and helps make their parting more bearable. * Christian Lagahit as North Korean villager


Special appearances

* Jung Kyung-ho as Cha Sang-woo : Se-ri's South Korean ex-boyfriend. *
Park Sung-woong Park Sung-woong (; born January 9, 1973) is a South Korean actor. Following his acting debut in ''No. 3'' in 1997, Park has starred in several movies and Korean drama, television series, notably as a gangster in ''New World (2013 film), New Wo ...
as North Korean taxi driver * as house villager * Yoon Seol-mi as train salesperson * Na Young-hee as North Korean wedding dress boutique owner *
Kim Soo-hyun Kim Soo-hyun (; born February 16, 1988) is a South Korean actor. He is the recipient of five Baeksang Arts Awards, two Grand Bell Awards and one Blue Dragon Film Award. Kim made his television debut in 2007 with the family sitcom ''Kimchi Che ...
as Won Ryu-hwan / Bang Dong-gu : A North Korean spy from Division 11 who is disguised as a village idiot. * Kim Sook as North Korean fortune teller *
Choi Ji-woo Choi Ji-woo (; born June 11, 1975), born Choi Mi-hyang (), is a South Korean actress. Considered one of South Korea's most beautiful women, she has received critical acclaim for her work in a wide range of melodramas, most notably '' Beautiful ...
as herself : An actress whom Kim Ju-meok idolizes from his secret viewing of Korean dramas.


Episodes


Production

The series reunited
Son Ye-jin Son Eon-jin (; born January 11, 1982), better known by her stage name, Son Ye-jin (), is a South Korean actress who rose to fame in 2003 in ''The Classic (2003 film), The Classic'' and ''Summer Scent'', which were followed by the commercially ...
and Hyun Bin after their first collaboration in the 2018 film '' The Negotiation''.


Development

The premise of ''Crash Landing on You'' was inspired by a real event involving South Korean actress Jung Yang. In September 2008, Yang and three others had to be rescued after bad fog had caused their leisure boat to drift "into the maritime boundary between North and South Korea". Park Ji-eun, the drama's
screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
, was introduced to
North Korean defector People defect from North Korea for political, material, and personal reasons. Defectors flee to various countries, mainly South Korea. In South Korea, they are referred to by several terms, including "northern refugees" and "new settlers". To ...
turned film adviser and writer Kwak Moon-wan, who became part of the writing team. Kwak, who studied film directing in
Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...
and had also been a member of an elite security force protecting the Kims, helped in crafting the plot and in conceptualizing the setting and scenes portraying North Korean life.
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
's investment also helped the show to garner the budget of US$20 million.


Filming

The production process proved to be "painstakingly meticulous", owing both to South Korea's relationship with North Korea, as well as to avoid any unintentional violations of the 1948 National Security Act which forbids public praise or propaganda of North Korea and the Kim family. The script avoided the use of the honorific ''Chairman'' to refer to North Korea's leaders, as well as visible propaganda signs and mentions of
Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...
,
Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader of North Korea from Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung, the de ...
, or
Kim Jong Un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...
(while their mandatory portraits were usually either blurred or obscured by the camera angles). In addition, the North Korean lapel pins used by North Korean characters were one third smaller than their actual size. Props manager Joo Dong-man said the crew did not have a "guidebook on multiple hurdles he had to hop over — skillfully and delicately — to accurately depict the country while dodging criticism" and, thus, had to be careful "not to misrepresent the state". Their research was also guided by North Koreans living in South Korea. The first script reading took place on July 31, 2019, in
Sangam-dong Sangam-dong () is a legal '' dong'' (neighborhood) of Mapo District, Seoul, South Korea. In the wake of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, a large apartment complex and DMC business district have been created and developed into the center of western Seoul. ...
, Seoul, and filming overseas started at the end of August 2019. North Korean scenes were shot in South Korea and Mongolia. Scenes that took place in Switzerland were shot on location. The village of Iseltwald, one such location, experienced a tourism boom as a result.


Original soundtrack

The following is the official track list of ''Crash Landing on You (Original Television Soundtrack)'' album. The tracks with no indicated lyricists and composers are the drama's musical score; the artists indicated for these tracks are the tracks' composers themselves. Singles included on the album were released from December 15, 2019, to February 16, 2020.


Chart performance


Reception


International response

''Crash Landing on You'' was a huge success in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. The hashtag for the final episode received over 460 million views on
Weibo Weibo (), or Sina Weibo (), is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily ac ...
. The show was also popular in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
during the period of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
via
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
. While the
Korean Wave The Korean Wave, or ''hallyu'' (; ), is a cultural phenomenon in which the global popularity of South Korean popular culture has dramatically risen since the 1990s. Worldwide interest in Korean culture has been led primarily by the spread of K-p ...
is a historically prominent component of media within Japan, ''Crash Landing on You'' has been especially influential there, in part due to its portrayal of daily life in North Korea. The series was featured on Japanese-Netflix's top 10 for 69 consecutive weeks. In the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, many viewers noted similarities between the plot line and the political narrative of the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. Philippine politician
Sara Duterte Sara Zimmerman Duterte-Carpio (, ; born May 31, 1978), commonly known as Inday Sara, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who is the 15th and current vice president of the Philippines. She is the third female vice president (after Gloria Macap ...
was also a fan of the series. In the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, '' Variety'' named ''Crash Landing on You'' one of "The Best International Shows on Netflix", and one of the "Best International TV Series of 2020". ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' also ranked it as one of the best Korean dramas on Netflix. Jo Walker of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
s "Stream Team" called it "addictively off-the-wall, heartbreaking and hilarious." Adella Suliman and Stella Kim of ''
NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...
'' also suggested that the drama "features all the ingredients a viewer could wish for" and has "drawn a global audience of millions, many no doubt searching for entertainment as they while away their time in coronavirus-related lockdowns". ''
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...
'' stated that it is a Hallyu success.


Representation of and reception in South and North Korea


General

Although the series is a work of fiction, it has received positive reviews from
North Korean defectors People defect from North Korea for political, material, and personal reasons. Defectors flee to various countries, mainly South Korea. In South Korea, they are referred to by several terms, including "northern refugees" and "new settlers". To ...
for its depiction of everyday life in North Korea. At the same time, some details, such as the availability of food, relatively warm behavior of the army and the ease with which the characters cross the border have been criticized. Kim Ah-ra, one of the extras who portrayed a North Korean villager, is a writer and actress from North Korea who states that she felt "like hewas actually back in a North Korean village". Kwak Moon-wan, a North Korean defector, who had served with the
Supreme Guard Command Supreme Guard Command () (also known as Unit 963, the Escort Bureau, Guard Command, Bodyguard Command, SGC, Guard Bureau and the General Guard Bureau) is the protective security unit tasked with the protection of North Korea's ruling Kim dynasty ...
(which protects the ruling Kim family) worked as an adviser for the series, providing the writers with details about life in North Korea as well as North Korean governmental agencies that added credibility to the show. He acknowledged some of the criticism, admitting that he has taken liberties with the depiction of North Korea (such as not mentioning food shortages), but rejected the claim that he was glamorizing the regime or drawing a false equivalence, saying that the show also depicted some of the darker aspect of life under the regime, such as the issue of kotjebi (child homelessness) and the frequent power cuts. Some North Korean refugees, such as Chun Hyo-jin, who defected from the border village of Hyesan at the age of nineteen, tend to agree: "Even if what they say, that it glamorizes North Korea, is true, would they choose to live there? I don't think so." Even though the drama leaves political matters aside, which are essential to the North Korea issue as she sees it, she says it still is of great significance: "Its depiction of North Korea is a bit far from reality, but it has made the people interested in North Korea." The drama's producer Lee Jung-hyo said during a press conference in Seoul in December: "I know some people are uncomfortable about our subject, North Korea, but we don't portray a wholly authentic North Korea in our drama. Most settings are closer to a fantasy, although some aspects do reflect real North Korean life." Kang Na-ra, a North Korean defector who advised the show's production team, stated that about 60% of North Korea's depiction in the show is accurate: "The richer families in North Korea like to show off their wealth by adding lace curtains to their windows. So that was pretty well portrayed." She also appreciated the detail about kimchi caves: "Since rural North Korea doesn't get electricity, they don't have refrigerators. They have kimchi caves where they store kimchi, and that was also recreated well." House checks are also a regular affair. She revealed that she once had to hide inside a furnace at the house of the broker who helped her escape in order to avoid detection. In the drama, the heiress has to hide in the kimchi storage area when security forces come knocking one night. As depicted in the drama, North Koreans are allowed to choose only from a fixed list of hair styles — 18 for women and 28 for men. Kang said that "there's a punishment for you if you don't comply" in an interview with YouTube channel DKDKTV. On the other hand, as she explained in a YouTube video, the characters were able to slip across the border much more easily than in real life: "I had to pay a broker 10 million won (US$8,400) to swim across the
Yalu river The Yalu River () or Amnok River () is a river on the border between China and North Korea. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between China and North Korea. Its valle ...
hich borders North Korea and Chinawhile being shot at from behind by soldiers hen I escaped" Cartoonist Choi Seong-guk, who defected to the South in 2011, also said the drama set is 60% accurate. The portrayal of jangmadang, or local markets where all kinds of goods, including imports from South Korea, are sold is especially real, he told ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
''. However, he felt that the drama "glamorized the soldiers too much, almost to an uncomfortable extent". He said North Korean men enter the military when they are 17 and serve for 10 to 13 years, and "during this time, they are...ruthless and harsh, robbing homes and raping women at night". Still, he hopes the drama will make its way to North Korea and go viral: "I hope the North Koreans who see this drama will realize how positively the South Koreans think of them and learn to change." There were also critical responses to the themes of the drama in both regions. In January 2020, The Christian Liberal Party (CLP) filed a complaint in South Korea against tvN at the
Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA; ) is the primary police force for the South Korean capital city of Seoul. The agency is not an independent police force in of itself, but is one of 16 provincial sub-divisions of the National Police Age ...
, accusing the network of glamorizing North Korea through this series, in violation of the National Security Law. Then, in March 2020, a few North Korean media outlets criticized unnamed South Korean programs and films that explored relations between North and South Korea. While ''Crash Landing on You'' was not directly mentioned by the media outlets, it was perceived to be among the referenced works. Another is the 2019 film '' Ashfall,'' although that film was also not directly cited in the articles.


Scholarship

Stephen Epstein (
Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...
) and Christopher Green (
Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...
) suggest that while ''Crash Landing on You'' is formulaic, it also "is a crucial text for evaluating ongoing change in South Korean popular representations of its neighbour. Indeed, given the concerted use of North Korean backdrops in ''Crash Landing on You'' and the size and global extent of its audiences, the show is likely the most noteworthy South Korean popular culture representation of North Korea yet produced." Yun Suk-jin, a professor at Chungnam National University concurs, noting that the series "changed the stereotypes on North Korea and candidly showed that it too is a place where people live". Sarah A. Son, lecturer in Korean Studies at the
University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...
also agrees, noting that ''Crash Landing on You'' responds to the "socio-cultural divide" between the North and the South, which academic scholarship cites as one of the biggest obstacles to future unification. Son argues that "through the re-framing of stereotypes, albeit with some creative licence, ''Crash Landing on You'' arguably humanises the North for its audience in ways that inter-Korean dialogue has not in recent years. Despite its soft-focus romanticisation of the political situation, ''Crash Landing on You'' brings the pain of the division to a personal level for a generation of Koreans who, unlike their grandparents, have no memory of what it was like to be a single nation." Joanna Elfving-Hwang, associate professor of Korean Studies at the
University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...
notes that "North Korea tends to appear in our imagination as the 'axis of evil', we think of egative things likenuclear weapons and human rights abuses...this drama has dared to think about North Korean people differently and represented them as quite human and quite Korean". Steve Hung Lok-wai, a Korean Affairs expert from the
Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...
states that the drama sidestepped larger political issues through a narrative that did not end with the male lead's
defection In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...
: "Lots of people questioned whether the male lead, the North Korean soldier, would end up defecting to the South for love, but they were able to sidestep that scenario and gave it a plausible ending where the two would meet in Switzerland." This, he argues, is "quite smart because they avoided all the real taboos but made it believable enough where it would make people think about these political problems". John Delury, a professor at
Yonsei University Yonsei University () is a Private university, private Christian university, Christian research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Yonsei is one of the three most prestigious universities in the country, part of a group referred to as SK ...
, praised the series for its decision to draw parallels between powerful families in both the South and the North, and to humanize North Koreans beyond generic stereotypes.


Viewership

The series was a huge rating success in South Korea despite airing on tvN, a cable channel/pay TV, which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters ( KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS). It is currently the fourth highest-rated drama in Korean cable television history. The final episode's ratings made it the second highest-rated drama in Korean cable television history at that time, overtaking fellow tvN dramas ''
Reply 1988 ''Reply 1988'' () is a South Korean television series and the third installment of the ''Reply'' anthology series. It stars an ensemble cast led by Lee Hye-ri, Park Bo-gum, Ryu Jun-yeol, Go Kyung-pyo, and Lee Dong-hwi. It revolves around ...
'' and '' Guardian: The Lonely and Great God'', until it was finally surpassed by
JTBC JTBC (shortened from Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company; ; stylized in all lowercase) is a South Korean nationwide pay television network. Its primary shareholder is JoongAng Holdings, with a 25% stake. It was launched on December 1, ...
's '' The World of the Married'' and '' Reborn Rich''.


Accolades

In May 2020 the show's scriptwriter, Park Ji-eun, was named "Person of the Year" by South Korea's Unification Ministry, for contributing to "unification education".


Awards and nominations


Listicles


Adaptation

* On March 29, 2021, it was announced that ''Crash Landing on You'' would be adapted into a musical and the production companies Pop Music and T2N Media had completed a global copyright contract with
Studio Dragon Studio Dragon Corporation () is a South Korean Korean drama, drama production, marketing and distribution company under CJ ENM CJ ENM Entertainment Division, Entertainment Division. It was established on May 3, 2016, as a Corporate spin-off, sp ...
. The musical was performed at the Shinhan Card Artium, COEX, Gangnam District, Seoul from September 16 to November 13, 2022. * In 2024, the Japanese all-female theater troupe
Takarazuka Revue The is a Japanese all-female musical theatre troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo, Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway theatre, Broadway-style productions of musicals and stories adapted from films, nov ...
will stage a musical adaptation of the series under the title "愛の不時着" and it will run in November to December in Tokyo Tatemono Brillia Hall and Umeda Arts Theater. It will be directed by Kazunori Nakamura, and will star Jun Asami as Ri Jeong-hyeok and Aya Yumeshiro as Yoon Se-ri. This will be the debut performance of Jun Asami as the leading actress (Top Star) of the Snow Troupe.


Notes


References


External links

* * * * {{TvN (South Korean TV channel) television dramas (2006–2019) TvN (South Korean TV channel) television dramas Korean-language television shows Korean-language Netflix exclusive international distribution programming Serial drama television series 2019 South Korean television series debuts 2020 South Korean television series endings South Korean romantic comedy television series South Korean military television series Television episodes set in North Korea Television series by Studio Dragon Television series by Culture Depot Television shows filmed in South Korea Television shows filmed in Switzerland Television shows set in North Korea Works about the Korean People's Army Works about North Korea–South Korea relations Television shows written by Park Ji-eun