Crash Landing on You 사랑의 불시착 Review

★★★★★

The 2019-2020 South Korean drama starring Hyun Bin as Ri Jeong-Hyeok, Son Ye-Jin as Yoon Se-Ri, Seo Ji-Hye as Seo Dan, and Kim Jung-Hyun as Gu Seung-Jun. Written by Park Ji-Eun and directed by Lee Jung-Hyo. 16 episodes, each 70-110 minutes long.

Brief synopsis: Yoon Se-Ri is an heiress who is famous for her foul temper. While paragliding in Seoul, a sudden windstorm knocks her off course and into North Korea. Ri Jeong-Hyeok is a captain in the Korean People’s Army and happens to be the one that finds Yoon Se-Ri stuck in a tree. Instead of turning her in, Captain Ri decides to take her under his wing and return her to the South himself. Taking in this wild woman with no filter upsets his routine and turns his life upside down. Although Captain Ri is determined to get Se-Ri out of North Korea, it becomes clear that there’s people on both sides of the DMZ who don’t want her to return…

Park Ji-Eun adds another hit drama to her portfolio! If you liked My Love from the Star and Legend of the Blue Sea, Crash Landing on You is one you can’t afford to miss. This drama won “Outstanding Korean Drama” at the 15^th Seoul International Drama Awards and “Best Drama Series” at the Asian Academy Creative Awards. The cast talent going into Crash Landing on You is no joke, either—both Hyun Bin and Son Ye-Jin won popularity awards at the 56^th Baeksang Arts Awards for their participation. Long story short, even the experts say this drama deserves an audience!

“Sometimes the wrong train takes you to the right station.”

Overall, the whole drama is pretty incredible. The star-crossed lovers concept is hardly new. You might have already observed the trend that older Korean dramas love to base their plots on economic barriers, play up that Cinderella story. Crash Landing on You brings something new to the table because in the somewhat realistic universe that the drama adopts, it suggests crossing a barrier we cannot imagine anyone crossing—the DMZ.

When the drama first aired, there was some criticism over the romanticizing of North Korea in a drama production. While the story is a romantic one, North Korea is not suggested to be a romantic country in the least. The writer inserted elements to paint the country realistically, such as the lack of media and use of radios, wearing the pins, tying hair back, and limited electricity. If there is any romanticizing, it is this: by providing characters with depth, the drama provokes a sense of sympathy for the characters that the protagonist meets in the North. It’s a slight reminder that although North Korea is an impoverished country and an international hot topic, the people living therein are people too.

Crash Landing on You features scenes shot in Switzerland. The more of the drama you watch, the more you realize that Switzerland plays a larger part in Se-Ri and Jeong-Hyeok’s story. While the scenes and landscapes of Switzerland are certainly lovely, Switzerland from the beginning is where both Se-Ri and Jeong-Hyeok run away from their problems. Yet, it brings them together. In the finale, Se-Ri and Jeong-Hyeok are still using Switzerland to run away from the problems between their countries, yet it’s still offering them a chance to be together. It is a blissful escape. That is the conflict—we all have our own means for escape that will alleviate pain, suffering, or stress, but it doesn’t remove the problem. The finale remains slightly despairing because the problems that would divide them are still present.

Warning: this drama is highly emotional. The text messages are the straw to break the camel’s back!

This drama was beautiful and so thought-provoking. If you liked the military action in Descendants of the Sun and the quirk of My Love from the Star, this drama should be the next on your list. 5/5 stars!