Crash Landing On You - Walls or Bridges?

Today, we'll explore a K-Drama that asks us whether we should be building bridges instead of walls, and how this iconic show taught us we should look at each other kindly despite our political and cultural differences.

Crash Landing On You is a romance/drama K-Drama with a simple premise: a famous heiress and businesswoman, Yoon Se-ri, has a paragliding accident and ends up landing on another country's demilitarized zone. There, she is helped by a soldier, Ri Jeon-hyuk.

Simple, isn't it? Well, not that much, as she is from South Korea, and he, the soldier, is from North Korea.

If he were to follow protocol, he'd have to take her in for questioning, but, as fate decides (or the writers), she ends up hiding at his place until he and his subordinates can find a way to send her back to her country.

This K-Drama was produced in 2019, starring Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin, and became the most popular tvN show of all time. It also became the third most popular K-Drama in the history of Korean cable TV at the time.

One curious fact is that these two actors got married in real life after filming this show. They're together to this day, and have a son. Cute, isn't it?

A "Romeo and Juliet" story, that is, a story in which the main couple can't get together because their families are enemies, always pulls at our heartstrings. We always pray this romance works out, and that the couple can beat the odds together and stay together.

Now, imagine that, but on a bigger scale - with countries that are enemies in real life!

Since the end of World War II, South Korea and North Korea have been locked in intense political struggles, and, after the Korean War in 1950, the original country split in half. South Korea was backed by the USA, and North Korea was backed by the USSR.

Today, South Korea is one of the most developed countries in the world, according to the UN, and is also one of the most advanced countries when it comes to technology and communication.

As for North Korea, it is a socialist republic, governed through a single-party (the Worker's Party of Korea) autocratic regime. It has a planned economy, and all economical decisions, including how profitable activities are performed, are made by the state.

The media, culture, and a big part of life in North Korea is dictated by the state. By this description alone, you can already imagine how much of a culture shock these two protagonists experienced, right?

The production behind this show didn't receive a "guide on what not to say about North Korea", so they just had to be careful to not offend or misrepresent the other country. They also consulted North Korean citizens who lived in South Korea at the time.

The way the writers handled this script was excellent, as there were no clichés about good and evil: they leaned on simplicity to show the differences between these two countries.

In a world where national pride and power disputes are everything, the writers managed to treat North Korea with a lot of respect in this K-Drama.

The village where Yoon Se-ri ends up is simple and humble, but everyone helps each other out, and the atmosphere represents a united community in a place where economic power speaks the louder, so it's even rarer to see. After all, those who live in rich cities barely know what their neighbors look like.

In this village, everyone shares what they plant and harvest, just like they share stories. There's companionship despite any disagreements, which you'll find anywhere. You can see that, because of how hard their lives are, their bonds are stronger.

Another quite moving detail is how the soldiers don't believe the stories our female protagonist tells. When she says she eats meat every day, they call her a liar. Their disbelief is depicted as funny, but this doesn't humiliate the soldiers. In fact, they only end up sounding a bit naive when they describe what they think "the world out there" is.

As the only things Yoon Se-ri heard of North Korea are what the media and the military/politicians say in her own country, when she starts living with these North Korean civilians, she starts seeing the small things inside the big picture. That is, the people, behind the flags.

You can also see that, though Ri Jeong-hyuk loves his country and respects its laws, he also recognizes certain rules can and should be broken, as, above them, there's common sense, human beings, and, in this case, love.

An emotional scene is when Yoon Se-ri, when she is saying goodbye to the soldiers and Ri Jeong-hyuk, sings "When The Cold Wind Blows". She gets emotional when she has to say goodbye to the new friends she made in "enemy" territory, and who protected her for so long.

By the way, the soundtrack is incredibly beautiful. My personal favorite is "The Hill of Yearning", which always brings me to tears.

The ending isn't ideal, but it is what the real world could be, with people born in different countries which will probably not reunite in their lifetimes.

Their "happily ever after" needs to be on neutral territory and not together all the time, like we'd dream and pray for.

K-Dramas like this one show the small consequences that conflicts and struggles, ethnic or politically motivated, create for its people, for those below power struggles, or those who just want to see or be with their friends, family, and loved ones.

Those at the very bottom of society are the ones that lose the most, either materially, or worst, emotionally speaking.

We rarely see, at least, this satisfying, yet not ideal, ending in real life. And so we always ask ourselves why, after so many similar situations and so many years, humankind hasn't learned that we should put humanity above any power.

Why do we still build walls instead of bridges?

Have you already watched this show? Did you cry when Yoon Se-ri ran through that bridge, with guns aiming at her head, straight to her lover's, that is, Ri Jeong-hyuk's, arms?

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!