Crash Landing in North and South Korea

It's been almost a week already since I finished watching the hit Korean drama series titled "Crash Landing On You" and I haven't started watching a new one because I don't have any idea yet on what should I watch next after it as it was just such a great series.

Crash Landing On You is a Korean drama series about a South Korean businesswoman and heiress, portrayed by Son Ye Jin as Yoon Se Ri, who had a paragliding accident that led her to crash land in the territory of North Korea and into the life of a North Korean army officer, in the character of Hyun Bin as Captain Ri Jeong Hyeok, who decided to help her hide and go back to her country.

This drama series was aired from December 2019 to February 2020 and it was always trending but I only got to watch it this February of 2022 because I didn't have the means to watch it before (I'm poor and I can't afford a Netflix subscription), and it was so late when I realized I could watch Korean series through Facebook. Plus the fact that it was always being talked about on social media diminished my interest to watch it because I didn't want to just watch a drama and be labeled as a bandwagon who only watches K-dramas because it's currently on-trend. However, I got to watch the JejFlix parody version of it before called "Crush Lande on You" by Alex Gonzaga and it gave me an idea about the whole story of the drama.

And when I read the news that the RiRi couple who were the main leads of this drama is already getting married this March 2022, I decided to watch the series already to know how they developed as a couple, because usually, on-screen couples catch romantic feelings for each other when they work together.

And boy, I was right. I feel like this drama became a way for them to really be closer to each other because there was a specific scene where they were talking about marriage and their future together. It was as if they were talking not as the characters of the series or based on the script but their conversation was them talking and confessing their feelings.

Anyway, going back to the drama, Yoon Se Ri crash-landed in North Korea because of a paragliding accident. Because of that catastrophe, we were given the chance to have a glimpse of what it is like to live in North Korea and how progressive South Korea really is.

I have watched a couple of documentaries of North Koreans before, who escaped from their country, and I heard their stories of how horrible it is to live there. It was as if they were imprisoned and they don't have any freedom at all.

And upon watching the drama, I glimpsed how unfair and cruel life in North Korea is to ordinary people. The light would shut off at 6 pm and people have no access to an internet connection and they don't have a cellular phone. Their houses would even be searched by militaries at any time and they will be punished if they see a South Korean product in their houses. Men, and perhaps women too, are required to join the military and serve the country for 10 years. And there is an obvious huge gap between the rich and the poor. Most women are also still being set in a Fixed or Arranged Marriage, especially if they come from a wealthy family, like the case of Captain Ri and Seo Dan.

On the other hand, the drama showed how advanced South Korea is, especially in terms of Technology, and the life there is a lot way better than in the North.

So if I were to experience the same accident that Yoon Se Ri had, I would gladly want to have a paragliding mishap and crash land in South Korea. Although the cost of living there is probably five or ten times more than here in the Philippines, I would still gladly be wandering around the city of Seoul knowing that I am safe there than landing in the North and always be hiding from the troops.

How about you? Where would you want to crash land if you have the same accident as Yoon Se Ri?

Anyway, this article is just supposed to be related to CLOY so if you haven't watched Crash Landing On You yet, you might consider watching it already!

Cheers and Thanks for reading!