FORM-Idea

CRASH LANDING ON YOU: A WONDERFUL KOREAN SOAP OPERA

By P. Scordia & A.-S. Vandamme

A WhatsApp message pops up on both our mobile screens. Mutual friends from London recommend we watch a Korean series: Crash Landing on You. Trusting them, we separately watch this soap opera whose opening credits seem just a little too rosy and cheesy. To our great surprise, we find ourselves drawn into the story and rapidly becoming addicted!

The unique aspect of this Asian Telenovela is undoubtedly its burlesque critique of North Korean society. However, it remains subtle and measured with a touch of humour that transcends cultural barriers. It reminds us of the brilliant German film “Goodbye Lenin”. And like in “Goodbye Lenin”, certain western values which prevail in South Korea do not escape criticism, particularly the greedy and superficial aspects of the materialistic society that Seoul has become.

The story is about a wealthy and capricious South Korean heiress and businesswoman who goes paragliding not far from the capital, Seoul. Just as in “The Wizard of Oz”, Yoon Se-Ri is sucked in by an unexpected tornado and is projected into a strange new world.

In her fall, her paraglider snags on a tree – Crash – and then she falls onto a North Korean officer who turns out to be none other than the son of the Minister of the Interior – Landing on You. Before long the young man realises that this somewhat eccentric woman, who speaks with a strange accent and uses unfamiliar words, is an outsider. Worse, she seems oblivious to the danger that hangs over her in this North Korean demilitarised zone. You don’t need to understand Korean to grasp that their common language has become distinct from one side of the border to the other and as you watch you begin to recognise the differences in intonation.

Ri Jeong-Hyuk makes up his mind to protect her even though sheltering a South Korean citizen is an act of high treason in this closely monitored society. North Koreans are taught from a young age to be hostile towards the South Korean enemy, despite cravings for their cosmetics and TV series which can be easily sourced on the black market. As the plot unfolds with attempts to get Se-Ri out of the country, the two main protagonists fall in love, which complicates their personal situation and endangers the lives of their loved ones.

This series is more than simple entertainment; it could also be viewed as an anthropological documentary as it introduces us to Korean culture and values. You notice how some common values exist on both sides of the border, such as respect for the elderly and manners which have almost completely disappeared from our western culture. It also underlines the cultural differences that exist between the two countries; for example, when Se-Ri crosses her thumb and her forefinger to form a heart, a gesture very popular among young South Koreans for expressing love and friendship, her new North Korean friends find that frivolous.

It is also an addictive and brazen romance whose main characters openly cry; the heroine exclaiming that she doesn’t know how she will be able to live in Seoul without Ri Jeong-Hyuk. However, the series does not descend into mawkishness, thanks to many endearing secondary characters who make us laugh. The comic element is undoubtedly their discovery of a forbidden country (North first and then South) that has always been presented each to the other in a negative light.

This entertaining and informative series on Netflix reveals in us a surprising and unexpected passion for TV soap operas. We are recommending Crash Landing On You to all our friends as a great way to make life under lockdown more bearable.

Edited by Annie Clein, form-idea.com London, 1st November 2020.  Read this review in French

House of Flowers: a Mexican soap opera satire