mjkarlin Review of Crash Landing on You

Crash Landing on You (2019–2020)

Chemistry, comedy, thrilling adventure, and a fresh take on North Korea

[10/10 · 9 March 2021]

Korean television dramas are usually well produced, featuring attractive protagonists, decent acting, and occasionally interesting set-ups. But they rarely scale any great heights and they are often laden with irritating tropes and lazy writing and they rarely have much to say. Crash Landing on You is the exception. It is a show that can hold itself up against anything produced around the world. Two key elements: First, the perfect pairing of Korean megastars Hyun Bin, playing a North Korean army captain undertaking a tour of duty in the DMZ that separates North and South Korea, and Son Hye-jin, playing a chaebol heiress who paraglides into the DMZ because of a freak tornado. Their charisma just explodes off the screen. Second, the nuanced portrait of North Korea, with many realistic aspects, even if some of the worst villainy of the Kim regime (the Kims themselves are never mentioned except in banners praising the leadership) and the extremes of poverty and suppression are toned down. The producers and writers went to a lot of trouble in this regard, including hiring as a co-writer a defector who had attended film school and served in the Kim family protective detail. Supporting all of this is a very well written story that combines drama and comedy, the drama arising out of the efforts of the captain to help his unexpected visitor to return to the south as well as his dealings with a villainous commander in the State Security Department played with snarling aplomb by Oh Man-seok; the comedy from the North Korean villagers, especially the women, the terrifically funny foursome of North Korean soldiers commanded by Hyun Bin, and the various half-witted members of Son's South Korean family and other hangers-on. The script manages to avoid all the idiotic cliches that overpopulate Kdramas and manages to bring itself to a satisfying conclusion without the saccharine overdose that one might have feared. I can't think of a single time the story dragged. The great supporting cast is mostly too numerous to name, but a tip of the hat to the second leads, the ravishing Seo Ji-hye who manages to keep the straightest of faces as Hyun Bin's erstwhile fiancée, and especially Kim Jung-hyun, playing a mischievous half-bad guy, half hero from South Korea who flees to the north to escape the consequences of his various fraudulent business schemes. All in all, a triumphant piece of work, that manages to combine adventure, comedy and romance in a perfect family-friendly blend. The real crash landing is when you've finished watching it.