Left: Ri Jung-hyuk (played by Hyun Bin), second from left, grills some meat on charcoals at the request of Yoon Se-ri (played by Son Ye-jin), far right, in the drama series "Crash Landing on You," set in a small North Korean village.The new series "Crash Landing on You" has everything you expect from Korean dramas: Romance, a love triangle, chaebol, betrayal and jealousy, but all these happen in the most secluded place in the world - North Korea.
The plot goes like this: A South Korean heiress of a conglomerate gets stuck in a tornado while paragliding and has to make an emergency landing in North Korea without knowing that she had crossed the border. There, she comes across a high-ranking North Korean solider, and the two find themselves falling for each other.
With its improbable plot, tvN's new drama series started off with a 6.1 percent viewership rating for its first episode in December.
It was a pretty good start. The previous drama series on the same time slot fetched a mere 3.2 percent viewership rating.
The show is the much-anticipated return of star writer Park Ji-eun, who has written mega hits like "My Love from the Star" (2013-2014), as well as A-list actors Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin.
But after the first episode hit the air, the drama got caught up in a controversy for featuring North Korea as its main backdrop and portraying a North Korean village and its people like a fairy tale. The depiction was criticized for being too far from the bleak reality of the North Korea people seen on TV news.
A street stall sells all imaginable products from electric rice cookers to day and night facial creams in "Crash Landing on You." [TVN]Six episodes in, Yoon Se-ri, the heiress, remains in North Korea, making some viewers say that it is difficult to relate to, especially during the current situation in which diplomatic relations between the North and South are strained.
For example, the fictional village frequently has no electricity, but people still watch TV by pedaling bike-powered electricity generators. Steamy bowls of white rice, meat grilled on charcoal and handmade noodles are some of the staples they live on.
Although the market in the village doesn't have the scented candle that the female protagonist is in need of, the market seems to have everything else, from an electric rice cooker to cosmetics that are smuggled in from the South.
Some scenes where mothers pick up their children from school or nag their kids to do their homework are depicted so naturally that the scenes could be inserted into any South Korean story.
With the controversy surrounding the drama, some wonder whether it can make a soft landing in viewers' hearts.
The show's writer, Park, is known for writing stories that unfold in unfamiliar settings and end up probable and attractive.
For example, an immortal alien is a main character in "My Love from the Star" while "Legend of the Blue Sea" (2016-2017) revolves around a woman who was a mermaid in the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).
Some culture critics, however, question whether she can find similar success with "Crash Landing on You."
Drama critic Gong Hee-jeong said, "A story that takes place in a fantasy world is way different from a story that happens in an existing place.
"It seems like [the writer] tries to describe the people in the North as no different from us, but her description is way too excessive and it stops viewers from being immersed in the story," she added.
Responding to such criticism, the production team of the drama came forward and said, "We tried to reproduce [the North Korean village] as close to reality as possible based on thorough research."
The production team added that the writer was inspired by an accident that happened in 2008 in which actress Jung Yang was riding a boat in Incheon but was later swept away because of weather conditions and her boat was close to crossing the Northern Limit Line.
More detailed interviews with North Korean defectors who used to work as a high-ranking military official, a smuggler and people who used to study overseas were conducted, the production team said.
Writer and North Korean defector Kwak Mun-an was also involved in the production. Baek Gyeong-yoon, an expert in North Korean language, also reviewed the scripts.
Producer Lee Jeong-hyo didn't want the drama to be at the center of controversy with its portrayal of North Korea. "We just deal with the North as a remote place where all the thrilling events are taking place."
But it still remains unknown whether the fictional village and characters from the North will continue to be appealing to viewers.
Before "Crash Landing on You," there were several drama series with North Korean elements in them.
"The King 2 Hearts" (2012) was a love story between a South Korean crown prince and a North Korean special forces officer.
In 2014, "Doctor Stranger" premiered. The drama revolves around a surgeon who is a North Korean defector who lands a job at a South Korean hospital.
But "Crash Landing on You" needs to be interpreted differently, according to Yun Seok-jin, a professor of Korean language at Chungnam National University.
"Previous drama series used the divided country as one of its plot devices, but 'Crash Landing on You' is a story between chaebol and a military official. They each represent capitalism and socialism. Their relationship can't be separated from ideologies of the two Koreas. With the current diplomatic relations with the North, the drama can't really connect with viewers," Yun said.
There have also been more films dealing with inter-Korean issues in recent years.
And the most important task for them is how to create North Korean characters and make them well-received. It is indeed a touchy issue. If some characters go too far, they fail to gain sympathy from audiences.
The film "Swing Kids" (2018) flopped after it was said that the North Korean prisoners are glamorized in the film set in the Korean War.
But the hit film "Ashfall," which opened on Dec. 19, also features a North Korean character as one of the leads.
Director Kim Byung-seo said during a press conference that he tried to add reality to the film's North Korean character and how he develops a bond with his South Korean counterpart. Little things like hard candies and Coke function as mediums for the two to open up with each other.
Film critic Kim Hyeong-seok said, "A bromance between South and North Korean agents has become a trend that penetrates many South Korean films such as "Confidential Assignment" (2017), "Steel Rain" (2017) and "The Spy Gone North" (2018).
"One noteworthy thing about the trend is that heartthrobs like Jung Woo-sung play North Korean agents," he added.
North Korean soldiers were typecast as cruel and filthy in the anti-Communism films produced in the 1960s and 70s, but diverse attempts are added to the same characters these days.
"Ever since the first summit between the South and North in 2000, more imaginative stories are pouring out. The mainstream genres are still action or genre films, but I also see more romance stories," said Kim.
A series of films are slated to open later this year, all featuring North Korean stories.
One of them is "Summit: Steel Rain." In the film, the three leaders of the United States, South and North Korea are abducted while they gather together for a summit.
Another is tentatively titled "Escape" and is being directed by Ryu Seung-wan, who previously tried his hand at the inter-Korean issue with "The Berlin File" (2013). The film began shooting in Morocco in November.
BY MIN KYUNG-WON [estyle@joongang.co.kr]
Special Issue: An Information Based Strategy to Reduce North Korea's Increasing Threat
In cooperation with the Center for a New American Security, National Defense University, and the US-Korea Institute at SAIS, Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies and the
Georgetown Security Studies Review present a new special report
available for download here.
Executive Summary
"
Deterrence works, until it doesn't."-Sir Lawrence Freedman
The United States' current approach to North Korea does not fundamentally resolve the risks of its belligerent behavior nor halt the development of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. As these capabilities are improved, there is greater potential that Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea- confident he can deter a regime-threatening reaction-will attempt a violent provocation to achieve political objectives but in doing so miscalculates and instead sparks a crisis which escalates disastrously. While the United States has contingency plans for a wide range of conflict scenarios, executing them would be extraordinarily costly-the military capabilities Pyongyang has now amassed would inflict catastrophic damage.
James Clapper, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, has repeatedly warned that Pyongyang is "committed to developing a long-range, nuclear-armed missile that is capable of posing a direct threat to the United States..." and that "North Korea has already taken initial steps toward fielding this system..."1 With such a capability, Kim is attempting force the international community to accommodate him to avoid conflict. However, he could underestimate U.S. resolve, which in turn would ignite conflict. If the Kim regime falls, a nuclear-armed, fragmented military could strike the United States.
To avert this, the United States should work with South Korea to develop an information campaign designed to reduce the risks of conflict or regime collapse by convincing regime elites that their best options in these circumstances would be to support ROK-U.S. Alliance efforts. This would require five key elements:
* Enhance our ability to de-escalate a crisis by ensuring that the regime's elites fully understand the consequences of a war by continually demonstrating the U.S.-ROK Alliance's advanced military capabilities.
* Reduce the potential for violence by formulating policies that provide credible assurances of amnesty to regime elites and, if they act in ways which support alliance efforts, a beneficial role after the Kim regime collapses or a conflict is resolved on Alliance terms.
* Reduce the humanitarian costs by formulating policies that inform ordinary North Koreans what to expect in a contingency and how to act.
* Reduce civil and military resistance by formulating policies that guarantee North Koreans full rights as citizens of South Korea.
* Mitigate collapse of the civil infrastructure by incentivizing bureaucrats, technicians, and local commanders to protect and maintain critical facilities.
Reducing the wartime damage the North could inflict and lessening the potential chaos of collapse would provide renewed leverage for the U.S.-ROK Alliance to de-escalate a crisis before it erupts. However, if crisis does occur, this strategy would enable a more favorable and less costly conclusion.
