Crash Landing on You

Crash Landing on You
Promotional poster
Also known as	Emergency Love Landing Love's Crash Landing Crash Landing of Love
Genre	Romantic drama Romantic comedy
Created by	Studio Dragon
Written by	Park Ji-eun
Directed by	Lee Jung-hyo
Starring	Hyun Bin Son Ye-jin Kim Jung-hyun Seo Ji-hye
Opening theme	"Sigriswil" (Opening Title ver.) by Kim Kyung-hee
Composer	Nam Hye-seung & Park Sang-hee
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	16 (list of episodes)
Production
Production locations	South Korea Switzerland Mongolia
Running time	70–110 minutes
Production companies	Studio Dragon Culture Depot
Original release
Network	tvN, UXN
Release	December 14, 2019 (2019-12-14) – February 16, 2020 (2020-02-16)

Crash Landing on You (Korean: 사랑의 불시착; RR: Sarangui Bulsichak; MR: Sarangŭi pulshich'ak; lit. Love's Emergency Landing) is a South Korean television series directed by Lee Jeong-hyo and featuring Hyun Bin, Son Ye-jin, Kim Jung-hyun, and Seo Ji-hye. It is about a South Korean chaebol heiress who, while paragliding in Seoul, South Korea, is swept up in a sudden storm and crash-lands in the North Korean portion of the DMZ. The series aired on tvN in South Korea and on Netflix worldwide from December 14, 2019, to February 16, 2020.

It is the highest rated tvN drama and the third highest-rated South Korean TV drama in cable television history.

Plot

Crash Landing on You tells the story of two star-crossed lovers, Yoon Se-ri (Son Ye-jin), a South Korean fashion entrepreneur with her company Se-ri's Choice, and Ri Jeong-hyeok (Hyun Bin), a member of the North Korean elite and a Captain in the North Korean Special Police Force.

One day, while Se-ri is paragliding in Seoul, South Korea, a sudden tornado knocks her out and blows her off course. She awakens to find her paraglider crashed into a tree in a forest in the DMZ of North Korea (an area forbidden for South Koreans). There, she meets Ri Jeong-hyeok on patrol and he eventually gives Se-ri shelter and devises plans to secretly help her return to South Korea. Over time, they fall in love, despite the divide and dispute between their respective countries. During Se-ri's time in North Korea, she is introduced to the soldiers under Jeong-hyeok's command and the women in the village where he is posted, all of whom she befriends as she gradually learns about life in the north.

Just before Se-ri went missing, her retiring father informed his family that he intended to announce her as his successor based on her abilities as a businesswoman, as shown by her successfully building her own company, instead of her half-brothers, Se-jung and Se-hyung, who struggled managing the chaebol's subsidiaries. The brothers are supported by their equally ambitious wives, Do Hye-ji, and Ko Sang-a, respectively. Se-ri's family suppresses the news of her disappearance out of fear that it will depress the stock price of the family-controlled chaebol. In Se-ri's absence, Se-Hyung outmaneuvers his siblings through unscrupulous means to win the succession battle to lead the family firm, while Sang-a attempts to take over Se-ri's company.

Se-ri's and Jeong-hyeok's story is intertwined with that of Seo Dan (Seo Ji-hye) and Gu Seung-jun (Kim Jung-hyun). Dan is the sophisticated daughter of a wealthy North-Korean department store owner. She has been studying cello in Russia for several years but returns to marry Jeong-hyeok, to whom she is already engaged on the promise of an arranged marriage even though they only met a few times. As she returns to Pyongyang, she crosses paths, not for the first time, with Gu Seung-jun. Gu Seung-jun, who had previously been engaged to Se-ri, fled to North Korea (under the protection of corrupt North Korean officers) in order to escape from the pursuit of Se-ri's brother Se-Hyung, under whose incompetent watch he had embezzled a large amount of money.

The first half of the story follows Jeong-hyeok's attempts to hide Se-ri and help her get back to South Korea. They are impeded by Cho Cheol-gang (Oh Man-seok), a corrupt and ruthless State Security officer, who had previously arranged for the murder of Jeong-hyeok's older brother, an officer who tried to expose him. Jeong-hyeok's attachment to Se-ri distresses not only Dan, his fiancée, but also his father, a high-ranking political figure, as the discovery of Jeong-hyeok harboring a South-Korean could be used by rival officials to ruin their families.

In the second part of the story, Se-ri is able to return to South Korea and resume leadership of her company, surprising family and others who had thought she was dead. While Cheol-gang is initially convicted for his crimes, he escapes custody through his criminal network and infiltrates South Korea to go after Se-ri. Despite opposition from his father who nevertheless reluctantly gives his support, Jeong-hyeok and his soldiers clandestinely arrive in Seoul to protect Se-ri from Cheol-gang's revenge. Meanwhile, in North Korea, despite Seo Dan's and Seung-jun's initial encounters being random and unpleasant, she shelters him when corrupt officers betray him to Se-Hyung's gangsters, and they eventually fall in love.

Cast

Cast of Crash Landing on You

Main

• Hyun Bin as Ri Jeong Hyeok

A proficient but emotionally reserved captain in the Korean People's Army who is stationed along the North Korean DMZ. He is well-respected by the unit he leads and the locals of the rural village he resides in. While he comes from a powerful political family (his father is the director of the General Political Bureau), he prefers to keep his lineage secret. A piano prodigy, he was studying to become a concert pianist in Switzerland before being forced to join the North Korean military after his older brother (with whom he was very close) died in a mysterious car accident. He hides and protects Se-ri after she accidentally crash-lands in his patrol territory. As he tries to help Se-ri find her way back into South Korea, he begins to fall in love with her.

• Son Ye Jin as Yoon Se-ri

A South Korean chaebol heiress to the Queen’s Group Chaebol. She has a troubled family history as she is her father's illegitimate child (though he loves her), resulting in a strained relationship with her step-mother due to a childhood misunderstanding and upcoming family succession battle, the latter making her the target of resentment from her half-brothers and their wives. After an aborted marriage engagement, she has had numerous casual relationships with celebrities, but not developed any close companionship. She is nonetheless an independently wealthy businesswoman who runs her own successful fashion and beauty company, Se-ri's Choice. She is known for being a demanding boss, staging publicity stunts, and is a picky eater. She meets Ri Jeong-hyeok after accidentally crash-landing in North Korea due to a paragliding accident. She falls in love with Jeong-hyeok as he shelters her in the North Korean village, where she becomes close to the ajummas and four of his soldiers.

• Kim Jung-hyun as Gu Seung-jun / Alberto Gu

An intelligent, charming, but poor South Korean conman with British citizenship. After his family was bankrupted by Se-ri's father, he ingratiated himself with Se-ri's brother, Se-hyung, in order to embezzle from the Yoon family's company. Se-hyung attempted to marry off Se-ri to Seung-jun in order to be rid of her, but Se-ri sensed Seung-jun's ill intentions on their first meeting and rejected him. Seung-jun nonetheless successfully cheated a fortune from the Yoon's firm under Se-hyung's watch, and fled to North Korea to avoid arrest, while pursued by gangsters hired by Se-hyung.

• Seo Ji-hye as Seo Dan

A North Korean department store heiress and aspiring cellist who is also Ri Jeong-hyeok's fiancée through an affianced marriage arranged by their parents. While she has been infatuated with Jeong-hyeok since they were high school classmates, he doesn't reciprocate her feelings but agrees to the betrothed marriage out of a sense of duty to his parents. Before the wedding, Dan desperately tries to prevent the marriage from becoming a sham after realising that Jeong-hyeok had never loved her from the start.

Supporting

People around Yoon Se-ri

• Nam Kyung-eup as Yoon Jeung-pyeong, Se-ri's father, South Korean Chaebol and chairman of Queen's Group. After serving time for financial malfeasance, he looks to name one of his children heir to his chairmanship.
• Bang Eun-jin as Han Jeong-yeon, Se-ri's step-mother. She struggles to reconcile her resentment towards Se-ri as a product of her husband's infidelity with Se-ri's sincere love and affection towards her.
• Choi Dae-hoon as Yoon Se-joon, Se-ri's immature and hot-headed eldest half-brother, who sides with Se-ri against Se-hyung.
• Hwang Woo-seul-hye as Do Hye-ji, Se-joon's materialistic but supportive wife.
• Park Hyung-soo as Yoon Se-hyung, Se-ri's unflappable elder half-brother, whose greed and naiveté allowed Seung-joon to embezzle funds from the Queen's Group.
• Yoon Ji-min as Go Sang-ah, Se-hyung's intelligent and ruthlessly ambitious wife who covets Se-ri's company.
• Go Kyu-pil as Hong Chang-sik, Se-ri's over-stressed team manager.
• Lim Chul-soo as Park Soo-chan, Se-ri's insurance agent, who becomes obsessed with proving that Se-ri survived the paragliding accident.

People around Ri Jeong-hyeok

• Jun Gook-hwan as Ri Chung Ryol, Jeong Hyeok's father, director of the General Political Bureau and vice-marshal of Korean People's Army.
• Jung Ae-ri as Kim Yun Hui, Jeong Hyeok's mother. Like her husband, she still grieves Mu Hyeok's death.
• Ha Seok-jin as army captain Ri Mu Hyeok, Jeong Hyeok's deceased older brother, killed in a staged accident for threatening to expose Jo Cheol Gang.
• Oh Man-seok as Jo Cheol Gang, a Lt. Commander in the North Korean Armed Forces' Security Bureau, who is the principal villain of the story. An orphan, he is corrupt and heads a vast criminal operation that stretches across the Korean peninsula, including harboring fugitives such as Gu Seung-joon while having no qualms turning them over to the highest bidder.
• Yang Kyung-won as Pyo Chi Su, a master sergeant major in Jeong Hyeok's unit, who enjoys drinking and antagonizing Se-ri because of his paranoia against South Koreans.
• Yoo Su-bin as Kim Ju Muk, a staff sergeant in Jeong Hyeok's unit, who uses his fascination with bootleg K-Dramas to explain South Korean culture to his team.
• Lee Shin-young as Park Kwang Beom, a first lieutenant in Jeong Hyeok's unit, oblivious of his model good looks.
• Tang Joon-sang as Geum Eun Dong, a lance-corporal in the Jeong-hyeok's unit, who is the sole provider of his family and youngest member of the unit.
• Kim Young-min (actor) as Jong Man Bok, a North Korean wiretapper coerced by Cheol Gang to facilitate criminal activities, which has made him feel guilt about his work. His family is ostracized as "The Rat" by members of the village due to his job. Forced to facilitate Ri Mu Hyeok's death despite being the recipient of his kindness, Man Bok hopes to atone for his betrayal by assisting Jeong Hyeok.

People around Seo Dan

• Jang Hye-jin as Ko Myong Un, Dan's wealthy mother who owns Pyongyang's largest department store and is eager to see Dan married.
• Park Myung-hoon as Ko Myong Sok, Dan's maternal uncle who is also a high-ranking officer in the State Security Department and supportive of both Jong Hyok and Dan.
• Hong Woo-jin as Director Chon, a corrupt North Korean government official who helps people illegally enter and stay in North Korea.

People in the North Korean village

• Kim Sun-young as Ra Wol Suk
• Kim Jung-nan as Ma Yong Ae
• Jang So-yeon as Hyon Myong Sun, Jong Man Bok's wife.
• Cha Chung-hwa as Yang Ok Kum

Special appearances

• Jung Kyung-ho as Cha Sang-woo, Se-ri's South Korean ex-boyfriend (Ep. 1, 5 & 7)
• Park Sung-woong as a North Korean taxi driver (Ep. 4)
• Na Young-hee as a North Korean wedding dress boutique owner (Ep. 7)
• Kim Soo Hyun as Bang Dong-gu, a North Korean Spy from Division 11, disguised as a village idiot (Ep. 10)
• Kim Sook as a North Korean fortune teller (Ep. 11 & 16)
• Choi Ji-woo as herself (Ep. 13)

Episodes

No.	Title	Original release date	South Korea viewers (millions)
1	"Episode 1"	December 14, 2019 (2019-12-14)	1.508
Knocked out by fierce winds while paragliding through the air, Yoon Se-ri, a wealthy businesswoman and CEO from South Korea, wakes up on the north side of the Korean Demilitarized Zone and is discovered by Ri Jeong Hyeok, a captain in the North Korean military.
2	"Episode 2"	December 15, 2019 (2019-12-15)	1.773
After talking Jeong Hyeok and his comrades into hiding her in his home, Se-ri gets a taste of his way of life. Gu Seung-jun buys refuge in a secluded villa in North Korea through a broker.
3	"Episode 3"	December 21, 2019 (2019-12-21)	1.894
Se-ri is discovered hiding at Jeong Hyeok's home during an unexpected home inspection. Jeong Hyeok invents a bold background story for Se-ri as a recently-returned agent from Division 11, the secret division of North Korean military which has spies sent to South Korea. He calls Se-ri his fiancée, in his attempt to protect her. However, his rival, Cho Cheol Gang, isn't fooled. Seo Dan, Jeong Hyeok's actual fiancée for ten years, returns to North Korea after finishing her studies in Russia.
4	"Episode 4"	December 22, 2019 (2019-12-22)	2.225
When her escape plan falls through, Se-ri turns to another idea. Dan heads to the village to see Jeong Hyeok. The villagers are confused on seeing Dan, as they were told that Se-ri is Jeong Hyeok's fiancée.
5	"Episode 5"	December 28, 2019 (2019-12-28)	2.210
Jeong Hyeok agrees to marry Dan sooner, as his parents wish, but they must do him a favor first. Seung-jun discovers Se-ri is also in North Korea.
6	"Episode 6"	December 29, 2019 (2019-12-29)	2.414
Dan is less than happy when she hears Jeong Hyeok and Se-ri are at a hotel together. Meanwhile, Seung-jun plays what cards he has to save himself.
7	"Episode 7"	January 11, 2020 (2020-01-11)	2.510
A flight out of North Korea awaits Se-ri at the airport. But, unwilling to leave Jeong Hyeok while he's injured, she brings him to a hospital instead, thus missing her flight out of North Korea.
8	"Episode 8"	January 12, 2020 (2020-01-12)	3.043
Keeping Jeong Hyeok away from Se-ri turns out to be much more difficult than Seung-jun anticipated. Cheol Gang stays on their tail.
9	"Episode 9"	January 18, 2020 (2020-01-18)	2.941
Se-ri faces her kidnapper. Elsewhere, Jeong Hyeok is forced to spread a formidable rumor about himself in order to escape Cheol Gang's clutches.
10	"Episode 10"	January 19, 2020 (2020-01-19)	3.927
Back to her cushy life in the spotlight, Se-ri takes care of business — though nothing feels quite the same. Jeong Hyeok goes after Cheol Gang in South Korea, who in turn is after Se-Ri in order to use her to blackmail Jeong Hyeok's family.
11	"Episode 11"	February 1, 2020 (2020-02-01)	3.726
It is Jeong Hyeok's turn to adjust to a new world. Back in North Korea, Dan gives Seung-jun a place to stay after he loses his protection.
12	"Episode 12"	February 2, 2020 (2020-02-02)	4.782
Hoping to meet Jeong Hyeok, his comrades attend an event hosted by Se-ri's company. Seung-jun opens up to Dan over a bowl of rice porridge.
13	"Episode 13"	February 8, 2020 (2020-02-08)	3.998
Se-ri sends the comrades on a shopping spree, and plays hooky from work with Jeong Hyeok. Jung Man Bok encounters a dilemma.
14	"Episode 14"	February 9, 2020 (2020-02-09)	5.119
While Jeong Hyeok keeps watch over Se-ri, his comrades make themselves useful. Seung-jun can't stop worrying about Dan.
15	"Episode 15"	February 15, 2020 (2020-02-15)	4.898
South Korean officials try to figure out what's going on, but they're given conflicting stories. Seung-jun flees from his captors.
16	"Episode 16"	February 16, 2020 (2020-02-16)	6.337
Before departing, Jeong Hyeok leaves behind a surprise that keeps on giving--messages from Jeong Hyeok's phone everyday. The last message tells Se-ri where to find Jeong Hyeok. Dan delivers bittersweet justice.

Production

Development

The premise of Crash Landing on You was inspired by a real event involving South Korean actress, Jung Yang. In September 2008, Yang and three others had to be rescued after bad fog had caused their leisure boat to drift "into the maritime boundary between North and South Korea." Park Ji-eun, the drama's screenwriter, was introduced to North Korean defector turned film adviser and writer Kwak Moon-wan, who became part of the drama's writing team. Kwak, who studied film directing in Pyongyang and had also been a member of an elite security force protecting the Kims, helped in crafting the drama's plot and in conceptualizing the setting and scenes in the drama portraying North Korean life.

Filming

The production process proved to be "painstakingly meticulous", owing to South Korea's relationship with North Korea where most of the story's plot ensues. The use of the honorific Chairman to refer to North Korea's leaders was avoided, and the North Korean lapel pins used by the cast members taking North Korean roles were one third smaller than their actual size. Props manager Joo Dong-man said the crew did not have a "guidebook on multiple hurdles he had to hop over — skillfully and delicately – to accurately depict the country while dodging criticism" and, thus, had to be careful "not to misrepresent the state". They worked with guidance from North Koreans living in South Korea and research.

The first script reading took place on July 31, 2019 in Sangam-dong, Seoul, and filming overseas started at the end of August 2019. North Korean scenes were shot in South Korea and Mongolia. Scenes that took place in Switzerland were shot on location.

Original soundtrack

Crash Landing on You: Original Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by various artists
Released	2019
Genre	Soundtrack
Language	Korean English
Label	Stone Music Entertainment, EDAM Entertainment

Crash Landing on You: Original Soundtrack

The following is the official track list of Crash Landing on You: Original Soundtrack. The tracks with no indicated lyricists and composers are the drama's musical score; the artists indicated for these tracks are the tracks' composers themselves.

CD 1

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"But It's Destiny" (우연인 듯 운명)	Jung Gu-hyun	Jung Gu-hyun	10cm	3:51
2.	"Flower"	Nam Hye-seung Park Jin-ho	Nam Hye-seung Surf Green	Yoon Mi-rae	4:12
3.	"Sunset" (노을)	Park Woo-sang	Park Woo-sang	Davichi	3:37
4.	"Here I Am Again" (다시 난, 여기)	Nam Hye-seung Surf Green	Nam Hye-seung Surf Green	Baek Ye-rin	3:55
5.	"Someday" (어떤 날엔)	Kim Ho-kyung	1601	Kim Jae-hwan	4:20
6.	"Sigriswil" (Crash Landing on You Title Full Version)	Kim Kyung-hee Nam Hye-seung	Kim Kyung-hee Nam Hye-seung Park Sang-hee	Kim Kyung-hee	3:42
7.	"Spring in My Hometown" (고향의 봄)			Nam Hye-seung Park Sang-hee	4:47
8.	"The Wind of the Day" (그날의 바람)			Nam Hye-seung Park Sang-hee	4:58
9.	"The Song for My Brother" (형을 위한 노래)			Nam Hye-seung Park Sang-hee	4:21
10.	"My Companion" (나의 동무여)			Nam Hye-seung Park Sang-hee	5:15
11.	"Like a Wild Flower" (들꽃처럼)			Nam Hye-seung Park Sang-hee	4:35
12.	"Time of Jeong-Hyeok for Se-ri" (세리를 향한 정혁의 시간)			Nam Hye-seung Park Sang-hee	1:48
13.	"Moments We Walked Together" (함께 걷던 순간)			Nam Hye-seung Go Eun-jung	2:34
14.	"Se-ri's Choice" (세리스 쵸이스)			Nam Hye-seung Park Sang-hee	1:55
Total length:					53:45

CD 2

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Photo of My Mind" (내 마음의 사진)	Nam Hye-seung Kim Kyung-hee	Nam Hye-seung Surf Green	Song Ga-in	4:34
2.	"The Hill of Yearning" (그리움의 언덕)	Nam Hye-seung Kim Kyung-hee	Nam Hye-seung Kim Kyung-hee	April 2	3:55
3.	"All of My Days" (나의 모든 날)	Nam Hye-seung B.a.B	Nam Hye-seung B.a.B	Sejeong (Gugudan)	3:58
4.	"Like You" (좋다)	Lee Geon Choi Eun-hye	Lee Geon	So Soo-bin Sohee (Nature)	3:39
5.	"Let Us Go" (둘만의 세상으로 가)	Dong Woo-seok	Dong Woo-seok Yoo Jung-hyun Jayins	Crush	3:42
6.	"Give You My Heart" (마음을 드려요)	Nam Hye-seung Park Jin-ho	Nam Hye-seung Park Jin-ho	IU	4:41
7.	"Yeong-ae and Villagers" (영애동지와 마을 사람들)			Nam Hye-seung Park Sang-hee	3:14
8.	"Chi-soo and Se-ri" (치수와 세리)			Nam Hye-seung Park Sang-hee	3:14
9.	"The Song for My Brother" (형을 위한 노래; orchestral ver.)			Nam Hye-seung Park Sang-hee	4:35
10.	"Seo Dan" (단이)			Nam Hye-seung Park Sang-hee	0:52
11.	"Same Sky, Different World" (같은 하늘, 다른 세상)			Nam Hye-seung Park Sang-hee	3:18
12.	"Picnic" (소풍)			Nam Hye-seung Park Sang-hee	3:12
13.	"The Season of Us" (너와 나의 그 계절)			Nam Hye-seung Park Sang-hee	3:47
14.	"When That Day Comes" (그날이 오면)			Nam Hye-seung Park Sang-hee	4:22
15.	"Sigriswil" (Opening Title Version)	Kim Kyung-hee Nam Hye-seung	Kim Kyung-hee Nam Hye-seung Park Sang-hee	Kim Kyung-hee	0:42
Total length:					51:27

Crash Landing on You: Original Soundtrack Parts 1–11

Part 1

Released on December 15, 2019 (2019-12-15)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"But It's Destiny" (우연인 듯 운명)	Jung Gu-hyun	Jung Gu-hyun	10cm	3:51
2.	"But It's Destiny" (Inst.)		Jung Gu-hyun		3:51
Total length:					7:42

Part 2

Released on December 22, 2019 (2019-12-22)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Flower"	Nam Hye-seung Park Jin-ho	Nam Hye-seung Surf Green	Yoon Mi-rae	4:12
2.	"Flower" (Inst.)		Nam Hye-seung Surf Green		4:12
Total length:					8:24

Part 3

Released on December 29, 2019 (2019-12-29)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Sunset" (노을)	Park Woo-sang	Park Woo-sang	Davichi	3:37
2.	"Sunset" (Inst.)		Park Woo-sang		3:37
Total length:					7:14

Part 4

Released on January 12, 2020 (2020-01-12)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Here I Am Again" (다시 난, 여기)	Nam Hye-seung Surf Green	Nam Hye-seung Surf Green	Baek Ye-rin	3:55
2.	"Here I Am Again" (Inst.)		Nam Hye-seung Surf Green		3:55
Total length:					7:50

Part 5

Released on January 19, 2020 (2020-01-19)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Someday" (어떤 날엔)	Kim Ho-kyung	1601	Kim Jae-hwan	4:20
2.	"Someday" (Inst.)		1601		4:20
Total length:					8:40

Part 6

Released on January 25, 2020 (2020-01-25)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Photo of My Mind" (내 마음의 사진)	Nam Hye-seung Kim Kyung-hee	Nam Hye-seung Surf Green	Song Ga-in	4:34
2.	"Photo of My Mind" (Inst.)		Nam Hye-seung Surf Green		4:34
Total length:					9:08

Part 7

Released on January 26, 2020 (2020-01-26)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"The Hill of Yearning" (그리움의 언덕)	Nam Hye-seung Kim Kyung-hee	Nam Hye-seung Kim Kyung-hee	April 2	3:55
2.	"The Season of Us" (너와 나의 그 계절)		Nam Hye-seung Park Sang-hee		3:47
Total length:					7:42

Part 8

Released on February 1, 2020 (2020-02-01)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"All of My Days" (나의 모든 날)	Nam Hye-seung B.a.B	Nam Hye-seung B.a.B	Sejeong (Gugudan)	3:58
2.	"All of My Days" (inst.)		Nam Hye-seung B.a.B		3:58
Total length:					7:56

Part 9

Released on February 2, 2020 (2020-02-02)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Like You" (좋다)	Lee Geon Choi Eun-hye	Lee Geon	So Soo-bin Sohee (Nature)	3:39
2.	"Like You" (inst.)		Lee Geon		3:39
Total length:					7:18

Part 10

Released on February 9, 2020 (2020-02-09)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Let Us Go" (둘만의 세상으로 가)	Dong Woo-seok	Dong Woo-seok Yoo Jung-hyun Jayins	Crush	3:42
2.	"Let Us Go" (inst.)		Dong Woo-seok Yoo Jung-hyun Jayins		3:42
Total length:					7:24

Part 11

Released on February 16, 2020 (2020-02-16)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Give You My Heart" (마음을 드려요)	Nam Hye-seung Park Jin-ho	Nam Hye-seung Park Jin-ho	IU	4:41
2.	"Give You My Heart" (inst.)		Nam Hye-seung Park Jin-ho		4:41
Total length:					9:22

Chart performance

Title	Year	Peak positions	Remarks	Ref.
		KOR
"But It's Destiny" (우연인 듯 운명) (10cm)	2019	108	Part 1
"Flower" (Yoon Mi-rae)		22	Part 2
"Sunset" (노을) (Davichi)	2020	47	Part 3
"Here I Am Again" (다시 난, 여기) (Baek Ye-rin)		4	Part 4
"Someday" (어떤 날엔) (Kim Jae-hwan)		18	Part 5
"Photo of My Mind" (내 마음의 사진) (Song Ga-in)		35	Part 6
"The Hill of Yearning" (그리움의 언덕) (April 2)		187	Part 7
"All of My Days" (나의 모든 날) (Sejeong (Gugudan))		50	Part 8
"Let Us Go" (둘만의 세상으로 가) (Crush)		3	Part 10
"Give You My Heart" (마음을 드려요) (IU)		1	Part 11

Reception

Commercial Performance

With 1.75 billion online views, Crash Landing on You outperformed the prior leader, Mr. Sunshine, for most viewed drama clips by 200 million views as of February 17, 2020. The success of the drama helped to boost brand items due to product placement. The lead characters portrayed by Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin ate Gold Olive Chicken, a product which had a 100% sales improvement due to the show. There was also an increase in sales of the Swarovski earrings worn by Son Ye-jin.

Critical response

Variety Magazine named Crash Landing on You one of "The Best International Shows on Netflix," and Time Magazine also ranked it as one of the best Korean dramas on Netflix. Elle Magazine ranked it #1 (out of 10) on the October 2020 10 Best K-Dramas To Binge-Watch On Netflix list.

Jo Walker of The Guardian's "Stream Team" called it "addictively off-the-wall, heartbreaking and hilarious," while Aljazeera stated that it is a hallyu success. Adella Suliman and Stella Kim of NBC News also suggested that the drama "features all the ingredients a viewer could wish for" and has "drawn a global audience of millions, many no doubt searching for entertainment as they while away their time in coronavirus-related lockdowns."

It was an immense success in China. The hashtag for the drama's final episode has received over 460 million views on China's Twitter-like Weibo. The streaming website for the South Korean drama, which holds the copyright in China with Chinese subtitles, crashed on the night it aired the final episode due to the enormous number of users. It was also very popular in Japan during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic via Netflix. While the Korean Wave is a historically prominent component of media within Japan, Crash Landing on You has been uniquely influential there, in part due to its portrayal of daily life in North Korea. The series was also a massive hit in the Philippines where many viewers noted similarities between the plot line and the political narrative of the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Representation of and reception in South and North Korea

General

Although the series is a work of fiction, it has received some positive reviews from North Korean defectors for its depiction of everyday life in North Korea. At the same time, some details, such as the availability of food, relatively warm behavior of the army and the ease with which the characters cross the border have been criticized. One of the extras (who portrayed a North Korean villager) is a writer and actress from North Korea who states that she felt "like [she] was actually back in a North Korean village." Kwak Moon-wan, a North Korean defector, who had served with the Supreme Guard Command (which protects the ruling Kim family) worked as an adviser for the series, providing the writers with details about life in North Korea as well as North Korean governmental agencies that added credibility to the show. He acknowledged some of the criticism, admitting that he has taken liberties with the depiction of North Korea (such as not mentioning food shortages), but rejected the claim that he was glamorizing the regime or drawing a false equivalence, saying that the show also depicted some of the darker aspect of life under the regime, such as the issue of kotjebi (child homeless) and the frequent power cuts. Some North Korean refugees, such as Chun Hyo-jin, who defected from the border village of Hyesan at the age of nineteen, tend to agree: "Even if what they say, that it glamorizes North Korea, is true, would they choose to live there? I don't think so". Even though the drama leaves political matters aside, which are essential to the North Korea issue as she sees it, she says it still is of great significance: "Its depiction of North Korea is a bit far from reality but it has made the people interested in North Korea". The drama's producer Lee Jung-hyo said during a press conference in Seoul in December: "I know some people are uncomfortable about our subject, North Korea, but we don't portray a wholly authentic North Korea in our drama. Most settings are closer to a fantasy, although some aspects do reflect real North Korean life".

Kang Nara, a North Korean defector who advised the show's production team, stated that about 60% of North Korea's depiction in the show is accurate: "The richer families in North Korea like to show off their wealth by adding lace curtains to their windows. So that was pretty well portrayed". She also appreciated the detail about kimchi caves: "Since rural North Korea doesn't get electricity, they don't have refrigerators. They have kimchi caves where they store kimchi, and that was also recreated well". House checks are also a regular affair. She revealed that she once had to hide inside a furnace at the house of the broker who helped her to escape to avoid detection. In the drama, the heiress had to hide in the kimchi storage area when security forces came knocking one night. As depicted in the drama, North Koreans are allowed to choose only from a fixed list of hair styles - 18 for women and 28 for men. "There's a punishment for you if you don't comply" Kang said in an interview with YouTube channel DKDKTV. On the other hand, as she explained in a YouTube video, the characters were able to slip across the border much more easily than in real life: "I had to pay a broker 10 million won (US$8,400) to swim across the Yalu river [which borders North Korea and China] while being shot at from behind by soldiers [when I escaped]". Cartoonist Choi Seong-guk, who defected to the South in 2011, also said the drama set is 60% accurate. The portrayal of jangmadang, or local markets where all kinds of goods, including imports from South Korea, are sold is especially real, he told The Sunday Times. However, he felt that the drama "glamorized the soldiers too much, almost to an uncomfortable extent". He said North Korean men enter the military when they are 17 and serve for 10 to 13 years. "During this time, they are... ruthless and harsh, robbing homes and raping women at night". Still, he hopes the drama will make its way to North Korea and go viral: "I hope the North Koreans who see this drama will realize how positively the South Koreans think of them and learn to change".

There were also critical responses to the themes of the drama in both regions. In January 2020, The Christian Liberal Party (CLP) filed a complaint in South Korea against tvN at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, accusing the network of glamorizing North Korea through this series, in violation of the National Security Law. Then, in March 2020, a few North Korean media outlets criticized unnamed South Korean programs and films that explored relations between North and South Korea. While Crash Landing on You was not directly mentioned by the media outlets, it was perceived to be among the referenced works. Another is the 2019 film, Ashfall, although that film was also not directly cited in the articles.

Scholarship

Stephen Epstein (Victoria University of Wellington) and Christopher Green (Leiden University) suggest that while Crash Landing on You is formulaic, it also "is a crucial text for evaluating ongoing change in South Korean popular representations of its neighbour. Indeed, given the concerted use of North Korean backdrops in Crash Landing on You and the size and global extent of its audiences, the show is likely the most noteworthy South Korean popular culture representation of North Korea yet produced.” Yun Suk-jin, a professor at Chungnam National University concurs, noting that the series "changed the stereotypes on North Korea and candidly showed that it too is a place where people live." Sarah A. Son, Lecturer in Korean Studies at the University of Sheffield also agrees, noting that Crash Landing on You responds to the "socio-cultural divide" between the North and the South, which academic scholarship cites as one of the biggest obstacles to future unification. Son argues that "through the re-framing of stereotypes, albeit with some creative licence, Crash Landing on You arguably humanises the North for its audience in ways that inter-Korean dialogue has not in recent years. Despite its soft-focus romanticisation of the political situation, Crash Landing on You brings the pain of the division to a personal level for a generation of Koreans who, unlike their grandparents, have no memory of what it was like to be a single nation."

Joanna Elfving-Hwang, associate professor of Korean studies at the University of Western Australia notes that “North Korea tends to appear in our imagination as the ‘axis of evil’, we think of [negative things like] nuclear weapons and human rights abuses...this drama has dared to think about North Korean people differently and represented them as quite human and quite Korean.” Steve Hung Lok-wai, a Korean affairs expert from Chinese University of Hong Kong states that the drama sidestepped larger political issues through a narrative that did not end with the male lead's defection: "Lots of people questioned whether the male lead, the North Korean soldier, would end up defecting to the South for love, but they were able to sidestep that scenario and gave it a plausible ending where the two would meet in Switzerland". Thus, he argues, it's "quite smart because they avoided all the real taboos but made it believable enough where it would make people think about these political problems." John Delury, a professor at Yonsei University, praised the series for its decision to draw parallels between powerful families in both the South and the North, and to humanize North Koreans beyond generic stereotypes.

Ratings

This series aired on tvN, a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS). Crash Landing on You is the third highest-rated South Korean TV drama in cable television history. Early in its run, Crash Landing on You was the fourth highest rated Korean cable drama. The final episode's ratings made it the third highest rated Korean drama in cable television history, surpassing fellow tvN dramas Reply 1988 and Guardian: The Lonely and Great God.

Crash Landing on You : South Korea viewers per episode (millions)

Season		Episode number																Average
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
	1	1.508	1.773	1.894	2.225	2.210	2.414	2.510	3.043	2.941	3.927	3.726	4.782	3.998	5.119	4.898	6.337	3.331

Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Media Research.

Average TV viewership ratings

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share (AGB Nielsen)
		Nationwide	Seoul
1	December 14, 2019	6.074% (1st)	6.558% (1st)
2	December 15, 2019	7.845% (1st)	7.841% (1st)
3	December 21, 2019	7.414% (1st)	7.689% (1st)
4	December 22, 2019	9.499% (1st)	9.409% (1st)
5	December 28, 2019	9.730% (1st)	9.794% (1st)
6	December 29, 2019	9.223% (1st)	9.535% (1st)
7	January 11, 2020	9.394% (1st)	9.738% (1st)
8	January 12, 2020	11.349% (1st)	12.031% (1st)
9	January 18, 2020	12.516% (1st)	12.355% (1st)
10	January 19, 2020	14.633% (1st)	15.903% (1st)
11	February 1, 2020	14.238% (1st)	14.648% (1st)
12	February 2, 2020	15.933% (1st)	16.413% (1st)
13	February 8, 2020	14.097% (1st)	14.620% (1st)
14	February 9, 2020	17.705% (1st)	18.612% (1st)
15	February 15, 2020	17.066% (1st)	17.406% (1st)
16	February 16, 2020	21.683% (1st)	23.249% (1st)
Average		12.400%	12.863%
Special	January 4, 2020	4.810% (1st)	4.253% (1st)
Special	January 5, 2020	3.975% (1st)	3.252% (1st)
Special	January 25, 2020	4.180% (1st)	4.283% (1st)
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. On December 31, 2019, it was announced that the series would take a temporary hiatus and postponed the episodes that were scheduled to air on January 4 and 5. It was in order to protect the cast and crew from unsafe filming conditions due to the cold winter weather. Instead, tvN aired reruns of previous episodes that were specially re-edited for viewers.

Honors, awards, and nominations

In May 2020 the show's scriptwriter, Park Ji-eun, was named "Person of the Year" by South Korea's Unification Ministry, for contributing to "unification education."

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result	Note
2020	56th Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Drama	Crash Landing on You	Nominated
		Best Director	Lee Jung-hyo	Nominated
		Best Actor	Hyun Bin	Nominated
		Best Actress	Son Ye-jin	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Yang Kyung-won	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Kim Sun-young	Won
			Seo Ji-hye	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Park Ji-eun	Nominated
		Popularity Award	Hyun Bin	Won
			Son Ye-jin	Won
		Bazaar Icon Award	Seo Ji-hye	Won
	15th Seoul International Drama Awards	Best Mini-series	Crash Landing on You	Nominated
		Outstanding Korean Drama		Won
		Outstanding Korean Actress	Son Ye-jin	Won
	Asian Academy Creative Awards	Best Drama Series (Korea)	Crash Landing on You	Won
	2nd Asia Contents Awards	Best Asian Drama	Crash Landing on You	Pending
		Best Creative		Pending
		Best Writer	Park Ji-eun	Pending
	Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards	Prime Minister's Commendation	Hyun Bin	Pending
			Park Ji-eun	Pending

See also

• List of original programs distributed by Netflix

External links

• Official website (in Korean)
• Crash Landing on You at Netflix
• Crash Landing on You at IMDb
• Crash Landing on You at HanCinema
• Crash Landing on You at Rotten Tomatoes
• The two Koreas according to Crash Landing on You at The Swoon/Netflix