Summary
I visited North Korea in 2015, a few years beforeCrash Landing On Youpremiered, on a six-day tour with a tour company offering access to the hermit kingdom. It was an eye-opening experience inside the world’s most secretive nation, and although North Korean guides carefully monitored your every move, it was impossible to ignore its problems. So, when I watchedCrash Landing, I could see many aspects reflected from my time there, as great care and attention was given to ensure it was an authentic representation of the country. However, the K-Drama didn’t exactly get everything right.
Crash Landing On Youis one of the most successful andwidely loved K-Dramas. It was one of the few times a mainstream South Korean show had depicted a romantic tryst with a North Korean person,giving the forbidden love trope a fresh new take. It follows the story of achaebolheiress,Yoon Se-ri (Son Ye-jin), who accidentally lands in North Korea. She meets Ri Jeong-hyeok (Hyun Bin), a well-connected North Korean soldier, who looks after her and attempts a near-impossible mission of returning her to Seoul. And, of course, Se-ri quickly falls in love with her savior.
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What Crash Landing On You Gets Wrong About Food In North Korea
It’s Much More Bland Than In The Show
Through her time in Jeong-hyeok’s home and village, Se-ri frequently helps herself to his food, eating regular meals, even if they’re beneath her usual standards. She enjoys grilled meats, fresh fruit and vegetables, and handmade noodles, and while the portions are smaller, the quality of ingredients looks exceptionally high. Despite North Korea’s ongoing food supply issues,Crash Landing On Youdoesn’t seem to see food scarcity as a problem at all.
[We even visited] an “authentic” pizza restaurant and a fast food place at an amusement park.
My experience with food in North Korea will be skewed. As with most cultures, our hosts wanted us to feel welcome, so there was never a lack of food on the trip. It wasn’t exactly in abundance, buta lot of care and attention clearly went into ensuring our tastes were met. This even included visiting an “authentic” pizza restaurant and a fast food place at an amusement park. However, North Korea is still a country with severe food shortages, so food frequently lacked seasonings, and despite Korean cuisine being flavorful, most of the food on my trip was bland.
On the flight from Beijing to Pyongyang, the plane was packed with North Korean soldiers returning home. Like Hyun Bin’s character, many upper-level soldiers are permitted outside of North Korea. Judging by my flight, thesesoldiers also tend to return with boxes of popular brands of instant noodles. As Jeong-hyeok could somewhat freely leave the country, he would easily have had access to the convenience of these noodles and wouldn’t have needed to make them for Se-ri on her first day. This adds to the impression thatCrash Landing On You’s representation of food isn’t entirely accurate.
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Other Ways Crash Landing On You Doesn’t Accurately Reflect North Korea
The Crash Landing Stars And Extras Look Too Polished And Well-Fed
A lot of work went into ensuringCrash Landing On Youdepicted an authentic view of North Korea. The production worked closely with North Korean defectors in South Korea so that props, decor, fashions, and other details were correct. One such defector, who played a villager in the K-Drama, stated in an interview (viaThe Straits Times) that when she was on set,“I felt like I was actually back in a North Korean village.”
There are also tight restrictions on what you’re allowed to show about North Korea in South Korea, sothe production team needed to be mindful that they didn’t violate the National Security Act.This meant removing items mandated in North Korea, such as the portraits of the leaders in the home, and making mandatory lapel pins smaller and less conspicuous. It also meant changing some of the typical language used in North Korea to refer to its revered leaders. In addition to these small details, the soldiers' uniforms in the K-Drama were well-tailored, whereas those in North Korea frequently wore oversized uniforms and hats.
North Korean People Are Just As Welcoming As They Are In Crash Landing On You
Despite The Anti-Westerner Propaganda, People Were Always Warm And Friendly
I wasn’t sure how the North Korean people would respond to foreigners in their country, and before I arrived, I steeled myself for the possibility that we would be made to feel unwelcome. North Korea produces a lot of local propaganda about the evils of the United States and the West. Although I’m not an American, I still represent the West in their country, soit seemed plausible that I would receive a hostile reception.
But the reality couldn’t have been further from the truth. LikeCrash Landing On You, I foundeveryone we encountered to be very warm and welcoming. When kids on school buses passed our tour bus, they would wave and smile at us, as did locals of all ages in the rural villages we visited. Even our guides were friendly and open to discuss (some) topics about their country. Despite all that propaganda, the North Korean people were always kind, and I never felt unwanted.
North Korea is a strange place to visit. AlthoughCrash Landing On Youdid a great job of recreating an idealized version of village life in the country, it missed some aspects of life there that show it’s not so rosy. This doesn’t detract from the show, however, as it keeps its core message centered on love and acceptance.
Crash Landing On You
Cast
Crash Landing on You is a romantic drama series that follows a South Korean heiress who accidentally lands in North Korea after a paragliding incident. She encounters an army officer who, despite the political tensions, aids her in concealment, forging an unexpected connection amidst their contrasting worlds.
