When I first arrived in Korean in 1999, I met a young pastor who lamented the fact that Korea just didn’t seem to be able to produce good drama. I’ve lost touch with him, but I’m sure his view of Korean drama has changed dramatically in the past 25 years.

I started watching K-dramas about a year ago. I’m hooked and I’d like to tell you why.  

Let’s start today with the blockbuster Crash Landing on You (사랑의불시착).

A friend of mine raved about it and tried to convince me to watch it. I was reluctant at first because I just don’t like romantic comedy. But her resistance wore me down and so I eventually tried the first episode.

At first, I felt very uncomfortable watching it because I didn’t feel the situation between North and South Korea was something to be laughed at. I decided to stick it out for the first episode. (In general, I’ve found you have to watch one to two episodes of a K-drama before you can really decide if you like it.) By the end of the first episode, I was falling about laughing. I decided to continue watching the series but to remember that the North Korea portrayed in the drama is a fictional country that bears little resemblance to anything in the real world.

With any K-drama, it’s the characters that grab me. I saw Hyun Bin (현빈) interviewed about Crash Landing on You.  He said the challenge in playing Ri Jeong-hyeok was in making a totally unbelievable scenario seem believable. Well, he did a great job, as did Son Ye-jin (손예진).

My favourite scene is when Se-ri wakes up in the hospital and calls Jeong-hyeok. In K-dramas, the following scene is far too common: someone is lying unconscious in a hospital bed and a loved-one is waiting by their side, begging them to wake up. However, the scene in Crash Landing on You is a bit different. The family waiting by Se-ri’s bedside want her to die. I love the scene where Jeong-hyeok is standing outside the hospital and he takes a phone call. He then hears Se-ri’s weak voice saying, “What kind of a bodyguard are you? You’re supposed to watch over me, but I wake up and you’re not here.” I thought it was a lovely, fresh take on an old, overdone situation.  

I also love the scene on the road at the border between North and South Korea where Jeong-hyeok and Se-ri are forced apart. I know it’s a ridiculous scene, but I love it anyway.

So, what do you think? Do you agree with my opinion? What did you think about Crash Landing on You? Please let me know.