Crash Landing On You and the Making of a New Generation of Kdrama Fans

Spoiler Alert! We're doing a deep dive on Crash Landing on You so this episode is jam-packed with spoilers (as usual).

1:16 We give a shoutout to the power of Boys Over Flowers. Our last episode had four times the number of listens of our previous two episodes combined. 😲 Pretty powerful for a 12-year-old drama based on a 30-year-old franchise. That sound you hear is feminism weeping.

2:22: Welcome India! You now make up 60% of our listeners. Since we all started out YouTubing, podcasting, and tweeting about Indian movies, we are extremely happy that you all found our podcast.

4:10 Listener feedback on our Boys Over Flowers episode! A big thank you to everyone who listened and shared their reactions with us. It was a challenging episode to record and we’re gratified by the response.

7:34 Start of the Crash Landing on You discussion. The podcast team had a LOT of disagreement on this one, ranging from pure love for this drama (Melanie!) to active annoyance (um, the rest of the Daebak team). 

20:00 We discuss the elements that make CLOY very accessible to new viewers: Se Ri as a point of view character in North Korea and the Ducklings as the point of view characters in South Korea (double fish out of water!). Also, there’s a soldier obsessed with Kdramas who explains the tropes to new viewers.

22:25 We have a FANGIRL FREAKOUT over how gorgeous Hyun Bin is in this drama. 

23:30 Is Captain Ri too perfect? Alisa thinks so!

25:20 Shoutout to all of the supporting actors who are a who’s who of character actors in Korea (Seo Dan’s mother and uncle both appeared in Parasite!)

28:20 Alisa braces herself for fangirl hate and goes deep on what frustrated her about the main romance. Captain Ri was too perfect (and maybe a little boring?) Vickey agrees! 

29:25 Melanie astutely points out that Se Ri is a gender-flipped portrayal of the cold, arrogant chaebol who is redeemed by love. She also explains why Capt. Ri is a cinnamon roll hero.

35:52 We talk about S-E-X and the lack of it in CLOY. Why is this drama so chaste???

43:16 How did Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin’s real life romance affect their chemistry in CLOY and how much has their relationship contributed to the popularity of this drama?

48:08 Vickey points out that CLOY serves up a lot of standard romance tropes—but when done right, they satisfy.

50:58 The mythic portrayal of North Korea and parallels with Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.

54:24 Alisa rants about the stupid villain and death truck storyline 

58:26 We give some love to Seo Dan and Seung Jun, who deserved more character development and a happy ending

1:02:37 We agree that Man Bok’s story is one of the best things in the drama

1:05:26 Capt. Ri and Se Ri’s separation at the border is a metaphor for the political machinery that separates the two Koreas.

1:07:31 How come Se Ri saw Capt. Ri’s scars for the first time in the hospital? Shouldn’t she already know exactly where all those scars are on his body??? (yes, we’re going on about sex again)

1:08:42 Katherine reminds us that it’s obvious Crash Landing on You is pitching itself to an audience outside of South Korea

1:14:47 CLOY’s references to Stairway to Heaven and other classic dramas 

1:20:31 Katherine compares Hyun Bin in CLOY with his portrayal of a North Korean soldier in Confidential Assignment

1:25:16 We discuss the reaction of CLOY fans to the romance between Son Ye Jin and Hyun Bin. Is it a bit creepy/obsessive? Sometimes!

1:29:15 We suggest dramas to watch after CLOY

1:32:15 Do we think this will be a classic of the future? Ten years from now, will people still be watching Crash Landing on You?