Rosy Zhao and Expeditions
Hello there! I'm back with another article of mine. I hope all of you are doing well. Here's a drama to cheer you up in case you need loveliness.
WARNING: This article contains spoilers.
[All links are this shade of red.]
Introducing Crash Landing on You
 |
After getting into a paragliding accident, a South Korean heiress, and owner of Se Ri's Choice, Yoon Se Ri ends up in North Korea. There, she meets an army officer, Ri Jung Hyuk, and asks him for help. Reluctantly, he agrees to help her and tells her the way back but she, in the spur of the moment goes to the wrong path and ends up in front of his house. Then on, both of them live together trying to figure out ways to send Se Ri back to her own country and develop feelings for each other soon. Amongst all the inharmony of the two countries, Ri Jung Hyuk, his friends, and Se Ri develop a strong bond of friendship. "It wasn't a co-incidence, it was fate." |
Authenticity
How could she land in North Korea which is about 50 miles (or something) from where she was experimenting with her product? Many of you might have had this thought, therefore, just so that it's clear. There are chances that she would have landed in North Korea if the given series of events happened. (Source, thanks to @Asuna for this extraordinary information.)
 |  |
Son Ye Jin as Yoon Se Ri Yoon Se Ri is an independent businesswoman and owner of Se Ri's Choice and is also chosen as the heiress of her father's Queen Group. She is a picky person and is also called the "picky princess" but knows when to act like an heiress. She is ruthless when it comes to business but is very kind in real life. She also hates to lose and rarely gives up. She is a strong person and knows how to deal with situations. "She is my favorite character because of her hard-working personality." ~Xie Lalisa | Hyun Bin as Ri Jung Hyuk Ri Jung Hyuk is the son of an influential man in North Korea who aspired to be a pianist but ended up coming to the army after his elder brother's death. He is also trying to figure out the mystery behind his brother's death. He helps Yoon Se Ri several times and is engaged to another lady. He is a man of his words and tries his best to fulfill his promises. "A quiet philosopher and tomato plant caretaker with a 'low voice'—the kindest man I believe I’ve ever seen in any narrative." ~ Yupon68 (review) |
 |  |
Seo Ji Hye as Seo Dan She is engaged to Ri Jung Hyuk and has had a crush on him since her teenage years. She is protective of him and tries to get Se Ri away from him. She is the first one outside the friend circle of Jung Hyuk to discover Se Ri's real identity. She remains infatuated with Jung Hyuk for quite some time while Gu Seung Jun tries a lot to make her see the reality. She is the heiress of a North Korean department store. "The love that you had once is rotten now. It's time to throw it away or you'll keep getting hurt." ~Goo Seung Jun | Kim Jung Hyun as Gu Seung Jun He is a South Korean con-man with British citizenship, also known by the name Alberto. He met Se Ri on a blind date set up by her brother and fell for her. He came to North Korea for 10 years in order to escape the South Korean police who are searching for him. After getting discovered by Se Ri's brother he uses Se Ri as a bait to keep on living. He has a playful personality with a sense of humor and acts like a know-it-all in terms of love. "Why does Jung Hyuk not like an attractive woman like you?" ~ Seung Jun to Seo Dan. |
Here's a relationship chart that describes Se Ri's and Jung Hyuk's relationship as "homeowner" and "uninvited guest". Seo Dan and Jung Hyuk are in "a relationship decided by their parents". Seung Jun and Se Ri "met on a blind date". Interestingly, Seung Jun forms a (one-sided) relationship with Seo Dan that reads, “You’re just my style.” Jung Hyuk and Seung Jun's relationship reads "Who are you? My rival?" and so does, Seo Dan's and Se Ri's.
(source)
Friendship and more friendship
From sharing numerous secrets to being loyal even under torture, the characters don't fail to warm up the viewers' hearts with witty and humorous talks and jokes. I have included some of the incidents below:
Pyo Chi Su vs Yoon Se Ri:
This is the funniest duo and their fights entertain everybody. They try to show that they hate each other but in fact, it's not like that. Pyo Chi Su keeps on joking about burying Yoon Se Ri somewhere. "Captain do you have a shovel or a pickax? Spare me some time. We have many rivers and mountains. There are countless places where we could bury her in our country." Even at their last goodbye, "If you come back again, I will bury you at a mountain or a river." Se Ri teased Chi Su when they first met, "How do you chop someone's head off? I've never done that before."
Even their cursing competition is fun and challenging, "Should I reply you back with some South Korean cursings?"
"Did you make the food? Did you make the patient eat it? Gosh, it
must have been as lethal as a bomb!"
The goodbye poem by Pyo Chi Su was the best comeback K-drama history has seen! Where's the friendship here, you would wonder? The birthday party and these little annoying talks make them seem like siblings, doesn't it? See more of it here.
The Most Handsome one and Yoon Se Ri:
Does Yoon Se Ri ever get tired of admiring how handsome Kwang Beom is? Absolutely not! [Does Xie Lalisa? Not at all!] Being the most handsome one, Kwang Beom was always appreciated by Yoon Se Ri for "brightening the day" with his face. He seems just like some little cute brother of Se Ri when he appreciates her for having a "good taste".
He even got a prize for being the most handsome one, and well he is one of the reasons Jung Hyuk discovers his love for Se Ri after getting jealous again and again.
His true friendship and loyalty are shown when he decided to help Jung Hyuk in making Se Ri escape and ends up getting hurt in the process.
The "SHE MUST BE ALIVE" Duo:
Are you about to give up hope? Learn from Mr. Hong (the team manager of Se Ri's Choice) and Park Su Chan (the insurance company employee). Even though they are side characters that everyone forgets about after watching a drama, they play a very important role in keeping it all together. "She must be alive" was their main motto to stay in the drama but their friendship was just as incredible as the drama. Ever heard of friends through thick and thin? They were that type! Though it were the circumstances that led to them suffering together, their friendship just seemed inspiring.
The kindest one as the maknae:
Geum Eun Dong, who is 18, is the youngest and the kindest one in the group. He is also awarded a prize by Se Ri for being the kindest. He, despite being young never leaks a bit of information on Se Ri and Jung Hyuk even after being tortured. Having a mother who is ill and little siblings, he is someone who others think can easily be tempted to betray his friends, but this maknae of ours doesn't fail to gain recognition from the viewers' hearts for his honesty, cuteness and kindness.
The K-Drama Fan in the fishing group:
The character all of us can surely vibe with, in this drama is Kim Ju Muk, our loyal K-drama lover. How is he any similar to us? Watching K-dramas during his duty (like some of us do at our offices and schools), finding another K-drama lover accidentally (that we all yearn for) and then, having so many of the K-drama talks (that our feed is full of). What more? The second lead syndrome and spoilers! "Did he really die in the drama?" "Why did he have to die after he loved the female lead so much?" Is he different from us in any way? And now, we come to the fish group or the fish catching group! "Let's have some fish because I can't eat an animal I've had eye contact with." Is there anybody who doesn't like going to picnics and eating fish? But what to do when you don't have any fish to eat? Catch it, of course. And here comes the fish group with their great catching skills enjoying their day off with Se Ri.
The Ladies Gang:
"Let's have some DP and beer."
The ladies gang's friends
hip was much more visible in the last part of the drama. Earlier on, their favorite past-time that all of them share (before having invited Se Ri into their ladies gang) was fangirling about Jung Hyuk.
Later on, they change to listening about Se Ri and Jung Hyuk's love life and how her love rival Seo Dan is a witch. Well, after our main lady is back to South Korea and the gang leader Young Ae's husband is arrested, they all show their real friendship.
Soon after, they are friends with Seo Dan and now it's Seung Jun who is their target. Their power isn't lesser than any army team while the cleverness they harbor makes them ideal. My personal favorite in the ladies gang was the Rat's wife, Myung Sook. What about yours?
The Confused Five:
By the confused five, I'm referring to Pyo Chi Su, Park Kwang Beom, Kim Ju Muk, Geum Eun Dong, and Jung Man Bok (the Rat or the wiretapper). The "confused" five enter South Korea to look for the fifth person in the five musketeers (see next part). They end up roaming around and getting confused at certain actions of the South Koreans. Their immense friendship is seen when Chi Su gives his shoes to the maknae after he lost his because of falling asleep. Sleeping next to each other and being their only support was how their friendship developed while living their "luxurious" life in South Korea.
There were so many more but I'm not including them because they might turn out to be major spoilers, and so the last one is here!
Barbie and the Five Musketeers:
Talking about the collective group of Jung Hyuk, Se Ri, Chi Su, Kwang Beom, Ju Muk, and Eun Dong, the first picture that would come to anyone's mind (who has seen the drama) will be them working together in Jung Hyuk's house, teasing each other, eating and drinking together and the best of all, discussing Korean Dramas just like we MDLers do on the feeds. Some other fun moments that I really liked were Barbie (Se Ri) giving finger hearts to everyone while the five musketeers trying to figure out, with the help of their South Korea expert, what she means. The birthday celebration and even remaining loyal after being tortured is what I loved about their friendship!
In most dramas, miscommunication is the reason why we all suffer along with the main leads but there isn't much miscommunication here, partly because of our straightforward leads. There's no frustration here because of some ex-es or a second lead or something, instead, we get to enjoy a pure and happy relationship!
Also, not just with the main leads, there are rare misunderstandings among some of our favorite characters as well which includes the ladies gang and the confused five. Everybody's working together to solve the mystery of Jung Hyuk's brother's death and in the meanwhile, understanding each other's worth in their life just like we need to irl!
VISUALS and PERSONALITIES
Yeah, visuals do wonders but so does the personality.
Most of the characters here have gotten a wonderful personality (you can't ask that for the villains, can you? So, I mean the ones you'll feel attached to!) and of course, the visuals are really good as well...
Here's some free serotonin!
Captain Ri and his soft touches  | Captain Ri and his secret glances  |
Captain Ri and his "survival instinct"  | Captain Ri with his devoted fiance  |
Captain Ri and his "I-need-to-save-you" look  | Captain Ri and his aegyo squirm  |
Quotes and gifs can be found here
Boycotting Loneliness and Negativity
One of the biggest reasons why I recommend this drama is it's positivity.
Here's a bit of a glimpse into it:
Why does the wind blow?
It blows to move on, not to stay.
The wind needs to keep moving for me to fly ~Yoon Se Ri~
Happiness and sadness are like a coin that has two sides that will alternate. ~Ri Jung Hyuk~
If your view of something is already negative, then everything will look wrong in your eyes. ~Go Myung Suk~
Why do we have eyes in front of our heads?
It means we must face forward.
Put your past behind you and face forward now. ~Go Myung Suk~
The person you should never forget in your life is not someone you hate, but someone you like. While keeping someone you hate in your heart, your heart will be scared and hurt. It will only be your loss. And I know you are losing more than anyone else does. ~Ri Jung Hyuk~
Don’t carve your love in your heart. Carve it in your brain. If you carve it in your heart, you can’t live. It hurts. ~Ma Yeong Ae~
My personal favorites:
Even if I have to worry about losing you every day, I want to have you in my life. Even if it breaks my heart because it’s a dream that can’t come true, I’d like to sincerely dream of the future. ~Ri Jung Hyuk~
At the end of that long dream, I finally made a choice. That even if I go back in the past, even if I do for a hundred more times, I will still choose to meet you. ~Yoon Se Ri~
Last but not the least, a beautiful partner accompanying the sweet plot: OST!
Here are some of the songs (Spotify links attached):
- But it's destiny
- Flower
- Sunset
- Here I Am Again
- Someday
- Photo of My Mind
- The Hill Of Yearning
- The Season of Us
- All of My Days
- Like You
- Let Us Go
- Give You My Heart
That's all! I'll be bidding you a farewell now!
Have you seen this drama already? If so, what do you feel about it?
If you haven't watched it, do plan on watching it now, why or why not?
Credits and acknowledgments: All the gifs that are not credited are self-made. All the images that are not credited are either self-taken screenshots from dramas or from MyDramaList. Thanks to the editors! Thanks to @Sparkle for making the banners! |
Edited by: SumiTheCat (1st editor), devitto (2nd editor)
