The recent announcement that Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin, stars of the South Korean drama “Crash Landing on You,” are getting married is a hot topic in North Korea. The love story of Yun Se Ri, a South Korean chaebol heiress who “crash lands” in North Korea, and Lee Jong Hyok, a North Korean officer who protects her, seems to have tugged at many people’s heartstrings in the country.
Daily NK recently spoke with people living in various regions of North Korea about the news. Many who had heard about the marriage could not hide their excitement.
One woman in her 30s who lives in North Hamgyong Province’s China-North Korea border region said that after hearing the news of the marriage her “heart started beating as if she knew them personally.”
“These characters shared a special love in the show, and people are saying they want to run up and congratulate them personally [about the marriage],” she added.
She went on to say that while watching the show, she hoped that the two would get married despite their differences in nationality, and was happy that this wish had come true. “I hope to live in a world where everyone is comfortable with one another and young people from both Koreas can fall in love,” she added.
A woman in her 40s living in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK that she began crying when she heard the news of the marriage.
“While watching ‘Crash Landing on You’ with my best friends, we wished that the two characters hailing from different Koreas would really fall in love. I think I cried at the thought of that becoming a reality, rather than just something that happened in a drama,” she added.
Some of the North Korean women Daily NK approached for comment seem to have forgotten that the portrayal of love between the two characters in the show was just fictional. As evidence of their close connection with the show, some actually expressed the belief that the two characters – one from South Korea and the other from North Korea – have fallen in love in real life.
The woman in her 40s pointed out that even the main characters from another South Korean drama, “Descendants of the Sun,” got married in real life. “I think the drama created the basis for them to fall in love, but they eventually got divorced. Some women have said that they hope Jong Hyok and Se Ri do not turn out like the characters in ‘Descendants of the Sun.’”
Another woman in her 20s who lives in Pyongyang told Daily NK how much she loves Hyun Bin and that she felt bad when she heard about the news of the marriage. “I think Jong Hyok and Se Ri’s love is memorable as it’s a love that transcends different systems, political views, and nations,” she said. “As the old saying goes, South Korean men are handsome while North Korean women are beautiful. I think that suggests that we [North Korean women] can experience something like this in the future.”
After news of the marriage broke, it became trendy for North Koreans to watch the drama “Crash Landing on You” again.
The woman in her 40s told Daily NK that even officials charged with cracking down on foreign media content have watched the drama with their families, laughing and crying the whole time. “There are people who watch it again, and when they do, I think they sense that these two really like each other,” she said.
The woman from Pyongyang mentioned that “Crash Landing on You” does not badmouth North Korea. “As a result, there are a lot of people who watch it a second time, even now,” she said, adding, “The news has spread that the main characters have gotten married, so everyone will continue to watch it.”
Expressing her hope for a sequel, the woman further noted that, “Everyone wants to see a second season that explores what’s next for the married couple.”
South Korean actor Hyun Bin had announced the news of the marriage through a handwritten letter that stated: “The show’s Jong Hyuk and Se Ri would like to share their lives together.” In short, he expressed appreciation for the show, which had been a catalyst for the two actors to form a relationship.
When a woman in Jagang Province was told about Hyun Bin’s statement, she remarked that she would watch “Crash Landing on You” again because the North Korean character Jung Hyuk (Hyun Bin), who stirred the hearts of North Koreans, had expressed such an “attachment” to the drama.
“Many people have watched this show, and it will become more popular thanks to the news of their upcoming marriage,” she added.
Translated by Jason Mallet
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
