Local personalities such as television host Bianca Gonzalez, former senator JV Ejercito and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio were not spared from the K-drama fever as they shared their own reactions on the popular cross-border romance.
South Korean romance series “Crash Landing on You” ended its run last Sunday, February 16, and smashed television ratings when it set the new highest viewership ratings in the history of tvN, the cable network it belongs to.
The series became one of the most talked about shows in the local online community as hashtags such as “#CrashLandingOnYouFinale” gained traction on social media.
“Crash Landing on You” tells the story of a billionaire heiress who accidentally paraglides into North Korea and falls in love with a chivalrous army officer serving Kim Jong Un.
It stars Hyun Bin as Ri Jeong-hyuk, the officer, and Son Ye-jin as Yoon Se-ri, the heiress.
The series can also be watched through streaming giant Netflix, which makes it more accessible to people who are not subscribers of the cable network the show is associated with, particularly Filipinos who are addicted to K-dramas.
Gonzalez shared, likely tongue-in-cheek, that she’s “afraid” to start watching the series since she might lose her time that is supposed to be devoted to her husband and children.
Afraid to even start Crash Landing On You kasi I cannot afford to lose sleep/time for kids and husband/time for work huhu #paano
— Bianca Gonzalez (@iamsuperbianca) February 17, 2020
Ejercito, for his part, also binge-watched the series and claimed that the suspense twists and turns made it “so worth watching.”
In the replies thread of one of his tweets, he shared that he struggled to sleep for “three nights” because of watching the series.
Grabe pala itong mga Korean Novela hirap iwan! Kaya pala daming addict! Hehe!
Curious lang ako sa Netflix at nag preview ng “Crashlanding On You”. Ngayon 3 gabi na ako nanonood! Haha!
— JV Ejercito (@jvejercito) February 12, 2020
It was a happy ending after all. Maganda ang istorya ha!
The suspense, the twists & turns made Crash Landing On You so worth watching! Hehe!#CrashLandingOnYouFinale #crashinglandingonyou pic.twitter.com/KbqnU7Vycj
— JV Ejercito (@jvejercito) February 16, 2020
Meanwhile, Duterte-Carpio couldn’t help but post an edited photo showing herself as one of the series’ character, Yoon Se-ri, staring at the captain.
“Hyun Bin posters for sale,” the presidential daughter wrote in her post.
“Crash Landing on You” is said to appeal to “both romantics and political junkies” due to its comedic yet geopolitically relevant style, according to Cinema Escapist, a publisher of insightful commentaries on unconventional films and television series.
It introduces the “inter-Korean politics of love” with “novel gender dynamics,” the website noted.
“In such Korean dramas featuring North Koreans, male North Koreans usually come off as coarse, contrasting with smooth-talking and smooth-skinned South Korean male leads. It’s also usually the South Korean male who woos the North Korean female, with power dynamics in the South’s favor,” Cinema Escapist said.
“This mirrors real-life perceptions. Most North Korean defectors are female, and popular South Korean matchmaking shows have perpetuated a stereotype that Northern women and Southern men are the most attractive pairing,” it added.
