Beyond Enemy Lines

The recent crop of films on North-South Korea relations reflects a deep-seated yearning for the reunification of Korea

- Apeksha Priyadarshini

Arosy dawn breaks on the border, where the flags on both sides flutter high. Four North Korean soldiers are trudging along, patrolling the area. One of them is enthusiastically singing along with the South Korean anthem: “Splendid rivers and mountains/Filled with roses of Sharon…/ Great Koreans, to the Great Korean way/Always stay true…” “Do you remember it all?” his Comrade asks him. “We hear the song when the sun comes up and goes down every day. How can I not?” he retorts. “I guess even people from South Korea wouldn’t know all the lyrics,” he adds, with a hint of pride.

In an interview, Park Ji Eun—who has co-written the Netflix miniseries Crash Landing on You (2019)—explained that she was inspired to write the story after the incident of a South Korean actress accidentally going over to the North in 2008. This made her wonder about “the place that was close but forbidden.” “That’s when I realised,” she said, “Is North Korea that close? Is it so close that you can get there after letting your mind slip for a second?”

Directed by Lee Jeong-hyo, Crash Landing on You (2019) reflects a deep-seated yearning for the improbable—the reunification of Korea. The series leads a string of successful films that fall under the umbrella of the “buddy trope” films. As the name goes, these films move past the convention demonising the neighbour. They are marked by a warm curiosity about the other, looking for ways to seek cultural similiarities while exploring the history of differences.

Crash Landing on You is prominent in the pool of South Korean films and series, where efforts to showcase the complexities of the North and South relations have been made, ever since the inception of the film industry. South Korean visual culture has often mirrored the ebbs and flows of the North-South ties across the decades since WW II. The 1950s saw films like Kim Ki-young’s