When it comes to quality K-dramas, there are plenty to choose from on Netflix, but few are as impressive asCrash Landing on You. The series broke records when it was first released in South Korea between 2019 and 2020, and subsequently became a huge hit on the world’s most popular streaming platform.
Crash Landing on Youalso has a 100% score on the critical aggregator siteRotten Tomatoes. The limited series has received considerable international acclaim since being picked up by Netflix, and some would say it is thebest romantic K-drama ever made. Across the show’s 16 episodes, it’s easy to see why critics are so impressed.
Starring Hyun Binand Son Ye-jin as its protagonists,Crash Landing on Youisa story of love conquering all, in which a relationship manages to transcend the heavily guarded dividing line between North and South Korea. Blending romance with social commentary and coming-of-age drama, the series is truly one of a kind, more than earning the success it’s had.
Crash Landing On You Was A Ratings Juggernaut At The Time Of Airing
The Series Broke Viewing Records For Korean TV
Upon its arrival first on the Korean TV channel tvN and then on Netflix,Crash Landing on Youbecame a K-drama megahit. The show broke tvN’s record for a K-drama’s highest viewing figures, and held onto it for almost five years. Its finale took a staggering 21.7% share of the TV audience in South Korea (viaKorea Times).
The series began airing on tvN in December 2019, securing an audience of over 1.5 million viewers. This number steadily increased episode by episode, with over 3 million people tuning in to watch the show’s eighth episode. By its last three episodes,Crash Landing on Youwas garnering an audience of around 5 million.
Episode 16, the show’s final, was watched by a whopping 6.4 million Koreanswhen it first aired. When tvN’s K-dramaQueen of Tearsfinally broke the records set byCrash Landing on Youin 2024, the show had held them for over four years. Internationally, meanwhile, it blazed a trail for K-drama romances to come.
Crash Landing On You Was Also Massive On Netflix
It’s Been Viewed Billions Of Times Since Its Arrival In 2020
After appearing on Netflix internationally during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic,Crash Landing on Yousoon became a major hit in Japan, the Philippines, and India.Its popularity then spread across the entire globe, with the series racking up billions of viewing hours and tens of millions of viewers on the platform worldwide.
The show was still in Netflix’s top 10 most-viewed K-dramas in 2024, with its 131.2 million viewing hours in the first half of the year alone representingover 5 million unique viewers.Crash Landing on Youmay well have accrued a Netflix audience of over 10 million across all 12 months of last year.
Crash Landing on Youis very different fromQueen of Tears, but they share the feat of turning a very Korean romance story into a truly global phenomenon. These two shows areeasily the most successful romantic K-dramas in the history of Netflix, and their stature on the platform goes from strength to strength.
What Made Crash Landing On You So Popular
Its Star Quality & The Timing Of Its Release Helped Pull Audiences In
Part of what initially drew Korean audiences toCrash Landing on Youwas the star power of its two lead actors.Son Ye Jin is among the biggest and best K-drama starsaround, and so is Hyun Bin, who has been a household name for two decades now.
What’s more,the two actors have proven chemistrysince appearing together in the 2018 crime thriller movieThe Negotiation. Casting them as star-crossed lovers overcoming Korea’s North-South divide pretty much guaranteed a certain amount of success. But the quality ofCrash Landing on Youwas a major factor in its popularity, too.
The series features slick, high-quality production and visual details, such as the costumes of North Korean military officers, that lend it an authenticity other K-dramas can’t match. Its story also feels realistic, even if there are certain idealistic elements to its premise, andHyun Bin and Son Ye-jin’s characters are highly relatable as well as likable.
Crashing Landing on Youbenefited from the circumstances of its international release, in addition to the pulling power of its two leads. The show debuted internationally near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which meantpeople at home had more time on their hands to watch 70-minute episodesof a romantic TV show.
Crash Landing On You Deserves All The Hype It Gets
The Show Is An Emotional Tour De Force
Even if certain circumstances were in the show’s favor when it was released, it’s difficult to argue withCrash Landing on You’s reputation as one of thebest K-dramas of all time. The show features compelling performances, sensitively crafted, well-thought-out storylines, and character backstories that most people will be able to relate to.
The most powerful aspect of the series, however, is its handling of the national question in Korea. In contrast to most other K-dramas, which either avoid addressing the division between North and South Korea or treat them as entirely separate entities,Crash Landing on Youproactively raises the idea of bridging the divide between the North and the South.
Crash Landing on Youis committed to delivering a story that’s as plausible as it is attractive, which is the real secret of its emotional power.
Its premise implies the essential connection between the people north and south of the dividing line. The result is a hopeful, if simplistic, story about love conquering division and social prejudice.
Crash Landing on Youdoesn’t compromise its realistic portrayal of the situation facing its protagonists for the sake of a happy ending, either. The show is committed to delivering a story that’s as plausible as it is attractive, which is the real secret of its emotional power. Simply put, K-dramas have never been the same since this landmark series.
