South Korean drama Crash Landing on You (2019) is one of the best K-dramas out there. When it ended airing in early 2020, it clocked in a 21.7% overall viewership beating Goblin (2015) at 20.5%. Everything about it — from the unique plot to the actors who are now married IRL — was special and so it wasn’t a surprise that other countries would want to make an adaptation ASAP. In fact, an American remake of Crash Landing on You (CLOY) is in the works but based on what we know so far, it looks questionable.
The CLOY American remake might be sci-fi
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CLOY is a story about two star-crossed lovers from North and South Korea meeting in such unusual circumstances. It tells the story of Yoon Se Ri’s (Son Ye Jin) paragliding mishap that flew her from South Korea straight into the arms of a North Korean soldier, Ri Jeong Hyeok (Hyun Bin). In order to translate the cultural difference for an American audience, Jinny Howe, Netflix’s vice president of drama series for the U.S. and Canada, said that there would be a few tweaks to the story.
Responding to Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s global head of television, asking how the remake would be created since the K-drama “was so specifically about North and South Korea,” Howe answered: “So, I think we’re gonna see if maybe we can make that divide a little bit more symbolic. We’re looking into sci-fi.”
CLOY remake in final stages of development
Crash Landing on You having an American remake doesn’t even make sense cause the entire point of the plot was that they couldn’t cross into bordering countries cause of war. What’s the plot in this one? They cant cross the Canadian border? Like BFFR!!!
— alesha⁷ (@kookiestitties) January 19, 2023
While that’s all we know about the CLOY remake plot-wise, it has been reported last November 2021 that it is in its final stages of development at Netflix. According to the report, Kang Chul-Ku, Studio Dragon CEO, the production company behind CLOY, said that “the American remake is in the final stages of planning and development with Netflix U.S.” So if folks are unhappy about the concept of a sci-fi version, they’d better start putting the pressure on the streaming giant now.
CLOY fans aren’t having it
Many of the K-drama’s fans expressed frustration at the idea of a sci-fi remake. They also stressed that a remake was unnecessary given that subtitles are there for everyone to understand the drama.
There is something incredibly disturbing… or maybe unsettling… About the way that Western sensibility turns to sci-fi in order to translate the Asian (Korean) experience. Anyway, this is simply why a remake was completely unnecessary anyway. https://t.co/0kGagc9Hp5
— grime_ninja ㅅㅂㄴㄷ ㄷㅂㄹ (@GrimeNinja) January 18, 2023
“No one, and I mean N O O N E asked for this,” reads a post on Twitter.
“I want everyone involved to be arrested immediately,” reads another viral tweet.
“This is tarnishing Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin’s good names,” said one.
Another person questioned why Western adaptations of Asian works need to be turned into sci-fi “in order to translate the experience.”
“There is something incredibly disturbing… or maybe unsettling… About the way that Western sensibility turns to sci-fi in order to translate the Asian (Korean) experience. Anyway, this is simply why a remake was completely unnecessary anyway,” said the netizen.
Yet another person said a sci-fi remake would be an insult: “American remake might add sci-fi element? It’s insulting to think folks won’t understand the cultural differences between North and South Korea. Also, why ruin a perfect drama?”
The consensus is this: People don’t want a sci-fi remake — or any remake at all. Crash Landing on You is unique in that it’s a whirlwind romance between two people who live in North Korea and South Korea and it’s portrayed by two of the best South Korean actors in Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin. Hollywood — or any other remake — can’t possibly replicate the magic they created with that drama.
Crash Landing on you is unique because it’s NK and SK, because it’s Hyun Bin and Son Yejin. You can’t remake something unique, they were the only ones able to bring this story to life and no other people, no other place in the world can do it. Find your own ideas Hollywood 🙄 pic.twitter.com/DNUWklt3RD
— Am 🪂🌸💕 #BinJinAreMarried #welcomeBabyKim ❤️🦔 (@AmLiRa7) November 4, 2021
What do you think of this sci-fi Crash Landing on You remake? Sound off in the comments!
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