This time on “Would I Date Him?” I reflect upon the leading man from the series Crash Landing on You.
Our candidate: Crash Landing on You’s Captain Ri Jung Hyuk, portrayed by Hyun Bin, is a knight in North Korean military armor.
Hyun Bin, though not one of my cadre of cuties, is an actor I’ve followed and enjoyed three series he has been in: Hyde, Jekyll, Me (2015), Secret Garden (2010), and My Lovely Sam Soon (2005).
Background. Captain Ri Jung Hyuk and his men patrol the border between North and South Korea. Heiress Yoon Se Ri (Son Ye Jin) literally drops from the sky after her paragliding path is blown off score by a terrible storm. Jung Hyuk decides to help her return to South Korea instead of turning her over to the authorities. It’s not as easy to achieve as he hopes. He falls in love with Se Ri and she with him. But forces work against this couple and threaten their lives and their love.
His pluses:
PROTECTIVE. Jung Hyuk protected Se Ri and put his life on the line many times. When she was threatened by his arch nemisis, Jung Hyuk risked everything to go to her, protect and save her. Jung Hyuk also protected his parents and his men.
LOYAL. Jung Hyuk’s devotion to his love, family and friends was often tested and unwavering.
SWOON WORTHY GESTURES. Jung Hyuk demonstrated his love in gallant gestures throughout the series. Here’s a mere sampling of the long list of swoon worth gestures: couples rings, traveling to save her, finding her with the scented candle, being bad ass on a motorcycle to save her.
PUT OTHERS NEEDS BEFORE HIS. Jung Hyuk repeatedly put his personal needs on the back burner to find justice for his brother, catch the evil villain, save the woman he loved, etc. The list of leading men willing to do this is a short one – Jung Hyuk (did this from the beginning of the series) and Eugene Cho (Mr. Sunshine grew into that level towards the end of the series). I’m betting there are more, but that’s all I can come up with right now.
His minuses:
BAD POST SEPARATION PLAN. It was all going so well, until they were forced to separate. Then Jung Hyuk was only able to eke out a mere 2 weeks a year to the woman he loved. In my mind, once his parents passed, he chucked it all and went to live with the woman he loved. They married, had children, and lived happily ever after.
WEIGHT OF THE WORLD ON HIS SHOULDERS. Jung Hyuk put others’s needs in front of his own. Not only is this highly unusual for a kdrama, but it created situations where Jung Hyuk was honor bound to save the woman he loved, his parents, his men, etc. when he was physically depleted, often putting himself at great risk.
Is he my next date?
👍 Yes, a thousand times yes. Jung Hyuk is the perfect leading man. He demonstrated a myriad of small acts of substantive kindness. He protected those he loved. He fought against evil. His moral code and devotion was unshakable. As long as we are colocated, he’d be the kind of many I’d happily date and see where life took us.
Asian drama fan. I watch and blog dramas on https://kjtamusings.wordpress.com/.
amusings 
Jung Hyuk was one of the BEST leading men in the history of Kdramas. How could any woman not swoon over him and his gallantry❓⁉️ I concur that he didnt make much of a breakup plan and 2 weeks a year is not enough ti.e together.
I would ANSOLUTELY date 💗 him and encourage him to defect with his parents. Yes, his dad would be powerless in South Korea, but his mom wouldn’t have to consider suicide if things went South, unless it was them going South … to South Korea.
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Only 3 series? Did you forget about Aluhumbra or didn’t you liked it?
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Haven’t seen it. It is on my list.
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Well, NO spoilers – but I think if you prepare yourself for the romance being … how can I put it – it comes off as the writer didn’t really care or didn’t have time to devote to the romance and that makes it feel as if you’ve got a 40 year-old man and a 20 year old woman (although Park Shin hye is probably in her early 30’s?) but it feels like an older man who totally overrides whatever the woman is feeling and their entire relationship is on his terms when he has time or when HE needs to be supported but no consideration for what she wants or needs ay all. If you can ignore that then you’ll probably enjoy the unique concept.
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Romance aside, Memories of the Alhambra was intriguing and definitely worth your precious Kdrama watching time.
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I definitely agree. I just think that sometimes it can increase your enjoyment if you know going in to not look for something so you’re not disappointed when it’s not there.
I tend to expect big romances in almost every Kdrama cause… that’s what they do. lol
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I agree. Memories of the Alhambra is more about a man’s journey rather than a romance.
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Expectations set. I hope I like the man!
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I try not to expect too much in the area of romance as I’ve been disappointed many times … I couldn’t picture Hyun Bin with Park Shin Hye together, so I didnt expect much from “Memories of the Alhambra”. I tempered my expectations of “Crash Landing on You”, which turned to be an excellent romance with fantastic chemistry ⚗ between the OTP which in turn turned into such a pleasant 🌈🦄 surprise❣
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I couldn’t picture Hyun Bin with Park Shin Hye together
Yes, the pairing doesn’t seem like a natural fit for these two actors.
excellent romance with fantastic chemistry ⚗ between the OTP which in turn turned into such a pleasant 🌈🦄 surprise❣
That it was, that it was.
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It’s on my Netflix list. Appreciate the heads up on the show’s path.
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I disagree with y’all (JT and kjt) about his break up plan (which I’m taking to mean “be together plan”). I think you’re being too hard on Oppa. (Just realized, I didn’t hear a lot of “oppa”on this series.) lol I mean, he’s got two hostile governments blocking his way. I do wish he’d found a way to get his parents out but that’s probably no small feat with his dad being in a high profile position (he’d be noticed missing after only a couple of hours) and with them being elderly, that probably makes the physicality of clandestine undercover sneaking out much more difficult.
Y’all can tell my answer to the question, right?😄
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he’s got two hostile governments blocking his way
Good point.
Y’all can tell my answer to the question, right?😄
Yes I can. I’m thinking if there were a lottery to date this character and we’d all buy tickets.
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I will play piano duets with him!
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Clever…bond with his artistic side.
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Jung Hyuk is a wonderful character for sure. Anyone would be lucky to be with him 🙂
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He’s a high point for Kdrama male leads. A woman’s fantasy incarnate.
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Even me – Negative Nelly, couldn’t find any black marks for Jung Hyuk!
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couldn’t find any black marks
I’m going to remember this moment always. When I consider less able leading men I’ll think, “he’s no Jung Hyuk”.
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Haha! Knowing me, I’ll forget this character’s name and be saying “kjt, you meant ‘Jang’, right?”
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Wait …are we talking about JUng Hyuk or JAng Hyuk❓⁉️
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*LIKE*
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This YouTube video has a North Korean defector talking about Crash Landing On You – reality vs fiction.
I am adding it under this “would I date him” because they start out talking about “would North Korea have soldiers like Hyun Bin” and her answer is cute.
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Thanks for posting the video!
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Here’s a link to an article discussing the North Korean advisor to the show. It also has other links to related stories and interviews with defectors.
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I thought this was interesting
https://www.allkpop.com/article/2020/04/north-korean-escapee-youtuber-says-hyun-bin-wouldnt-be-considered-handsome-in-north-korea
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That was interesting. Beauty standards are cultural. Would other cultures understand the trend of buttock implants?
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Heck! IIIIII’m not sure that I understand the need for butt implants myself! lol
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