Now that I got your attention with that title…
Only a special kind of stupid would think that this drama is glamorizing the situation in North Korea. I challenge anyone to tell me the episode and the time when the writer of this drama showed North Korea as a utopian society, and I’ll explain the context and the subtext that were missed.
Here, catch!!
I’ve a mind to list, episode by episode, what I learned about the hardships in North Korea. But before I do that, let me tell you what this writer is doing right.
It’s this: She hates the sin, but loves the sinner.
She’s NOT endorsing North Korea. She’s NOT romanticizing the living conditions, policies, military, corruption, and governance of North Korea. But she’s also NOT demonizing the women, children, husbands and wives, mothers and sons, and families of North Korea.
I appreciate that she’s humanizing her characters, especially the North Korean characters, so that we, the viewers, understand that beneath the surface, we’re all fundamentally, essentially, the same.
Even Cho ChulGang is a familiar sort, isn’t he? Corrupt guys like him are a dime dozen anywhere.
So, why are some viewers griping about this? Should the writer have written about the great divide between the North and the South, and lamented the futility of a reconciliation and a reunification? Is there only one way to watch a story about North Korea because we’re “woke” to its abysmal human rights record?
For me, the message of this kdrama is simple.
Take away the political constructs (i.e., North Korea is communist; South Korea is democratic), the extremist views (i.e., all North Korean is evil while all South Korean is good), and the peculiarities that distinguish one individual from another (i.e., Dan’s mother is garrulous, Seri’s mother is uncommunicative, JungHyun’s mom is vocal when necessary), and it’s plain to see that the message is that we’re all human beings.
It reminds me of that famous monologue from “Merchant of Venice.” Shylock was a Jew, and the rest of the characters were Christians. He said,
“I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes?
Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is?
If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die?
And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.”
Shylock was reminding the people that he was human like them. But he was also warning them that he would do unto them what they had done unto him. In fact, he threatened to outdo his persecutors’ villainy because he had a very good example…thanks to them.
Shakespeare wrote this romantic comedy, “Merchant of Venice,” around 1599, yet here we are, centuries later, still dehumanizing a group of people and, in the process, behaving as badly as the group we vilified.
Look, I understand that that there’s enmity between the North and the South; I know history, too. Nonetheless, it’s intolerant and very dangerous to assign all the virtues to one group, and all the vices to the opposing group.
When we deprive North Koreans of all positive attributes or when we paint every North Korean in broad strokes as wicked, then it becomes easy for us to condone violence done against the oppressed in their society or to dismiss the desperate situation of their poor as just desserts – “Hmph! They deserve that! They’re North Koreans after all.”
Do you get what I mean?
At the very least, I say that this writer is doing a good job of exposing “guilt by association.”
Guilt by association is a logical error that judges an individual guilty simply because of his/her association with the actual offender.
In this case, many viewers are dissatisfied that North Korean characters, like JungHyuk, are depicted as reasonable and humane. In their minds, JungHyuk should be shown as a bad guy because he lives in that bad country North Korea ruled by that bad guy.
Also, in their minds, Jung Hyuk had no business being portrayed by a handsome Hyun Bin because North Koreans are ruled by a short, squat, and chubby tyrant.
Lastly, in their minds, Jung Hyuk shouldn’t be associating with Seri because that would make Seri a bad woman, too.
When Seri said, “Wave your hand,”
JungHyuk did this, and
Kim Jong Un followed suit. lol.
Do you see how this “guilty by association” is silly?
I say let the writer go on with her story. We can judge the merits/demerits of her work and the effects, if any, on how North Korea is perceived by the public, after all is done.
My (unsolicited) two cents.
Well said.
Bravo! These people really need to read your blog to be educated. But then there are just some people who refuse to change their opinions no matter how hard the facts and evidence hit them in their faces. Like that ball hitting the poor dog’s face. 😂
Totally agree with you, packmule3! I am very grateful to the writer for not demonizing ordinary citizens of NK. I don’t know much about life in NK, but, judging from my own childhood on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain, most people did not really care about ideology. Many were just paying lip service in order to keep their jobs.
Quite.
‘the viewers, understand that beneath the surface, we’re all fundamentally, essentially, the same.’
‘and it’s plain to see that the message is that we’re all human beings.‘
Thanks for this. I especially like what you’ve said above. I don’t know much of their history but who knows? Maybe someday they’ll have their reunification. 🙏🤞🏻
Good morning/good evening!
I haven’t been on soompi site but you told me (it was you, right?) that there was a bit of discussion on North Korea. I then checked netizenbuzz to see what was going on, and sure enough there was a translated article from Nate dated 1/22/2020 about “glamorizing.”
From what little I know, Nate is the “inferior” version of Naver, the biggest portal site in SK. If I were going to mine news about Korean entertainment and opinions, I would choose Naver over Nate. However…
the cynical side of me does understand why netizenbuzz would choose to translate Nate more frequently than Naver. For one, Nate’s demographics, i.e., users and posters, have a lot in common with netizenbuzz’s demographics. The attitudes, biases, mental ages, interests and propensity for hysteria are all similar. 🙂
For another, Nate’s reactions create more “buzz” because they’re more virulent and less measured than Naver. From what I heard, Naver requires verification (kinda like I require you all to include an email?? — I’m not sure because I haven’t registered on either site). And this personal verification serves as deterrence for trolls to infest and inhabit the comment section. Nate doesn’t have this same identity-verification.
Anyway…
That’s why I think articles like that should be taken with a grain of salt. Yes, there are viewers who find fault with CLoY. (And sure, they have a right to express their feelings.) But then there are more people, the “silent” majority who enjoy this drama for what it is, and don’t fuss about it. — And CLoY is a hit, isn’t it?
I’m taking the silent majority’s side and saying what needed to be said, and shouldn’t be kept silent. We can demonize an ideology, we can demonize a policy, we can demonize Hitler. But demonizing the whole citizenry of North Korea is on a whole another level, and totally out of whack. If you think about it, we’re actually making the real Demon’s job quite easy for him when we’re filled with such hatred for strangers.
As I said, let the kdrama play itself out. This uproar might very well turn out all to be a tempest in a teapot because we heard it from Nate. 🙂
Morning! ☺️ Yes, it was me who mentioned it to you. I saw the article on Instagram. To be honest I’m not familiar with Naver or Nate. 😱😆 But thanks for the heads-up about it.
This was the article from Soompi –
https://www.soompi.com/article/1379011wpp/christian-liberal-party-sues-tvn-for-glorifying-north-korea-in-crash-landing-on-you
So true though, who are we to judge anyone base on what we’ve seen? I remember the homily of a parish priest saying if you point finger at someone, you’re actually pointing three fingers at yourself.
CLoY is very successful not just in South Korea but internationally too, really they should just be happy about that, period. 😊
When I watch CLoY I just think of it as catching a glimpse of what life is like in rural North Korea. I have been to rural China and I wouldn’t exactly say that their lifestyle was “glamorous”. It’s like stepping back in time. Probably similar to what life would be like if I stepped into an Amish community. Novel and fascinating but hardly “romantic”. It’s a hard tough life without many of the modern conveniences that we are accustomed to. Some would call it quaint but a lot would find it really difficult to get used to. It does seem rather idyllic at times but then again KDrama is cotton candy land anyway? So who’s to judge? And I don’t see the drama trying to demonize the North (like old Westerns used to do to the Native Americans). Both sides have their share of nasty folk and both have their share of decent folk. They just have different lifestyles and ways of thinking.
You put my thoughts into words, and the passion comes through. Wish I could remember the article I read about some Christian group suing the drama for its depiction of N Korea. Anyone else read the article?
Dear Linda p, I saw the article in Soompi. (soompi.com)