ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the representation of the inter-Korean conflict in the 2019 hit South Korean television drama, Crash Landing on You. It draws upon a growing body of literature on popular culture and world politics to conduct a political analysis of both the drama’s contents and its popular reception. The chapter first discusses the significance of popular culture in International Relations (IR), before looking at both South Korea’s and North Korea’s attempts to use popular culture productions in their image management strategies, shaped as these strategies are by the unending Korean War. Existing screen representations of North Korea, produced in South Korea, are then reviewed. This is followed by a discussion of how the inter-Korean conflict is represented in Crash Landing, focusing on the division of the Peninsula, national security, regional geopolitics and reunification. Observations on the international reception of Crash Landing visible in the international media are then presented, noting how the inter-Korean conflict is understood, while also commenting on the transformative potential of the drama in reshaping international perceptions of the political.
