‘Crash Landing on You’ Trends with ‘Insensitive’ Tweets After North and South Korea Exchange Gunfire

We adore K-Dramas but we must leave them as that — fiction on our screens.
by Kyzia Maramara | May 05, 2020

On May 3, gunshots from North Korea hit a South Korean guard post, causing the latter to fire back as a warning. Thankfully, the situation didn’t evolve into a full-blown shootout and no soldiers were injured, but the tension between the two countries has heightened. South Korean military believes that there is a “low possibility” that the move was intentional but regardless, this incident shows the importance of keeping a level head inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), or the border dividing the two.

All this came less than 24 hours after the North’s leader, Kim Jong-Un, re-appeared, ending a three-week absence which has caused global speculation on his health.

The two countries are bounded by a military agreement that the South President Moon Jae-In signed with Kim Jong-Un in 2018. Intentional gunshots at the border would definitely breach that.

Despite the gravity of the situation, “South Korea” and “North Korea” trended online alongside “CLOY,” the acronym for the hit South Korean drama Crash Landing on You. The drama’s plot involves a South Korean woman ending up in North Korea due to a paragliding mishap. It gave a glimpse of the life North Koreans live, how the soldiers operate, and the stark difference between the lifestyle of the two countries. Of course, it’s heavily fictionalized, a skirmish like that might probably cause chaos in the real world.

Some netizens are quick to joke about how the recent gunfire incident resembled the drama and yet more are quick to put them in place.

North and South Korea exchanged gunfire in DMZ and we all remember Captain Ri and Yoon Seri because of the impact and feels CLOY has given but we also shouldn’t forget that what’s happening at the border was no joke so let’s pray and hope for peace and their safety. 🙂🙂🙂

— jul,, (@nianniannn) May 3, 2020

why bring up cloy in a real life political matter,, lives of soldiers are at stake,, this isnt time to joke abt it pic.twitter.com/1xVtMPfxzu

— annika✨ (@syjhands) May 3, 2020

Not to be that person, pero this is serious? Why is everyone talking about CLOY in the replies? I mean soldiers lives are actually in danger if there is really something serious going on in the DMZ, that’s so insensitive. 🙁 https://t.co/NsKmdaMVpG

— 라라 진 (@bunnykjm_) May 3, 2020

On a serious note, stop associating CLOY with the current issue. It’s all fun and games for us, pero for the people of Korea it’s a serious matter. So let’s stop. Just pray for everyone’s safety ☺️

— 예진씨🐰 (@yejinnnchoice) May 3, 2020

North and South Korea exchanged gunfire in DMZ and we all remember Captain Ri and Yoon Seri because of the impact and feels CLOY has given but we also shouldn’t forget that what’s happening at the border was no joke so let’s pray and hope for peace and their safety. 🙂🙂🙂

— jul,, (@nianniannn) May 3, 2020

While we all adore K-Dramas, we must leave them as that — fiction on our screens. This isn’t entertainment, it’s a political matter and a matter of life and death if it escalates. There isn’t anything wrong about “lightening the mood” but be tactful and remember that there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed.

The next time anything unfortunate happens between North and South Korea (we hope there won’t be a next time, though), be considerate, keep the countries in your prayer, and keep your insensitive jokes to yourself.

What do you think about this whole situation?