Crash Landing on You: Switzerland and the Stand-In North

The series opens in the air: Yoon Se-ri, a South Korean chaebol heiress, is paragliding when a tornado sweeps her across the border into North Korea. She wakes stuck in a tree in a forest the drama calls the DMZ. It is really Ara-dong, on the northern edge of Jeju Island, where the tree stood near Kaldaripokpo Falls and a 5.5-kilometre walking trail runs through the wood. Filming took place in Switzerland, Mongolia and South Korea; this forest is the stand-in for the opening shot, not North Korea itself.

場所の精度: VisitKorea names the Ara-dong forest and its 5.5-kilometre trail, not a single tree; the pin marks the neighbourhood on Jeju's northern edge.

訪問のヒント: The Ara-dong trail passes the tree near Kaldaripokpo Falls.

Years before the border, Ri Jeong-hyeok and Se-ri meet on a hiking trail here, the pass rising behind them; the drama shows the moment in a flashback. Kleine Scheidegg is a 2,061-metre pass between the Eiger and the Lauberhorn. The Wengernalp Railway and a walking trail link Grindelwald with Lauterbrunnen, and the Jungfrau Railway begins its climb to the Jungfraujoch from the station. The Hotel Bellevue des Alpes has stood at the summit since 1840. Trains run year-round, and the pass is a summer hiking base.

訪問のヒント: Take the Wengernalp Railway from Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen; trains run year-round.

Ri Jeong-hyeok studied music in Switzerland and learned of his older brother's death there. In episode 3 he remembers his time as a pianist and plays at this wooden landing stage on Lake Brienz. As he plays, Se-ri arrives on the ferry from Interlaken. The pier is small — about 1.5 metres wide and seven metres long — and boats still use it. It is a short walk from the Iseltwald Dorf bus stop, and entry costs CHF 5, paid on site.

訪問のヒント: The pier is a short walk from the Iseltwald Dorf bus stop; entry is CHF 5.

In another Swiss flashback, Ri Jeong-hyeok is photographing the Bernese Alps when he notices Se-ri, and she later meets him and his fiancée Seo Dan on this bridge. The Panoramabrücke Sigriswil links Sigriswil with Aeschlen above the Gummischlucht gorge. Its span is 344 metres and it hangs up to 182 metres above the gorge; it opened in October 2012 and costs CHF 8 to cross. It is one of three suspension bridges on the 56-kilometre Lake Thun Panoramic Circular Trail.

訪問のヒント: The bridge is about five minutes' walk from Sigriswil village; crossing costs CHF 8.

Before Se-ri leaves the North, she and Ri's men share a goodbye picnic on a riverbank. The campfire, the silver grass and the men's farewell make one of the series' warmest scenes. It was filmed on Binaeseom Island in Chungju in late November, when the reeds were at their height. The island lies in the upper Namhangang at Angseong-myeon, and its reed trail is open to walkers. In the story this bank is in North Korea; the real island is in South Korea.

訪問のヒント: Binaeseom is reached from Chungju; its reed trail is open to walkers.

After Se-ri leaves the North for South Korea, she and Ri Jeong-hyeok meet again at a riverside park. The scene was filmed at Jungangtap Park in Chungju. At its centre stands the Jungangtap, a seven-storey stone pagoda from Unified Silla, designated a National Treasure and the largest and tallest of its kind. A giant moon replica is set against it, and the 1.4-kilometre Tangeumho Rainbow Road nearby lights up at night — the place where the second couple, Gu Seung-jun and Seo Dan, finally speak plainly.

訪問のヒント: Jungangtap Park is on the Namhangang in Chungju; the pagoda and moon replica are the landmarks.

Se-ri and Ri Jeong-hyeok meet again in the mountains above Grindelwald. The scene was shot at the First Flyer station, a landing strip for paragliders. First is a cable-car station and minor summit on the slopes of the Schwarzhorn, with the Bachalpsee a short hike away. The Firstbahn runs up from Grindelwald, and the surrounding trails make it a popular hiking area. Grindelwald-First is listed among the series' official Swiss filming locations, so the reunion was shot in the region where it is set.

訪問のヒント: Take the Firstbahn cable car from Grindelwald; the First Flyer station is at the top.