Hit Korean series "Crash Landing on You," also known to fans as CLOY, trended on social media on Tuesday after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana used it as a reference to defend his termination of a three-decade-old pact with the University of the Philippines (UP).
In a tweet, Lorenzana said: "Sa UP mayroon silang ala-demilitarized zone (In UP, they have a demilitarized zone). Military can't enter without coordination. What makes UP so special? Nasa Korean border ba kayo? CLOY is life na ba? (Are you in the Korean border? CLOY is life?)"
Lorenzana made the remark after he sent a letter to UP President Danilo Concepcion last January 15, informing the latter of his decision to abrogate the Department of National Defense (DND)-UP Accord of 1989 which prohibits the entry of state forces inside the University premises without prior coordination.
The accord was unilaterally terminated by Lorenzana as part of the government's crackdown on communist rebels. He said the UP has already become a "hotbed" of communist recruiters and a "safe haven" for the enemies of the State, particularly the Communist Party of the Philippines-New Peopel's Army (CPP-NPA).
"We are not your enemies. We are here to protect our people, especially our youth," Lorenzana noted in his tweet.
In Crash Landing on You, the lead female actress, South Korean national Yoon Se-ri (played by actress Son Ye-Jin) ended up in a demilitarized zone that is a part of North Korea, after a paragliding accident. There he met the lead male actor, Captain Ri Jung Hyuk (played by Hyun Bin), who is a North Korean soldier. The story revolves around the accidental meet-up of the two Korean nationals from the opposite borders which blossomed into an unusual love story.
The Korean demilitarized zone was established in the 1950s after the World War 2, separating the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) from the Republic of Korea (ROK or South Korea). Neither troops from both sides cannot enter the other border without official coordination from their heads of state.
"CLOY" fans were quick to express their opinions about the country's Defense Chief associating the hit series to the abrogation of the DND-UP accord.
One Twitter user (@cloysauce) said: "What pisses me off about that tweet is not just using CLOY out of context but also the DMZ. It's a real-life militarized border dividing two countries that are technically still at war and he's using it to justify their actions? So much for being the Secretary of Defense."
Another Twitter user (@ludotheexplorer) commented: "You can't even protect our sea borders but chose to target those who criticize the incompetence of this government. How 1960s of you. Also, may CLOY ka pang nalalaman, out of context naman (You mentioned CLOY but it was out of context).
As of 3 p.m., the tag #CLOY was the fourth most trending issue on Twitter with around 2,755 tweets.
The tag #WestPhilippineSea also trended at seventh spot as social media users asked the military to take action against the hostilities of China, a Communist country, in the West Philippine Sea.
Also trending were tags related to the issue including #Lorenzana with 20,000 tweets; #DefendUP with 114,000 tweets; #UP-DND Accord with 57,3000 tweets; #OustDuterteNow with 11,500 tweets; and #DefendAcademicFreedom with 25,100 tweets.