Most Cinderella stories follow the typical plot of an ordinary and poor young woman being rescued by her Prince Charming. Many Korean TV dramas featuring this theme have enjoyed great popularity, demonstrating that the rather hackneyed formula is still loved by local audience members. How about an ordinary, poor man being rescued by his Princess Charming, then? Will this ‘male” version of Cinderella still appeal to the viewers? The answer is yes, at least for the 2009 romantic comedy, “The Accidental Couple” portraying the relationship between a post office clerk and a famous actress.

Here’s the plot. Top actress Han Ji-su has a car accident. The problem is that her secret boyfriend, who is the son of a famous politician, is driving the car. To cover up their relationship, Ji-su lets her boyfriend escape the scene quickly and drags an innocent onlooker, Gu Dong-baek, into the car instead, asking him to pretend to have driven the car. The paparazzi arrive and take their photos. After this incident, Dong-baek, a post office employee, quickly draws public attention as the actress’s new boyfriend. But one of the paparazzi photographers suspects that somebody else was driving the car when the accident occurred, and the man veiled in secrecy is her real boyfriend. To drive the persistent paparazzo away, Ji-su asks Dong-baek to continue acting as her boyfriend. Dong-baek, an avid fan of Ji-su, readily accepts her proposal and they agree to a six-month contract marriage. Before the contract period ends, however, the actress finds herself deeply attached to this humble man’s pure love.

“The Accidental Couple” depicts a fantasy that seldom happens in the real world. For example, the protagonist in the drama is so innocent that he simply asks the actress to give him her autograph even when she offers him money for helping her out in the car accident. In the real world, it’s hard to find such a pure-hearted man. The entire story sounds like a fantasy. But it is this fantasy, like a midsummer night’s dream, that gives hope to viewers confronting a harsh reality and inspires them to dream of a better future. In this sense, the soap opera offers the audiences a classic love story with a fresh, brighter approach.

The drama also shows that people must establish relationships based on truth and faithfulness, not on external conditions such as money. The plain post office clerk in the drama has few material things to satisfy the top movie star, but he has the inner strength to let her share his happiness. A film critic describes the male character as a “happy virus,” giving everyone around him warm feelings and forming strong relationships with them. With this ability, he helps the actress break away from her self-dug trap and the two grow happy together.

Actor and musical star Hwang Jung-min impressed audiences with his convincing portrayal of a modest post office employee in his first TV drama appearance in an acting career spanning 14 years.