There are numerous historical drama series featuring queens and court ladies waiting on the king and other royalty from the last Korean kingdom of the Joseon Dynasty, but few dramas have portrayed a princess as a main character. The 2011 historical TV series “The Princess’ Man” brings to light two princesses who led turbulent lives in the early Joseon period. One is Princess Se-ryeong who suddenly became princess after her father Prince Su-yang, uncle of the boy-king Dan-jong, usurped the throne by murdering the king. The other is Princess Gyeong-hye, King Dan-jong’s older sister who was relegated to a slave in the wake of her uncle’s coup d’etat. The TV soap weaves in fictional elements to create the tragic romance between Princess Se-ryeong and nobleman Kim Seung-yu, who lost his family because of Se-ryeong’s father.

Here’s the plot. Se-ryeong, the daughter of Prince Su-yang, is a high-spirited, playful girl. She falls in love with Kim Seung-yu, the son of great general Kim Jong-seo who is eliminated by his political opponent Su-yang. Gripped by anger and grief, Seung-yu hones the sword of revenge. He even kidnaps his beloved girl Se-ryeong and uses her as bait to trap Su-yang. Despite his ever-growing antagonism to Su-yang, who has now become King Se-jo, Seung-yu finds himself unable to stop loving the new king’s daughter. Se-ryeong, too, struggles to pull her lover out of trouble, even defying her father and risking her own life. Seung-yu ends up being locked up in prison, severely wounded, and Se-ryeong stays with him to the last moment. Everyone in the drama believed the ill-fated couple had died. But it turns out Se-ryeong’s mother had arranged their escape. Years later, Seung-yu, now a blind man, lives with his wife and daughter in a remote village. Watching the happy family from a distance, aged King Se-jo finally shakes off his long-held animosity toward Seung-yu, whom he had tried to separate from his daughter so desperately.

The costume drama is based on a historical incident in 1453, when Prince Su-yang ousted his nephew, King Dan-jong, to ascend the throne. In that process, many loyal subjects of the young king were murdered or expelled. But the TV series focused more on the children of those involved in the incident—their love, hatred, revenge and redemption. As in most stories about a forbidden love, the Joseon-era version of Romeo and Juliet could have been doomed to failure. But many viewers say they were so relieved to see the couple end up together eventually after such a long, painful journey.

Both Prince Su-yang and General Kim Jong-seo are famous historical figures, but there are no records indicating the former’s daughter and the latter’s son got married and lived together happily. Given the two men’s bitter rivalry, this story is very unlikely. But it isn’t a documentary; it’s a drama, after all. Featuring a tasteful mixture of historical facts and fictional characters, the 24-episode period piece finished with a relatively high viewer rating of 23.8 percent.