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Pierce Conran

Lead cast: Shin Hyun-been, Moon Sang-min
Latest Nielsen rating: 0.8 per cent
While the Korean entertainment market does not produce princess stories for the screen the way that Disney has for decades, viewers have long been able to rely on Korean dramas for their fix.
Many of the most popular K-dramas of the past 20 years have transposed the codes of those fairy tales into narratives that partner ordinary women with extraordinary men, either because they are supernatural beings or because they belong to the unattainable upper strata of society – typically as heirs to chaebol (powerful family-run corporations).


Although these TV shows don’t usually mention princesses or princes, viewers and writers alike are well aware of what is going on. No matter how contemporary and grounded their setting may be, the stories are often pure fantasy and vicarious entertainment.
This year, several shows have gone one step further by acknowledging the princess formula that birthed them and adding a new what-if twist to spice up the familiar scenario.
First there was Dreaming of a Freaking Fairy Tale and now comes Cinderella at 2 AM, starring Shin Hyun-been (Hospital Playlist) and Moon Sang-min (Wedding Impossible). Both shows reference Cinderella, the ultimate screen princess.
The story begins with office worker Ha Yun-seo (Shin) sitting across from an elegant woman in a plush restaurant. This woman is Kim Sun-joo (Jin Hee-kyung), who has just asked Yun-seo to break up with her son Seo Ju-won (Moon).

Yun-seo and Ju-won have already been an item for 18 months, but it was only four weeks earlier that Yun-seo learned that her partner, who’s also her colleague – he is the rookie in her department at AL Card – is actually the heir to the whole AL Group, working incognito as he gains some experience in the field.
Surprisingly, Yun-seo agrees immediately. She writes down her bank details so she can be paid off and then explains that she will spend the next two months trying to get Ju-won not to like her any more, so as to break things off easily.
In the show’s opening voice-over, Yun-seo goes on to explain that she may have already had her Cinderella moment by meeting and falling in love with Ju-won, but her story now is what happens after midnight, when Cinderella loses her slipper and the magic wears off – hence the title Cinderella at 2AM.
Despite the alacrity with which she agrees to Sun-joo’s request, breaking things off with Ju-won is easier said than done.

Back at work, she attempts several things to cool their romance, such as frowning at him and pretending to be annoyed by everything he does, but her clear affection shines through. Her half-hearted ploys quickly fall by the wayside and her natural smile beams anew.
It does not take long for Ju-won to find out the reason behind Yun-seo’s unusual behaviour. He accepts that she is free to break up with him if she wants, but he intends to respond by clinging to her even more.
The next day, Ju-won marches into the office building flanked by staff – he has cast off his incognito status and assumed the role of director of AL Card. Not only that, he has taken the unusual step of installing his executive office right beside Yun-seo’s team.
Cinderella at 2AM does not have a particularly modern or realistic view of romance, but it is difficult to criticise a show that does exactly what it says on the tin. The show delivers the black-and-white romantic beats that are expected of it.

That said, this particular show is refreshingly modern in one way – the age gap between Yun-seo and Ju-won. Age gaps between younger men and older women are not terribly unusual these days on the screen, but those differences are usually quite small.
A few years ago, the five-year-gap between Won Jin-ah and Ro Woon in She Would Never Know was presented as being a very big deal. By contrast, the 14-year-age gap between Shin and Moon is only occasionally alluded to. It is certainly not the main obstacle standing in the way of their being together.
It isn’t particularly clear why Yun-seo feels the need to break up with Ju-won, but at any rate, it is unlikely that she will be successful in her aims. And with only a 10-episode run, it shouldn’t be too long until she finds her way back to her happily ever after.
Cinderella at 2AM is streaming on Viu.


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Shin Hyun-been as office worker Ha Yun-seo in a still from Cinderella at 2AM.

Moon Sang-min as office rookie, company heir, and Yun-seo’s lover Seo Ju-won in a still from Cinderella at 2AM.

Shin Hyun-been as Ha Yun-seo in a still from Cinderella at 2AM.

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‘Princess’ drama on Viu follows an office worker (Shin Hyun-been) and the department rookie (Moon Sang-min), who is the heir to the company


‘Princess’ K-drama follows the relationship between an office worker (Shin Hyun-been) and the office rookie (Moon Sang-min), who is secretly the heir to the corporation.
