South Korea’s biggest current television hit is a surreal tale of a billionaire heiress who accidentally paraglides into the North and falls in love with a chivalrous army officer serving Kim Jong Un.

“Crash Landing on You” is unashamedly fantastical in its plot lines, but has drawn praise for its portrayal of everyday life in the North, even down to accents and words.

The division of the peninsula is a regular theme in K-drama and K-movies, but it is unusual for so much of a show to be set in the North — in both Pyongyang and the countryside — and defectors have complimented its accuracy.

Portraits of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung and his son and successor Kim Jong Il – father of the current leader — appear on the walls of every home, with propaganda slogans in the streets of the set.

The crew included a writer and an actress from the North: “I felt like I was actually back in a North Korean village,” said Kim A-ra, who played a villager.

The 16-part series reaches its climax on cable network tvN this weekend.