Here is the synopsis: An unpopular president desperately clinging to power sends the military to the streets of Seoul, but parliament quickly responds by voting overwhelmingly to reject the martial law which he has declared. In the meantime, thousands of people gather outside the parliament building, defying curfew and confronting fully-armed soldiers and tanks, giving passage for enough members of parliament to assemble and do their work.

This real political drama, which happened on the night of Dec. 3, is short and sweet, not like the traditional made-for-TV Korean dramas that can drag on for many seasons.

Not only was martial law rolled back, opposition parties in parliament are now moving to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol. But this last part is more the epilogue. The climax of this drama already occurred when the president lifted martial law only hours after declaring it. A classic story of the good beating out evil. We couldn’t ask for a happier ending.

The real story, and the real lesson for Koreans and for the rest of the world, is that democracy, which in its true sense means the will of the people, is resilient enough to beat back a president who uses the power of the gun to prolong his unwelcome stay.

Democracy survived because the Korean people willed it and fought for it. This drama defies the trend seen in other parts of the world where established and not-so-established democracies are moving toward authoritarianism, and where people have passively accepted their fate instead of fighting to defend it.

While the villains in this drama are clear, Yoon and his cohorts who are trying to cling to power, the real heroes are the people, particularly those who took to the streets and gathered outside the parliament building which was already fortified by the military.

A video that went viral that night shows a woman tussling with an armed soldier. She won the fight but only because the soldier, to his credit, restrained from opening fire.

The entire story would have taken a different twist if blood were shed. This would have been the preferred plot for an impactful TV drama. In real life, Koreans show there is no need for killing. You just have to be resolute in order to protect democracy.

One could easily forget the role the internet and social media play in rescuing democracy.

That night, the military visited all legacy media outlets to impose a news blackout which is part and parcel of martial law. But the internet and social media platforms are not under military control. They could not control it even if they wanted to. The net was flooded with news and information about the tense hours following the declaration of martial law.

Through social media, people shared video clips of the emergency hearing in parliament by 190 members who made it there to take the vote, and of the hundreds of people who defied the military curfew. Three decades ago or more, before the era of the internet, most people would not have known about what was happening and would have remained passive players in the unfolding drama.

We should credit the Korean military for not succumbing to the temptation of power. They followed the president’s order to impose martial law, but as soon as parliament voted to roll it back, the soldiers quickly backed off and were returned to barracks.

Now, president Yoon’s days are numbered. His claims that anti-state forces were working to undermine the country, in collaboration with communists and the North Korean government, fell flat. No one would buy this from a leader who has lost all credibility.

South Korea will still go through political instability until this leadership matter is settled. The political drama continues, but we can say for sure that the worst is over.