Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021)
Review of Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha / 갯마을 차차차(2021)
It’s very interesting to me that I’m writing this about a week after Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha ended, and the week of when Kim Seon-ho’s scandal broke out with his ex-girlfriend.
It kind of mars the image of him and how he has appeared on reality television and on his dramas, but, alas that shows how we can’t trust most celebrities’ images. They are indeed people and because there are a lot of people out in the world who make terrible, slightly cruel mistakes, they, too, are only human.
I don’t want to completely cloud this review with the background of his scandal, but when I first saw episodes 1 and 2 uploaded onto Netflix of this drama, I was very intrigued.
Something I’ve been very interested in within my dramas and movies are depictions of everyday lives of the countries that they’re set in, not within the big cities. We see all of these dramas set in Seoul, but when I first watched It’s Okay to Not be Okay, I immediately found myself refreshed by the fact it wasn’t in Seoul. And I think that’s one of the biggest charms when it comes to this drama: it’s a slice-of-life in the idyllic Korean seaside.
On with the review!
A dentist and handyman meet and fall in love by the seashore.
The story behind this drama starts when our female lead, Yoon Hye-jin (played by the ever-so-beautiful Shin Min-a), loses her job in Seoul after she calls out her boss for purposely messing up treatments in order to make a quick long-term cash grab.
She then takes a random trip to the town of Gongjin, where, at the beaches, she loses one of her expensive high heels and is forced to ask a nearby guy, our male lead Hong Du-sik (played by Kim Seon-ho), for help. These two start off on a very rough patch, since she doesn’t seem to be too kind at first. She then decides to move to the village, where she plans to open a dental clinic with her best friend.
This, however, tends to backfire at first because of her attitude. You can tell Hye-jin is from Seoul; she is colder, more reserved, and is into fashion and makeup.
She initially looks down on the people in the village, accidentally mocking them right in front of her, which doesn’t really win her any customers in the long run. This also gets on the nerves of Du-sik, who is the town’s local handyman and basically does every single job and day-to-day task that needs to be done.
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is a very simple drama, one that doesn’t have any frills or fancy plot points. There’s a love triangle, of course, with a variety show producer that went to school with our female lead. Would this even be an actual Korean drama without a love triangle?
Anyways, the main purpose of the show is to draw you deep into the world of the characters, giving rise to more intimate moments. We don’t just fall in love with both of our main characters; instead we learn about each and every person in the town, learn to bring them into our hearts and carry them with us.
We all know the romance is coming, but we take our time getting there. That’s why it seems kind of random when they do get together, even if almost jarring. It comes at a point that, to me, seems like a weak plot hole. A guy breaks into Hye-jin’s house and is full-on about to stab her when Du-sik rushes to play hero, getting injured in the process.
This seems to trigger something within her, because the next time she’s walking at night alone, is scared, and happens to run into Du-sik, she confesses and then they start making out. They then proceed to hide their relationship from the entire town, albeit poorly. I lowkey wish this was a longer drama so this romance is fleshed out more and comes in a more nuanced manner, but, alas, we’re stuck with what we got.
Something that was also quite jarring was the build-up to Du-sik’s secret past. I felt like if it was hinted at more, then it would’ve felt like a more smooth transition in the story, but once it comes in it comes in like a truck. Our leads both have some trauma in them and are on the road to healing, which is a beautiful thing to see depicted in television, but it just hits so hard and suddenly that I was left a little dazed.
And Du-sik’s backstory was a lot to comprehend as we got in the final stretch of things, and then comprehending someone in the village’s death added more to my question marks of trying to comprehend the initial part of this because then I’m like oh shit someone died. I think what I’m trying to get at is that it felt kind of forced.
But we do learn something very important from Du-sik just hiding all of this; a lot of people in general tend to hide away inside of themselves and that’s not healthy—I know this myself because of how I can see myself in Du-sik. Our characters are older and more mature than I am right now, but that does not change how I interpret them.
Overall Thoughts
It’s a cute drama, gives us insight into a life outside of Seoul. The cinematography is very nice, we get some really good shots with blocking and the way that the natural scenic landscape is.
We get a lot of side cast action, which is also quite pleasant because we get to see how the town gossips about our lead couple, has each other’s backs, and can provide some lighter, humorous moments.
The drama overall is quite light and humorous until we get to the final stretch, when things start to get a bit murkier when it comes to our male lead. It’s an okay drama to me, however, because I started getting really bored just as they started becoming a couple. Like it’s a cute show, but I found it a tad boring.
