Captivating Charms and Coastal Comforts in “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha”

By: Cameron Tyo

August 18, 2023

Spoiler Alert: This review will contain significant spoilers for the show Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha.

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is a Korean slice-of-life rom-com produced by Studio Dragon, based on the movie Mr. Handy, Mr Hong. The first episode was released on August 28, 2021, and ended on October 17. After coming from watching Flower of Evil and Vincenzo, I decided I wanted to watch something less action-packed and psychologically thrilling but instead, something more wholesome and feel-good for my final K-Drama as part of this mini-marathon I made for myself. After much online searching per usual when it comes to looking for a TV show to watch next, there were many recommendations for Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha when it came to a feel-good rom-com.

The plot of the show revolves around Yoon Hye-jin (Shin Min-ah), who, after some coincidences such as getting fired from her dental job in Seoul and losing expensive shoes she bought right after the ordeal at the beach in Gongjin she meets Hong Du-sik (Kim Seon-ho) who while unemployed officially works oddball jobs in which he does as request of his neighbors for minimum wage. The show follows how these two get closer to each other, whether it be by Yoon ordering a lot of delivery packages so Du-Sik goes to her house a lot or her insistent asking of him to help her with things, especially in the first few episodes. Also, it shows this by showing Du-Sik’s repeated bravery as he protects her from a man who sexually assaulted her friend Pyo Mi-seon (Gong Min-jung) and threatens to sue the dental clinic for lying about the charge, etc., or when he defends herself from an intruder. It shows how they end up opening up to each other more but also the hardships that are faced due to various internal conflicts the main characters have. As this happens, we get glimpses of the lives of other people in this small coastal village.

The show has the most varied cast of characters of any K-Drama I’ve ever seen; granted this is only my third one and most serve the purpose of showing how a mundane problem can turn into an empowering thing and learning experience. While you have the main characters falling in love with each other, you have other characters like Yeo Hwa-jung (Lee Bong-ryn) and Jang Young-guk (In Gyo-jin) who have been divorced for a while now, but it is shown that their reasoning for divorce is seen unclear from almost everyone including Jang who is frustrated and upset thinking the divorce happened because of a small thing, taking his socks inside out and leaving them on the floor except for Yeo. However, after many interactions, we learn that Jang, in a drunken state, told Chun-hae (Jo-Han-chul) that he married Yeo out of pity because she was alone. At the same time, we have Chun-hae, whose dreams of being a popular singer were crushed after his company stole the money he was using to produce the second album of his music career. He is also struggling to look after his daughter Ju-ri (Kim Min-seo) after the death of his wife. Some other characters that are focused on are Choi Geum-chul ( Yoon Seok-hyun) and Ham Yun-kyung (Kim Joo-yeon), whose relationships seems to be rocky as Choi doesn’t understand the pain his wife is truly in while pregnant or Jo Nam sook (Cha Chung-hwa) the gossiper of the village who has been through some pain after losing her daughter to a disease. The story also shows a blossoming relationship between Mi-seon and police officer Choi-Eun-chul (Kang Hyung-seok). The final person it deals with in the village is Yo-Cho-Chee (Hong Ji-hee), who was once in a love triangle with Yeo and Jang having a crush on Yeo. Her sexual orientation is revealed to be a nuisance to her mother, who sees her not being straight as a mental illness.

The character progression is minor but happens throughout the 16 episodes of the series. The biggest progression is of Hong-Du sik, who, even at the beginning of the series, is revealed to be struggling with mental anguish, blaming himself for the death of loved ones around him. The revelation of why he thinks this way is all revealed in episode 15 after an encounter in the previous episode with Kim Do-ha (Lee Suk-hyeong), the assistant director of Ji Seong-hyun (Lee Sang-yi). It is revealed how he’s had previous relations with someone close to these two people, revealing how after a stock market crash incident relating to an asset marketing company where he used to work at, Do-ha’s father who was recommended to invest in a fund by Du-sik would end up attempting suicide losing all his savings but ultimately fail leaving him paraplegic from his attempt and how Jun-Woo (Oh Eui-shik) Du-Sik’s close friend and Ji’s cousin’s fiance got killed in a car crash attempting to bring his friend to the hospital. Throughout this episode, he meets with the two who blamed him for the deaths of the loved ones, revealing how they forgive him, with Yoon comforting him as well. I was crying almost this whole episode, and seeing Du-Sik forgiving himself was one of the most emotional moments of the series. The fact that the episode ends with the death of Kim Gamri (Kim Young-ok), the one person who looked after Du-Sik the most, makes the episode even more heartbreaking.

Another smaller character progression is that of Ji, who, after meeting up with Yoon again, tries to get together with her after a failed attempt in college because he waited too wrong. After failing again, he sees this as a sign that the world has a different way life should go for him, and he ends up having feelings for his other co-worker Wang-Ji-Won (Park Ye-young). Yoon also goes through character progression as she learns how to respect the village she lives in while gaining respect from the people there. The OST and overall setting of the series help to give this series a heartwarming and wholesome tone. Every time Yoon and Du-Sik do something romantic, showing how they are getting closer to each other, the summer vibe anthem of “Romantic Sunday” plays, and the quant village and beach setting enunciates the romantic feeling even more.

Overall, “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” is a very-well-paced rom-com mixed in with romantic and comedic moments that focus on the main characters and the struggles and lives of the other villagers. If you are in the mood for a feel-good K-Drama or any series in particular, I would highly recommend this one. That being said, I recommend anyone give this show a chance.