Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021)

DRAMA OF THE YEAR 2021? YESSS!

Life is not all about pain and regrets, but about the experiences and learnings. The best thing about life is that it keeps moving forward. No matter what happens in our lives at one point, it keeps going on while letting us learn from it. This is my interpretation about the entire drama.

갯마을 차차차, literally, "Seashore Village Cha-Cha-Cha, truly is a story living upto it's title, giving justice to its essence while capturing millions of hearts worldwide. It is a combination of coming of age chapters and healthy, warm as well as healing RomCom, accompanied with numerous life lessons, portrayed in the form of various relationships that also throws light upon uncountable shades of life, love and living. So what does it become? A PERFECT SLICE-OF-LIFE KOREAN DRAMA.

Plot is simple as you know. Oh Hye Jin, a capable and righteous dentists resigns from work and unable to find another clinic decides to open her own in the seashore village of Gongjin, which she had gone to visit on her mother's birthday. There she meets Hong Du Shik, an talented yet unemployed man who willfully does all kinds of odd jobs to help out the villagers and wish to continue his simple life. As they encounter each other multiple times and find each other's presence during respective critical times, the bond between them grows closer making them fall in love. All these happens in the premise where lives of the villagers go on parallely, accompanying continuous build-up, growth, healing giving away love & care, as a community which is more like an extended or chosen second family.

This shit is indeed hell of refreshing because of the scenario the drama has choosen as it's set, i. e. the fictional city of "Gongjin" which in real is the seaside village near Daegu-Gyeongbuk of Pohang, a South Korean city located in North Gyeongsang Province. The seaside milieu, the village settings, the city architecture and the awfully ecstatic frame of nature are the elements that undeniably attracted a lot of people to it. And what made it even more eye-catching is the cinematography skills of the production; brownie points please.

What also makes this drama stand out is the method of execution and the very natural way of diegesis (plot narrative). Relationships, regardless of it's type, are unquestionably complicated but life becomes a lil easier when we put efforts make it simple, this also is an underlying message of this drama. It's so natural that i felt I have been there with those people. Obviously, melo is an important element of any show of any genre, which is here too, but events should be as simple as a glass of water that makes it realistic in order to be appealing and relatable to the audience. I feel the drama successfully achieved that outcome.

Another thing that made me go awe was the fashion sense of the characters, please give the stylists bonus, okay? T T. Not just the young and adult characters, the kids and the oldies wore beautiful clothes of different kinds all the times, no matter how simple or flashy they were. I loved the florals that Hongbajang wore and sometimes the loose fit shirts. Hye Jin's one piece long skirts made her look so beautiful. The 3 old women in their usual outfits looked cute. Village chief Young Guk's simple yet loose fit big shirts and pants oof. Hwa Jung and Nam Sook's country-side dotted tops and pants looked nice. Chun Jae ahjussi and his half pant outfit plus scarf, my goodness. Geum Chul's entite country bumpkin style outfit and hairstyle. Bora's peach creamy hair and I Jun's decent clothes toooo. Eun Chul in both police uniform and civil clothes (soooo hot) and Mi Seon in her different kinda outfits. Sorry for the terms Idk bcs of my lack of fashion sense TT.

One of the most notable things about the drama should be all the female characters who made us see various sides of life and learn from it. Potential & stupendous female characters is nothing new for Kdrama industry but this drama should stand out in this regard for perfectly creating and nourishing such beautiful-hearted women. Different women trying their best for people around them and struggling for them isn't something new but these women, from young to the old, understood it better, I felt. Extra points for that for sure.

Since it's a slice of life story where day-to-day happenings are portrayed, drawing a definite plot development in overall is difficult. So, what we can witness are 2 kinds of developments. First the relationship between the leads along with others and secondly the individual character development. Let's talk about that...

Relationship Development of Lead Couple:--
Well, healing romance troupe has become a common factor nowadays but this surely is unique and let me explain how. Not bragging or saying I predicted it but I sure had assumed the way the chemistry between Hong Du Shik & Oh Hye Jin will develop, which happened for real making me so happy. Both of them obviously cared for each other and had liking as persons despite all the bitter encounters but until the point they fell for each in their conscious, the romance was very subtle. It was like they grew onto each other unknowingly and that feelings were piling up bit by bit over time. One day the the sac of love got so heavier, it burst open into an love relationship bonding, that was meant to last for eternity. They were definitely opening up to each other lil by lil and healing the other's pain gradually in the process but in their subconscious, it was love that was blooming up inside their hearts which one day led to prosperity and nostalgic emotions of happiness.

What made me happy how they proposed to each other at the perfect point of the story and even after officially getting into a relationship, the story showed us the following development. This was a gesture that, our lives and stories don't come to an end when we become each other's life because we have a long way to travel together, parallelly healing each other while helping both individual and coupled growth. Tbh, I was worried their relationship will turn typical following the proposal but guess what? They made me and in fact all of us, learn an important lesson of life, i. e. continuity. Obviously, there were many fluff moment's but the way of executing everything through the storytelling method abd screenplay techniques made it maintain own's naturality.

We're at a point where we have run out of new ides about events and stuffs to showcase in a relationship but what matters is how they're showed to us, how natural & relatable they feel and how realistic the outcome becomes. I am cent percent sure, this drama gave off that vibes.

NOTE: HONG DU SHIK & OH HYE JIN, uri ShikHye or dimple couple are one of the best Kdrama couples with one of the best chemistry development and a healing romance.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT :--
This is probably the best thing about the drama. Not just the individual development, the buildup plus nourishment of different kinda relationships were also well drawn. The character arcs of different roles came out so well, making us relate and learnt. Let's talk about them now...

# Hong Du Shik (Kim Seon Ho) aka uri Hong-bajang, the definition of "Jack of all trades, master o̶f̶ ̶n̶o̶n̶e̶ at
all". Talented yet no proper job carrying numerous small job certificates can help fix any kind of situations of the villagers. Loved by all yet orpahned and loner with thanatophobia (fear of losing someone close), he doesn't let anyone into his heart easily. Cares a great deal about the villagers tho.

# Oh Hye Jin (Shin Min Ah), the perfectionist dentist and very righteous at workplace who is also very calculative about her life. A dating rookie and doesn't want to be easygoing abd never gives in to people easily. A definite development as she changes into a warm women who admired everyone and got love in return. Very sensitive to her life decisions and helps Hong bajang in the end in healing his heart.

# Ji Sung Hyun (Lee Sang Yi), a variety show PD and Hye Jin's university senior who comes to Gongjin to shoot his show. He really went from romancing with Da Shik (Da Hee) in Once again (2020) to bromancing with Du Shik in this drama, haha. I can't say he's a potential 2nd ML affecting the lead couple's storyline but ge surely helped them in his subconscious. Very simple and decent character he had.

# Kim Gam Ri (Kim Young Ok) halmeoni, village supervisor and Du Shik's closest who have fed and cared for him since a young age. Very stubborn because of old age. Doesn't like spending money but fond of trying different dishes. Loves Du Shik the most and liked spending time with him.

# Lee Ma Ji (Lee Yong Yi) and Park Sook Ja (Shin Shin Ae) ..wish these halmione-deul had some more story for themselves but they were basically used as sidekick of Ga Rim-ssi. Regardless, very cheerful and cute. Their annoying and active faces plus the halmeoni trio made me cry outta happiness even when they were just fighting, that was so cute uwu.

# Yeo Hwa Jung (Rang Bo Ryun), the zone chief, restaurant owner and owner to both the places used by Hye Jin. Divorced for reasons known only to her and a single mother. Very sane, humble and understanding person she was though a lil insecure about his ex-husband and has hidden stories to tell. Loved the way she walked in here hahaha.

# Jang Young Guk (In Gyo Jin), village chief and Hwa Jung's ex husband, a lone man living alone and a loving father to his son. Irresponsible and indecisive at times. Not knowing the actual reason of divorce he deviates from his path for a while but eventually finds himself back in the same spot.

# Oh Chun Bae (Jo Han Chul), a failed singer, coffee shop owner, a widower and single loving father to his daughter. Still brags about his past achievement and wants recognition tho still a tender-hearted person who cares for his daughter to a great deal and misses his wife.

# Cho Nam Suk (Cha Chung Hwa), Chinese restaurant owner, loner who misses her deceased daughter. She loves to gossip and is the most definitite source of all the rumours that revolves around in the village. Very lively and cheerful as person. Loved her nasal accent and acting.

# Choi Geum Chul (Yoon Suk Hyun), Du Shik's only friend and hardware store owner. Married with a girl child and another to come. Somewhat naive and stupid but loves his family so much.

# Ham Yun Kyung (Kim Joo Yun), Geum Chul's wife and Bora supermarket owner. Very cheerful and mature for her age. Loves and cares for her family a lot and continuously nags her husband to do better job.

# Pyo Mi Sun (Gong Min Jung), Hye Jin's BeFe and the dentist nurse. Very clever and straightforward yet falls for guys instantly. Her chemistry development with constable Eun Chul was surely a sweet thing to watch.

# Choi Eun Chul (Kang Hyung Suk), Police substation constable and Geum Chul's younger brother who's very determined at job but stupid when comes to dating. Mi Sun helps her learn about relationship and they form the cutest couple of the show.

# Oh Ju Ri (Kim Min Seo), Chun Bae's daughter, a high-schooler and diehard fan of the boy group DOS (fandom Hacker). Misses her mother whom she lost right after birth. Can be stubborn and annoying at times still loves her father. A wannabe stylist.

# Choi Bo Ra (Go Do Yun), Yun Kyung & Geum Chul's daughter who's good at studies but have hidden talents. Loves Taekwondo and a lil aggressive. Adored by the villagers.

# Jang Yi Jun (Yi Eun Yoo), Hwa Jung & Young Guk's son who's the definition of genius. Too humble, polite and rationale for his age haha. BeFe with Bora and is always with her. As thoughtful as Hwa Jung.

Other than these major characters are some other actors who justified their decent roles and are indeed notable; Yu Cho Hui (Oh Ji Hee), Ban Young Hoon (Kim Sung Bum), Kang Do Ha (Lee Suk Hyung), Wang Ji Won (Park Ye Young), JUN (Byun Sang Tae), Yoon Tae Hwa (Seo Sang Won), Lee Myung Shin (Woo Mi Hwa), etc.

OSTS:
"Romantic Sunday" by "Car, the Garden" is undoubtedly the best OST of this drama which is the remake of a 2007 hit by "JISLAND". I love all the other OSTs so muxh as well. The lyrics are all so beautiful and were relatable as well suitable for various moods of the drama. "One Sunny Day" by Kassy, "My Romance" by Cheeze, "Wish" by Choi Yu Ree, "Be the Light" by Kim Jae Hwan,
"The Image of You" by Sandeul, "Here Always" by Skz Seungmin are all good. Some of them are romantic and others are soft soulful ones.

Both the writer and director have done a very good job, individually and as partners. It didn't feel like the writer doesn't have enough experience. I mean the number of work she's done is less but who'd say so after watching this drama? The PDnim obviously have enough experience, in fact one of the best drama PDs in Korea and that shows. Cinematography, sound production, screenplay editing are also very well done. Kudos to the entire crew for this amazing outcome. Thank you so much.

Technically, I love the various colour palettes used to showcase the beauty and aesthetics. The subtle presentation of props to connect and relay the storylines are quite alluring. Story progression is smooth and relaxing with multiple peaks as perfect points. Not a single thing felt exaggerated or boring. No twisted and complicated factor except for Hongbajang's mystery; very simple. The 1st ep is basically the introduction so stick to it in case you think it's not good. The childhood and teenage encounter and destined-to-be-together trope might have become a cliché but it's fine as long as the present story is well painted and HomeCha successfully built-up a unique love story.

Let me also add important things included in the drama: mental health issues, loneliness, lgbt+ inclusion & acceptance, gender & clasa equality, dreams and determination to fulfill it, negligence to old parents as well as kids, ways of parenting & parental love, a kid's expectation from parents as well their hidden feelings, mutual understanding, overcoming past trauma, essence of aging and importance of old age, meaning of death, the art of healing other's pain, the difficulties of pregnancy, the urge of marriage, the hopes from your partner, community life & it's importance, self-love and it's vitality, process of opening up to your closest ones, learning to seek help from others, acknowledging the help and care you receive, understanding the gestures, facing life problems & tackling them, essence of independence, appreciating life, respecting other's efforts and their urge to do well, holding on to life, bringing out the best of you..... And many more that will cost me a notebook to mention.

NOTE: The last 3 episodes are the peaks of the episode where you might have to cry continuously, so make sure to take care of yourself if you're highly sensitive and very overwhelming to cry over small things.

Hometown Cha Cha Cha is definitely very realistic, refreshing and relatable with all the elements of a perfect slice of life Kdrama. I repeat, this is the best Kdrama year for 2021. Not only the healing romance of the lead couples, other side storylines that ran parallelly left us with lessons that we seek in our everyday life. Setting the rewatch value at 10/10 bcs this is something that can be easily watched as many as times you wish, even for random watch. PLEASE GO AHEAD WITH IT IF YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. THIS IS DEFINITELY WORTH ALL YOUR TIME AND INVESTED ENERGY PLUS EMOTIONS. *cries under blanket*. In fact been crying throughout while writing this review.

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