Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha 갯마을 차차차 - Review

Title: Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha 갯마을 차차차

Genre: Romantic Comedy, Life

Release: 2021

Starring (Main Cast): 

Kim Seon Ho as Hong Doo Shik (Chief Hong)

Shin Min Ah as Yoon Hye Jin

Lee Sang Yi as Ji Sung Hyun

Director: Yoo Je Won

Writer: Shin Ha Eun

IMDb Rating: 8.7/10

Audience Rating: 4.9/5

MyDramaList Rating: 8.9/10

MyDramaList Synopsis: Click Here

Watch on Netflix with subscription: Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha 

Episodes: 16 (abt. 1 hr. and 20 min each)

Content Rating: PG-13

Violence/blood: mild, there is some hitting, and a fight scene with a knife

Sexual Content: Kissing, hugging, verbal references, one insinuated scene (couple sleeping in bed afterwards)

Language: Mild - Minimal language use in the translation I watched

Ending: Happy, Satisfying

My Synopsis

Yoon Hye Jin (Shin Min Ah), a dentist from Seoul, on her deceased mother's birthday, decides to visit the town where they spent their last family vacation, Gongjin. Little does she know how that one visit would change her life. Circumstances cause her to open her own dental clinic in the small town and the struggle for this city girl to acclimate to small town life begins. Her new life causes her to constantly be in contact with the town's jack-of-all trades, Chief Hong (Kim Seon Ho). It is a relationship that causes internal conflict of multiple kinds. As someone who always does things logically, she finds them incompatible, and she enters into a battle between her heart and her mind. Chief Hong, has his own struggles however, and secrets that he has put up walls to protect. Can he let Hye Jin into his heart and keep those walls intact?

Trailer

My Review: 10/10

This is the first drama I have watched as it has aired and I don't think I could have picked a better one. It was advertised as a healing drama, which gave me the confidence that the ending would be good, and it was. Truly the whole drama from start to finish was beautiful in so many ways. It isn't super intense, and I feel those who like to be held at the edge of their seat from episode to episode may find it slow. But, for someone who just wants to be comfortable, and enjoy a beautiful story, it is perfect. There are so many characters and stories in this drama that you really do get to feel as if you are a part of Gongjin. And, truly, I wish I was! Even, with all the stories, I didn't feel overwhelmed by them. In some dramas I have watched I found myself getting bored with or skipping over some of the side stuff, but in this one I did not have the urge to do that at all. Each character was unique and loveable in their own way.

Main Characters

Hong Doo Shik (Chief Hong)

Chief Hong is played by one of my all time favorite actors, Kim Seon Ho, who has literally catapulted to fame in the few short years he has been an on-screen actor. No one can deny he is one of the best there is. His acting skills have drawn people into his characters since the first time he graced a screen. That first time winning him an award even. He has had a long history of stage acting prior, and his experience shows as he makes all his characters stand out. The first time I saw him was in 100 Days My Prince as Jung Jae Yoon. It was a character that made our favorite side characters list. Secondly, I saw him in Strongest Deliveryman where his character was also my favorite character in the drama despite him being a secondary main. So needless to say, I have eagerly anticipated this drama since it was first announced. 

Hong Doo Shik, known by those in Gongjin as Chief Hong, is the town's jack-of-all-trades. Though technically unemployed he is at the same time employed by all of Gongjin. If anyone needs something done, they call Chief Hong. If they are short staffed, they call Chief Hong. He happily fills every role. Orphaned young you see early on that the town has in a sense adopted him, and he is loved and relied on by everyone there. He is a character that you can't help but love as well as you watch him care for those around him, and struggle as he still sorts out the haunting events of his past. 

Yoon Hye Jin

Yoon Hye Jin was played by the beautiful actress Shin Min Ah. I had the pleasure of seeing her first in Oh My Venus. She is probably one of the most beautiful actresses in the world, in my opinion, and I was so excited to see her play opposite Kim Seon Ho. This was a comeback drama for her after taking a few years break to take care of her boyfriend, who is also an actor, as he battled cancer. She is not at the acting level of Kim Seon Ho, but I feel overall, she is a great actress. Sometimes felt her delivery a little stiff, but then, again, there were times were I felt she molded extremely well to her character. Regardless, she is always a joy to watch and I always get the impression that she is a naturally sweet person. 

The character of Yoon Hye Jin was not immediately likeable to me. In some ways, she was. She had a high moral code, but sometimes her mental calculations were off. She definitely was one who liked to rely on logic vs. her heart which often caused conflict in the very heart-lead community of Gongjin. However, as the people begin to grow on her, we get to see her grow as well, and the real heart of Hye Jin starts to show through. She becomes extremely likeable and she becomes essential to the community and to the healing of those around her. 

Ji Sung Hyun

Ji Sung Hyun was played by the actor Lee Sang Yi. This was my first time seeing him in a drama, but I felt he did extremely well. He was very believable and the real friendship between him and Kim Seon Ho seemed quite evident to me as they played out their on-screen friendship as Sang Yi and Chief Hong.

Being an important person from Hye Jin's past, he becomes our third leg in the triangle. However, if you do not like love triangles, do not worry. This one will not stress you out. Trust me. I am not a fan of love triangles, but this one was one that almost didn't feel like one. I don't know how else to explain it. Director Ji is well known in the film industry and after his poor sense of direction lands him in Gongjin he decides it will be his next location to film. First coming in contact with Chief Hong, they develop a friendship before his reuniting with Hye Jin. He is a super friendly character that you will love, and I found myself really enjoying all the interaction between him and the main couple.

Hong Doo Shik and Yoon Hye Jin

The relationship between these two does not start out real well. Chief Hong sees Hye Jin as a spoiled city girl and Hye Jin sees Chief Hong as a unemployed country bumpkin. But, even as they clash they find themselves drawn together an awful lot. As they seem to finally move into the stages of friendship, a "biological crisis" occurs that threatens to tear that friendship apart. 

As they move past their crisis into a genuine friendship, they both find themselves slowly falling in love, despite their incompatibility and a very sweet romance develops. They were so cute together that I am pretty sure I spent hours grinning like an idiot while watching them. As they grow closer however, the walls that Chief Hong built are threatened and their love tested as a result. If he could just allow her in, she may just be the healing that he needs.

As far as acting goes, the chemistry between these two was incredible. They fit together so naturally that the acting almost didn't feel like acting. They were obviously very comfortable with each other in real life. They will go down in my book as one of my favorite on-screen couples of all time. 

Support Characters

Surprisingly, the support characters in this drama all seemed incredibly important to the story. Each and every one of them. They each had a story, and a developed personality that really completed the small town feel of Gongjin. As you get to know each one, you start to feel as if they are your family too. And, in all honesty, I wish I could just step through my screen and be a part of them. 

I will mention two actors here that I wanted to specifically point out. 

One, is another favorite actor of mine, Jo Han Chul, who plays Oh Chun Jae/Oh Yoon in this drama. He has played many many roles and I have personally seen him in 6 different works, including this one. Other works of his I've seen include: Vincenzo, Memorist, Juror 8, 100 Days My Prince, and Healer. He is an incredible actor, and another who I have always enjoyed watching act, no matter the role he has played.

The second is actress Kim Young Ok, who plays Kim Gam Ri, the sweet grandmother who took in Chief Hong. Her character was so gentle and sweet and wise, and was portrayed so well, I could not help but love her and wish I had her in my life for real. She did a beautiful job.

Conclusion

Do I recommend this drama? Absolutely! It is in my top ten favorites. I truly enjoyed every moment of this drama from start to finish. It was heart-warming and healing. There were so many beautiful moments, and many lessons to learn. It had a beautiful wrap up and was not stingy at all in the feels you get and the time they give for the falling action/conclusion. It left me happy and content and I will definitely be watching it again!

OST

Lee Sang Yi who played our Director Ji (secondary main character) sang an OST for this drama, called I Hope You're Happy.

And our favorite OST for this drama is Here Always by 승민 of Stray Kids.

안녕! - 줄스