Cha-cha-cha la Malul Mării (2021)

Hometown Chachachá

Es un drama bastante lindoooo. Me encanta mucho cómo todos los personajes son como familia y se tratan como tal. Eso hace que te encariñes de todos y que disfrutes cada escena del drama.

El jefe Hong es lo más bello, hombre con responsabilidad afectiva, amable, inteligente, trabajador, romántico y muuuuy tierno. Me encanta la rivalidad que existe al inicio entre él y Hye Jin, es muy divertido verlos pelear, pero al mismo tiempo no querer separarse el uno del otro.

Lo único que no me gustó es que es muuuy largo para todo lo que pasa. Pero de ahí en más, es perfecto.

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what most romcom kdramas aspire to be

If you want a high quality romance kdrama with a good buildup, then Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha will not disappoint. The atmosphere and setting is beautiful, the leads are flawed but charming, and the story between them and the town is so heartwarming to watch. While there are definitely some sad parts (read: obligatory traumatized male lead), it never strays into heavy angst that feels hopeless or overtly dark. This is a drama that is first and foremost about healing, and it never forgets that.

Now a few reasons why this is almost a 9/10 but not quite:
- After ep 10, it's not as good as the first episodes
- While I liked Gongjin, I never became super attached to any of the stories of the townsfolk
- There was a really good opportunity for a wlw couple to take the stage but the love story was instead given to a less-than-stellar ex-husband
- Dusik's past was built up a bit too suspensefully for the pay off

Despite this, it wasn't enough to bump the rating further down, especially since it never got boring, which, to me, is one of the biggest flaws a show can have. It's still a great kdrama to watch when you just want something fun, sweet, and romantic, and I'd highly recommend it, especially if you're the type to be picky over romcoms. The ending was also very satisfying to me, which is a rare find.

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One of the lightest and most touching dramas of the year!

In a world where everything is stressful, I’m so thankful for a drama like HCha to exist. It’s such a breath of fresh air seeing everyone interact in their own way. The characters are all fully fleshed out with their own side stories to make you fully immersed in the village of Gongjin. At moments the drama touched on several life lessons, each of which where very touching- you could feel the characters’ emotions (and admittedly I teared up quite often). The sad moments were contrasted by lighter moments to have you ROTFL ?

Props to Shin Min-ah and Kim Seon-ho for bringing Yoon Hye-Jin and Chief Hong to life! I loved seeing all their bickering and banter turn into a light and fluffy romance~

The drama did hit a few minor snags along the way, such as a few characters making questionable decisions. However, it was very in character- so although there could have been different decisions, everything flowed together naturally.

By no means is HomeCha a perfect drama, but for what it is, it’s excellent. If you’re looking for something to destress, have at it!

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Another Drama I Struggled Through

I usually watch my dramas at work when there's down time, or when I'm eating, so depending on the day and how much I like the drama, it could take anywhere from a week or two to months to finish. It took me months to finish Doom because I was just so not into it at all.

This was sort of like that but different. I felt like this couple definitely had more chemistry than the Doom couple, but they got together pretty early so I was concerned that the show was going to do multiple break up/get back together story lines, but luckily they didn't.

This is the first review I'm writing immediately after finishing a drama, so I actually remember everything. lol Something that was super annoying to me in this drama was the motivation for the FL and her relationship with ML. So, I understood her initially requesting they don't tell anyone until she talks to the guy who has a crush on her, that's it. That makes total sense and is totally respectable.

Then she spoke to him, cleared the air, and then still requested they keep it a secret... for no reason. Literally none. After specifically saying, "Just until I speak to him." (Ji Seong Hyeon's character). It's like the writers wanted some wacky montage of them getting "caught" by the towns folk but couldn't be arsed to come up with a reason for why the secret needed to continue. lol

Also, SO MUCH happened the last episode or two, meanwhile almost nothing important happened throughout the rest of the show. It felt super rushed (not as rushed as the BOF ending but still lol). And those things were actually interesting, exciting, and emotional things. Why not spread it out?

Final complaint is very superficial but they did Yoon Hye Jin (Shin Min A) sooo dirty with that wedding dress. I get they live in a small town, and they had a little nothing wedding, but my first thought was, "Wow the budget must have been GONE by this point." It was not attractive, not flattering for her at all, and looked paper thin and cheap. I bought a nicer wedding-like dress for $40 that I used to play the Corpse Bride. They could've done better. lol

Also, side note but why is there a music rating on these things? The only KDrama music that has ever, and will ever matter is the BOF music and that's because it's now used as THEE quintessential mocking KDramas music. lol

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Great complement for weekend relaxation.

Personally, this theme feels like a breath of fresh air since we've been fed with a lot of dark-nerve wrecking dramas for the last 2 years. (Vincenzo, Flower of Evil, Mouse, The Devils Judge, Beyond evil etc).

Too put it simple, it doesn't stress you out. A lot of happy moments and a little here and there of every other emotions.

Pros:
A lot of life lesson. Warm and touching. This drama perfectly present POVs from a hardworking wife, a husband, a single dad, a stepmom etc that people always bottle up and avoid talking about it.

Aesthetic-served. Cinematography is similar to Lovestruck in the City.

OSTs just stuck in your head.

Cons:
But, I personally felt like there's something missing towards the end of the story. We've been reminded on every episode how Du Sik suffers from trauma but it was just at ep 15 when everyone half-assedly apologize and he seemed rather fine all of sudden? I don't know.

Every conflicts seemed to be unfold and resolved on ep15 and 16 like and that's it?

Some episodes on second half felt like fillers.

Also SikHye romantic moments are a little too much/cringey for me.
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Anyway, I'd still recommend this to someone who needed something light for their weekend.

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Easy Watching Feel-good Romance

This was the first K-drama that I actually watched through to completion so I wanted to watch some more (I am now a complete addict) before writing a review so that I might have something to compare against. I've been rather spoilt by the series I subsequently watched, picking those with the highest ratings here on MyDramaList so Hometown Cha-cha-cha has some stiff opposition to be compared against and overall it came out well enough.

Like many people I suspect, I turned to K-dramas for some much needed escapism durin these difficult times. In particular I wanted something feel-good and "easy watching" where I wasn't going to be put through the emotional wringer and this fits the bill perfectly. The downside to this would be if you are wanting to be challenged, thrilled or otherwise stretched in some way then this probably won't do it.

So the basic storyline is straight-forward enough: Yoon Hye Jin, an intelligent and successful Seoulite dentist who is likeable but somewhat uptight, makes an unfortunate drunk internet posting mistake which sabotages her job. She therefore ends up in the seaside backwater of Gongjin where she meets Hong Doo Shik, a jack of all trades and the cornerstone of the village. Despite being a well educated professional he has ended up making this village his home doing simple jobs for a minimum wage in order to escape from some dark incidents in his past. The story follows the obvious arc with the charm of the town and the warmth of "Chief Hong" gradually softening our heroine who learns to relax and prioritise different things in her life. As they are drawn together she in turn tries to persuade Doo Shik to face his demons so that he can move on.

As I said above, this is "easy watching" - there are no blinding plot twists and everything proceeds and an enjoyable gentle pace to its obvious conclusion. There are a lot of the standard K-drama cliches: a love triangle, the usual standing and staring into eachother's eyes for an unrealistically long time, lots of "will they, won't they", some falling over and being caught in the arms of the other etc. There is a bit of drama with a serial stalker menacing the town but never anything too taxing. There are enjoyable side stories from the various villagers whom we get to meet and as our heroine learns to love the town and its inhabitants so do we too.

Like a lot of K-dramas, I find that there is a certain amount of "fat" in this that could have been trimmed. The necessity of spinning things out to the stanard 16 episode did make for a couple of really poor episode in the middle which really jarred. They were supposed to be cutesy-wootsy as the two leads start to do things together but Hey Jin behaves so out of character that Doo Shik must have been left wondering whether he actually wanted anything to do with this person! Still, after that bump we are back on track and everything proceeds smoothly. The pace does race ahead toward the end with a lot of chief Hong's back story to get through at break-neck speed but it all wraps up smoothly in the end.

The cast were great with our two leads having good on-screen chemistry and both fitting their roles perfectly. The supporting actors all did a great job despite an occasionally creaky script. So all in all, it's a very enjoyable, untaxing easy-watching romance and if that is what you are after then it fits the bill nicely.

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Best rom-com and slice of life!

~One of the best mix of romantic comedy and slice of life drama
~Beautiful character growth and engaging plot lines
~Few cliched plots but executed to perfection
~Powerful female-centric characters
~Amazing narration and handling of sensitive issues and stereotypes
including mental health, LGBTIQ, pregnancy, divorce, aging parents etc
~Filled with life lessons and beautiful outlook on life
~Second male lead storyline handled impeccably well

I laughed , I clapped, I squealed, I screamed and I also cried a lot. I was thoroughly attached to the Gongjin villagers by the end of the drama. This drama will stay with me for a long long long time. Thank you to the amazing writers and directors and the talented cast who made possible this heartwarming show in the middle of the pandemic and gave us all so much comfort.

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Great but

This drama is great, NO DOUBT. I would for sure recommend it if you enjoy slow family, community vibe dramas with no dramatic plot or "bad guys". It's a feel-good romance and the chemistry between the leads was great Until they got together. I don't know what happened but the fl suddenly did a 180 on her personality and the way she interacted with the ml, yes understandable now they are dating but it lost the spark/ banter they had before they got together. She was VERY, EXTREMELY CLINGY and HER VOICE irked me so so much it was honestly very hard to watch yet I kept going because I am guessing it is "normal" for the start of a relationship but it's not that fun to watch. I have noticed her calming down and being more herself again as they go on but this is just a warning for the ep 10-12 at least like it's a lot.

Otherwise, definitely watch this drama it's so fun and everyone is so likable.

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What a Beautiful Masterpiece

Indeed the perfect pair of the year. ?
The casts are well suited with their characters.
The dimples of the main leads are kind of distracting.
You will just see yourself smiling because of this show.
I love everything about this show.
SLOW CLAP FOR EVERYONE WHO MADE THIS SHOW COME TO LIFE.
No dull moments in every episodes. It may feel slow sometimes but the FL and ML always saves the show.
The OST are addicting too. It's quite funny and super catchy.

Indeed the perfect pair of the year. ?
The casts are well suited with their characters.
The dimples of the main leads are kind of distracting.
You will just see yourself smiling because of this show.
I love everything about this show.
SLOW CLAP FOR EVERYONE WHO MADE THIS SHOW COME TO LIFE.
No dull moments in every episodes. It may feel slow sometimes but the FL and ML always saves the show.
The OST are addicting too. It's quite funny and super catchy.

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YOU MUST WATCH THIS DRAMA AND HERE'S WHY!

I never write reviews but for this one i strongly felt like i should because i dont want people to miss out on this drama if they are having second thoughts about starting this one . Following reasons are why i am loving this drama so far

1)Cinematography- There are some absolutely breathtaking wide and drone shots of the place Pohang where the drama is shot makes it such a visual treat. After watching this you will definitely want to put this place down in your wishlist of travel destinations. The setting of the drama with its picturesque landscapes, sunsets at sea will give you healing vibes for sure.

2) Cast and Characters(Both main and supporting cast)- I will admit that i was looking forward to this drama because i have been waiting for shin min ah's return but i was pleasantly surprised to see how well the rest of the characters hold their own, its not a drama which is all about the two leads ; its also very much about the people around them the actors all have done a really good job so you do become invested in their stories and struggles as well . Even the child actors give really memorable peroformances in this one .

3)Main Leads- The chemistry is so present but unlike so many rom coms this drama will give you time to like these two as individuals before they get together as a couple(which as of now they havent) . I like how both of them are not perfect but that is what makes them relatable and you will soon find yourself rooting for them.

4)Story- Even though at this stage a large chunk of story is to be seen but i like that there is an actual story to look forward to especially about the lead actor's past. This drama was already good because of the previous points but the compelling stoyrline that they have been teasing in the first episodes is such an added bonus that makes this one a complete package.


HOPE YOU ENJOY WATCHING THIS HEARTWARMING DRAMA SET IN A BEAUTIFUL PLACE AS MUCH AS I DID !! :)

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