Aside from its questionable title ‘ Hometown Cha Cha Cha’ is a remake of the rom-com’ Mr. Hong’ (2004) updated and directed by Yoo Je-won, the same director behind dramas such as ‘Oh My Ghostess’ and ‘Tomorrow With You’. The storyline isn’t labyrinthine . Cha-Cha-Cha is a straightforward rom-com ( taken from the original movie) of “ city girl moves back to the sticks and falls in love”. However this boils down to the ultimate question for newcomers thinking of picking the series up; “is ‘ Hometown Cha Cha Cha’ actually worth watching? “

Arguably the drama does a really good job at subverting certain cliches and stereotypes beyond the expectations of viewers . Whilst the villagers are sometimes used for stock comedy , they are often more than just filler characters also. Many of them have their own problems which are revealed as the series progresses. For example Oh Cheon-jae (Jo Han-chul) is a cafe owner and a washed-up one hit wonder who despite often ending up as the butt end of the joke, has a more sensitive side by desperately yearning to return back to his brief glory days. There was something oddly heartfelt about each episode taking a moment away in order to focus upon side characters such as the village grandmas who main heroine Hye Jin (Shin Min Ah ) encounters in this small seaside town.

On the other hand this brings us onto one of the biggest elephants in the room surrounding our main female lead Hye Jin. Actress Shin Min Ah is decent enough here. On the other hand her onscreen persona Hye Jin is trickier to address. Hye-Jin is the epitome of the “ carte blanche female lead”; a character who has some necessary plot-driven angst, sweetness and backstory, but rarely has more definitive depth, emotions and realistic flaws.

Adding to the issue of Hye-Jin’s character arc is that whilst she does have “flaws” they’re never really pointed out by director Je-Won more directly . This is because Je-Won tries too hard to present Hye-Jin as a “ loveable and perfect” female heroine without considering that perfection can often be flawed . Of course our MC does have her sob story and angst-ridden moments later on in the series but these scenes rarely enforced more powerful emotions onto viewers as there was little to make Hye-Jin grow or learn from her past mistakes . This was case and point when others such as male lead and main love interest Du Sik( Kim Seon Ho) pointed out Hye-Jin’s mistakes at times as arrogant or rude, the drama rarely gave her the chance to grow or explain herself without either turning the blame on Du Sik for interfering, making Hye-Jin burst into tears or failing to accept her own mistakes sincerely . The problem with Hye Jin is that her character arc runs on pure plot device steam than actual character writing- we never find out what really drives Hye Jin either through her current flaws addressed, her career and future goals ( rather than mere romance) or for the sake of plot.

This moves us onto main lead Du Sik. Similar to costar Shin Min Ah, Kim Seon Ho was delightful as dexterous “all-round-ace” Du Sik- adding his own sweet charm to a character with a surprising amount of profoundness . He’s an extrovert, incredibly talented at everything and good-natured but also shares his own personal troubles as well. On the other hand whilst later episode scenes relished in tackling Du Sik’s past, this did feel slightly rushed than well-paced. We do see Du Sik’s problems build-up in early scenes and it was surprisingly refreshing to see vulnerability against a seemingly “ strong” character such as Du Sik.

Consequently it felt as though the drama could’ve done more to have built-up dramatic tension around Du Sik’s past and character arc. Whilst it is used to present drama and a spanner in the works with his relationship with Hye Jin, it was evidently used to add some tension and dramatic dilemmas rather than feeling gradually built up or allowing to present the profound connection between our leads more sincerely.

This of course leads us to discussing about the romantic setup between our leads which is (unsurprisingly)a rocky road. On a positive note it was heartwarming to see their feelings blossom . Even from the first episode the route of potential romance between our main characters was obvious. Bland chemistry in early episodes was ignited by more cutesy interactions as episodes progressed as well as fire added to the flames with dramatic tension keeping the ball game going between the two characters.

Similar to his previous works, Yoo Je-Won adds his own personal touch of oozy sweetness to the overall production. Pohang City in the province of North Gyeongsang in South Korea sets the perfect location for the fictional Gongjin village. The blue horizons of clear skies and crystal waters, provided an idealistic escape throughout the series.Vivid cinematography accentuates scenes alongside bright lighting, whilst more slapstick comedy from the original movie is replaced by a few farce scenes in order to focus upon more meaningful scenes between its main characters. The ending offers a more bittersweet note for viewers with an ending that was sweet but admittedly expected.

‘ Hometown Cha Cha Cha’ is the epitome of a rudimentary sweet sugary ice cream treat- cutesy fluff and with its own bittersweet edge at times, but it could easily melt under the pressure of its own plot build-up and dramatic tension. Overall it is really dependent on what you’re looking for in a drama- a quick, easy and back-burner romance setup ( which you’ve probably seen a million times already) in order to pass the time? Then definitely.