Sometimes when I watch something, I want to get put into a certain mood. If you are the same and are looking for the perfect feel-good series with beach/summer vibes, I highly recommend you watch 갯마을 차차차 or “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha.”
This series is a K-drama, meaning it was filmed in South Korea with Korean actors, in Korean. Here’s the thing: It’s kind of customary in the K-drama world to watch those series in their original language with subtitles (even though they were dubbed in many other languages). So if you want to craft while watching, you should have something easy in your hands.
Now, let’s talk about the actual show.
We follow Yoon Hye-Jin, a young dentist who gets into trouble with her boss for speaking up about something. Things get out of hand, and she decides to quit, not knowing that her boss would bad-mouth her out of spite.
In a bout of frustration, Hye-Jin travels to the seaside town of Gongjin on her late mother’s birthday, a place she used to visit with her parents when she was a kid. Once there, she ponders life while sitting at the beach. Sadly, the tide steals her brand-new heels, and her shoes get swept into the sea. Hong Du-Sik, the town's handyman and Jack-of-all-trades, finds one of them, and the bickering begins.
Due to her car breaking down, Hye-Jin is forced to stay in Gongjin for the night. She meets a lot of the people who live there and decides to stay and open her own dental clinic.
Ultimately, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is a romance story. But there is so much more to it. Overcoming prejudices, dealing with guilt, mental health problems, life in a small town with a tight-knit community, and so much more. You will laugh a lot; you will cry a lot. It’s the perfect mix. Every episode makes you want to keep going, to learn more about each and every character. No wonder Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is among the highest-ranked dramas in Korean television history. It also spent 16 weeks in the Netflix global Top 10.
It’s also a good entry into the world of K-dramas. Once there, you will find many amazing shows to watch. We’ll definitely talk about some of them in the future.
