Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha


Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is a 2021 South Korean romantic comedy television series starring Shin Min-a, Kim Seon-ho and Lee Sang-yi. It is a remake of 2004 South Korean film Mr. Handy, Mr. Hong. It aired on tvN from August 28 to October 17, 2021, every Saturday and Sunday at 21:00. It is also available for streaming on Netflix.
The series became one of the highest-rated dramas in Korean cable television history, and ranked [|first place] in its timeslot for its entire run with the last episode achieving a 12.665% nationwide rating. It also became one of Netflix's most-watched non-English television shows.

Premise

Yoon Hye-jin, an accomplished dentist from Seoul, goes to the idyllic seaside village of Gongjin on her late mother's birthday after her life goes awry. She spontaneously decides to open up a dental clinic, and gets to know jack-of-all-trades Hong Du-sik, also known as Chief Hong. The romantic drama depicts the growing romance between the two, as well as the lives of other Gongjin's residents.

Cast

Main

  • Shin Min-a as Yoon Hye-jin, a perfectionist and pragmatic dentist who ends up moving from Seoul to Gongjin after her life goes awry.
  • * Shim Hye-yeon as child Yoon Hye-jin
  • * Oh Ye-ju as teenage Yoon Hye-jin
  • Kim Seon-ho as Hong Du-sik, Gongjin's handyman who is known as Chief Hong around the village. He is unemployed officially, but is always busy giving a helping hand to everyone. He is good at everything and appears to assist whatever random tasks his neighbors need help with.
  • * Song Min-jae as child Hong Du-sik
  • * An Seong-won as young teenage Hong Du-sik
  • * Moon Seong-hyun as teenage Hong Du-sik
  • Lee Sang-yi as Ji Seong-hyun, a star variety show production director who is workaholic and has a bright personality.

    Supporting

People around Hye-jin

  • Gong Min-jeung as Pyo Mi-seon, Hye-jin's best friend who is a dental hygienist.
  • Seo Sang-won as Yoon Tae-hwa, Hye-jin's father.
  • Woo Mi-hwa as Lee Myung-shin, Hye-jin's stepmother.

    People around Seong-hyun

  • Park Ye-young as Wang Ji-won, a veteran writer who has been working with Seong-hyun for seven years.
  • Lee Suk-hyeong as Kim Do-ha, an assistant director who struggles to find a work-life balance in his busy filming schedule because of his workaholic senior, Seong-hyun.
  • Seong Tae as June, main rapper of idol group DOS.
  • Baek Seung as In-woo, sub-vocalist of DOS.

    People in Gongjin

  • Kim Young-ok as Kim Gam-ri, leader of the grandmothers in Gongjin.
  • Lee Yong-yi as Lee Mat-yi, the second of the three grandmothers.
  • Shin Shin-ae as Park Sook-ja, the youngest of the three grandmothers.
  • Jo Han-chul as Oh Cheon-jae, the owner of Gongjin's live café and pub. He is a former singer with stage name Oh Yoon, who disappeared after releasing a hit song in the 1990s.
  • Lee Bong-ryun as Yeo Hwa-jung, Young-guk's ex-wife who was born and raised in Gongjin. She is the building owner of Hye-jin's dental clinic and house.
  • In Gyo-jin as Jang Young-guk, Hwa-jung's ex-husband. He is the youngest district head who used to be a seventh grade civil servant.
  • Hong Ji-hee as Yoo Cho-Hui, a teacher at Cheongjin Elementary School who returns to the coastal town after fifteen years. At that time she had been a tenant in Hwa-jung's house and they had become friends until Cho-Hui needed to suddenly move away.
  • Cha Chung-hwa as Jo Nam-sook, president of Prosperous Gongjin Department Store and owner of a Chinese restaurant near Hye-jin's dental clinic.
  • Yoon Seok-hyun as Choi Geum-chul, Eun-chul's brother and Du-sik's friend who is the owner of a hardware store.
  • Kim Ju-yeon as Ham Yun-kyung, Geum-chul's wife who owns a convenience store.
  • Kang Hyung-seok as Choi Eun-chul, Geum-chul's brother and a police officer who is a sincere person and works hard on everything he does.
  • Kim Sung-bum as Ban Yong-hun, Gongjin's community center manager.
  • Kim Min-seo as Oh Ju-ri, Cheon-jae's daughter.
  • Ki Eun-yoo as Jang Yi-jun, Young-guk and Hwa-jung's son.
  • Go Do-yeon as Choi Bo-ra, Geum-chul and Yun-kyung's daughter.

    Special appearances

  • Lee Jung-eun as Hye-jin's patient
  • Bae Hae-sun as the head doctor at Hye-jin's former dental clinic
  • Lee Jin-hee as Hye-jin's mother
  • Lee Ho-jae as Du-sik's grandfather
  • as Myung-hak, a patient at Hye-jin's dental clinic.
  • as Lee Kang-wook, Hye-jin's ex-boyfriend and Seong-hyeon's high school classmate.
  • Kim Dae-gon as rottiserie chicken seller.
  • Kim Ji-hyun as Seon-ah, Seong-hyun's cousin and Jung-woo's wife.
  • Oh Eui-shik as Park Jung-woo, Du-sik's friend whom he met during college days.
  • Lee Do-yeop as Gam-ri's son
  • as a customer at Nam-sook's restaurant.
  • Jo Young-seo as main dancer of DOS.
  • Kim Do-kyun as lead dancer of DOS.

    Episodes

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha's episode titles were written in official wallpaper of each episode in the drama official website.

Production

Development

The series, written by Shin Ha-eun, was her comeback after co-writing the 2019 drama The Crowned Clown. It was first announced on December 21, 2020, under the working title of Hong Ban-jang. The series is a drama remake of the 2004 movie.

Casting

Casting was first announced on December 21, 2020, with Kim Seon-ho and Shin Min-a being offered the lead roles. On April 2, 2021, it was officially announced that Yoo Je-won will be directing the drama literally translated as Seaside Village Cha-Cha-Cha. In the same time, Kim Seon-ho and Shin Min-a were confirmed as main leads, also Lee Sang-yi was being offered the role. The drama marked Director Yoo Je-won second collaboration with Shin Min-a after both worked on Tomorrow with You.

Filming

The first script reading for the cast members took place on April 21, 2021. Filming was initially scheduled to commence on May 8 and primarily took place in Pohang. According to the production team, at the "Lighthouse Song Festival" scene in the sixth episode was the most significant and challenging to film. It required a substantial amount of time due to the large number of participants, unpredictable weather during the rainy season, and the need to follow strict COVID-19 quarantine guidelines. The drama was planned to wrapped up filming on October 6, 2021.

Music

The series features several on-screen song covers performed by the characters. Music director Lim Ha-young selected all the songs, with additional input from writer Shin Ha-eun, director Yoo Je-won, and the cast and crew. Similar to the character Hong Du-sik in the original film, Kim Seon-ho sang and played guitar in the drama. In the series, Du-sik covered "Old Love" from Lee Moon-sae, different song from the original film. Other characters also performed at the "Lighthouse Song Festival" in Gongjin Village. The festival's opening stage featured Gongjin's resident celebrity, Oh Yeon, performing his only hit song, "Exercising in the Moonlight." To create a realistic atmosphere, Jo Han-chul performed the song live while playing the guitar. Composed by Lim in the 1990s, the song was specifically chosen to achieve an authentic nineties sound and was a fitting choice for Oh Yeon's character, as it was ranked second in the 1993 K-pop Top 10 Gayo.

Choreography

The drama features a fictional idol group named DOS, known for their hit song "Just a Feeling." The song's choreography was created by Jo Young-seo and Kim Do-gyun, choreographers from the group Dance of Soul. Jo and Kim were already known for their choreography on the television show Mr. Trot. According to Jo, the idol group was originally named "Choice," but writer Shin Ha-eun changed it to DOS. Jo and Kim's on-screen appearance as members of the group was a spontaneous decision that came about after they created the choreography. To perfectly portray the group, Seong Tae, Baek Seung, Jo Young-seo, Kim Do-gyun, and another member of their dance team practiced for a month. The dance was performed at the "Lighthouse Song Festival." In the scene, Hye-jin and Du-sik are initially seen as backup dancers for Oh Ju-ri before the idol group DOS makes a surprise appearance.

Media

Original soundtrack

The Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha soundtrack album, written by music director Lim Ha-young, comprises 11 songs and 32 score pieces from the series. The album features vocal performances from artists such as Car, the Garden, Kassy, Cheeze, Choi Yu-ree, Kim Jae-hwan, Sandeul, Seungmin, and Lee Sang-yi. In total, the compilation includes 43 tracks. In addition to the 8 previously released OST songs, the album includes "Just a Feeling" by the fictional idol group 'DOS' in the drama, which was highly requested by viewers. It also features two songs by "Oh Yoon," performed by actor Jo Han-chul as the superstar of 'Gongjin' in the drama, titled "Exercise at the Moonlit Night" and "End and Beginning." The album aims to fully capture the emotions of Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha and evoke the lingering feelings from the drama.
On July 18, 2022, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha soundtrack album also released in LP version. It was ranked 9 in the Circle Chart Retail Album Chart on July 19, 2022, with 891 copies sold.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Chart performance

Tie-in publishing

The original script of the series was published in two books, with each book covering eight episodes. The official release date was initially scheduled for early November 2021.
On November 30, 2021, the scheduled publication of the Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha Photo Essay was canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. However, on October 17, 2022, it was finally confirmed that the photo essay would be published. The photo essay was released as a package of two books, with each book covering eight episodes. The publication of the photo essay took place in February 2023.