Strictly no spoilers over here. Yet another Kdrama has swooned us. Right after the release of Squid Game, we now have another show to binge-watch and treasure, thanks to the Korean hit series Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha. If you are one of those who keep toggling on Netflix to check what to watch next, you likely have stumbled upon this top recommendation.
I could not help but recall how many times I skipped this selection over others. Now, halfway through the series, I just realized how much I regret not watching it sooner. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is not your typical cringe romantic series. Though it follows the usual Kdrama concoction, it added up some flavors that we can relate to—flavors that make the series a true standout.
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha proves that provincial life is good for the heart.
Living in the countryside with a modest lifestyle is probably the best thing we can all have right now. Didn’t they say fresh air is good for our health? Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha shows just that. The series will make you want to live a simple life in a small village, like Gongjin. Oh, not that we don’t have Kopiko here, but they have Kopiko that looks like lozenges.
The main characters Du-shik and Hye-jin show varying lessons about the benefits of living a simple life. Especially in the case of Hye-jin, who found herself settling away from the noise of living in a megacity and proving that life can also be good from the other side.
The occasional banter between the main protagonists about their biological crisis made the statement above clearer. The differences between ideals and lifestyle can sometimes get in the way of experiencing genuine happiness. But when we overcome those by embracing the contrasts, the reward is often high—as high as healing and finding love.
Of course, we are not saying you should go on an Eat, Pray, Love era; but instead, we are reminding you that that option is out there for those of you who have the means and courage to do so. As we said, it could be the best thing we can have right now.
Elderlies are the best humans.
We all have different tastes and preferences, but undoubtedly, the story arc of the elderlies from Gongjin is one of the series’ gems. Not only did they remind us of our love for our elders, but they also showed how they are the best humans.
One notable character is Gam-ri. She is the image of how reaching a certain age could be cruel to some of us. Her longing for her busy son and grandchild is reminiscent of our lolos and lolas, who, at times, we consider makulit, but the truth is, they are just often sad and feeling forgotten.
Gam-ri personifies what we can become when we grow older. We either become hardened by the trying times—that we’d conceal any semblance of soft-heartedness so that people won’t show their pity on us. Or, we become genuinely happy with the presence of people we consider family despite not being part of our immediate ones.
From the likes of Start-Up and even Squid Game, senior citizens are starting to create a story realm of their own—making their stories at the centre stage. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha puts their story in the spotlight while blending them with other life experiences like the love for a community, the contentment of having a simple life, and finding love in the most unexpected places.
Opposites do attract.
Aside from an ensemble that depicts oneness, the contrasts between characters, storylines, and experiences make the show even more timely and relatable. From the apparent differences between Du-shik and Hye-jin, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha also cleverly portrays how opposites attract—and when they do, they create something beautiful.
The show draws certain lines to define the differences between various stories and characters. Maybe you are too busy giggling on the romance between the main protagonists, but you can also see how the show creates a contrast between the lives of younger and older characters. How their perspectives and priorities differ, yet when they converge through their connectedness, they leave life lessons about rootedness and finding happiness in places we’d usually pay no attention to.
One lesson the show teaches us is how two things of different backgrounds do not only attract each other; they also create opportunities to learn new things, merge ideas, and maybe make a better view of things. In the case of Du-shik and Hye-jin, their differences become the ground their feet are set on. They stand firm on these grounds and assert their individuality without trying to knock each other down. The show does not teach us how one has to be superior to others. The show teaches us that despite opposing ideals and outlooks in life, we can cohabitate and, if we are lucky, create a connection other than friendship.
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is a series that offers many lessons about life, love, and happiness. It is a show that focuses not only on the romance and the usual glamorized struggles of people from different classes. It majorly focuses on how building meaningful connections despite our differences makes us grounded and appreciate life in different ways from what we are used to.
