[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" Episode 3

We start with cute fluff, as Hye-jin wrangles herself into offering a free ride to Seoul for the three grannies via her weirdly motivated desire to have Chief Hong see her buying nice things for herself. As expected, the four guests annoy her in reasonable ways. But then "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" gets into more heartfelt and even socially relevant territory with the story of the elder granny Gam-ri (played by Kim Young-ok), who doesn't want dental implants, citing expense despite the fact that she's reasonably well-off financially.

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Why she feels this way is...complex. The journey to Seoul is actually a fairly strong primer for why. Many old women of Gam-ri's generation live in different cities than their children, as their children move off to make a living. Where Gam-ri probably grew up believing that her children would take care of her in old age, the reality is the opposite. They're a distant prescence who ask for money rather than offer it, with Gam-ri having to survive largely on her own wits.

This much goes a long way to explaining why Gam-ri, and the other grannies for that matter, have such a high opinion of Chief Hong. In a way, he's like a son to them, regularly checking in and offering help as they need it. Despite Chief Hong's sometimes blunt personality, he's clearly motivated by a desire to help others. Consequently, the grannies are always willing to hear Chief Hong's request for aid, which never devolve into something as vulgar as a request for money.

That's the small-town perspective for a past generation. But Hye-jin, our cosmopolitan dentist, is more functional than practical with money. Hye-jin believes dental implants for Gam-ri are important, not because Hye-jin wants the money, but because Hye-jin still thinks about her mother. Just being able to eat nice foods was a big comfort for her. And as a loving daughter, Hye-jin would give anything just to extend that meager pleasure.

While Gam-ri's own story is compelling on its own, it also works as remarkably effective character building for both Chief Hong and Hye-jin. Through Gam-ri's story, "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" emphasizes how Chief Hong and Hye-jin are quite alike in their willingness to prioritize doing good deeds over being known for doing good deeds. It also helps that "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" features a lot of distinctive and delicious-looking cuisine- providing a subtle nudge to the argument that Gam-ri's dental health is important and should not be taken lightly.

Review by William Schwartz

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"Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" is directed by Yoo Je-won, written by Sin Ha-eun, and features Shin Min-a, Kim Seon-ho, Lee Sang-yi, Gong Min-jung, Seo Sang-won-I, Woo Mi-hwa. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2021/08/28~Now airing, Sat, Sun 21:10 on tvN.