Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha

August 28, 2021

Yoon Hye-jin (Shin Min-a) arrives in Gongjin after losing her Seoul job. The seaside village of Guryongpo — shot entirely on location in Pohang — is immediately established as one of K-drama's most charming settings. She meets Hong Du-sik (Kim Seon-ho) and they immediately dislike each other.

August 29, 2021

Hye-jin opens her dental clinic in Gongjin. Du-sik knows everything about everyone in the village and uses that knowledge with his characteristic easy generosity. Their conflict deepens.

September 4, 2021

The Gongjin village festival. The harbour and seafront of Guryongpo at their most festive. Hye-jin begins to see the community she stumbled into.

September 5, 2021

A day of rain in Gongjin. Du-sik's helpfulness — to Hye-jin's irritation — is shown at its most comprehensive. The harbour in rain.

September 11, 2021

The first hints of Du-sik's past — why he left Seoul and returned to this small village — surface. Hye-jin's defensiveness softens slightly.

September 12, 2021

Gongjin's night market along the seafront. Du-sik and Hye-jin's first genuine cooperation. The village's warmth is fully established.

September 18, 2021

Du-sik's history in Seoul — his tragedy — is partially revealed. The episode that transforms the drama from romantic comedy to something with genuine emotional weight.

September 19, 2021

Both characters are falling for each other in ways neither is ready to acknowledge. The Guryongpo harbour at golden hour.

September 25, 2021

Gongjin's own history — the older residents' stories — interweaves with the romance. The drama's ensemble becomes as important as its leads.

September 26, 2021

Du-sik's feelings are visible to everyone in the village before they are visible to Hye-jin. The comedy of small-town observation.

October 2, 2021

People from Hye-jin's Seoul past arrive in Gongjin. The contrast between the two worlds she inhabits is at its sharpest.

October 3, 2021

Du-sik's full backstory is revealed. His reasons for staying in Gongjin rather than returning to his previous life are finally fully explained.

October 9, 2021

Du-sik and Hye-jin acknowledge what they feel. The harbour at night.

October 10, 2021

Gongjin's community response to the relationship — warm, invested, slightly interfering — is the drama's most purely comedic episode.

October 16, 2021

A complication from Du-sik's past threatens what they have built. The drama does not pretend that history disappears simply because the present is happy.

October 17, 2021

The finale. Peaked at 12.7% nationwide. One of 2021's most-loved rom-coms — a drama about choosing a life rather than returning to one.