Love ‘Hometown Cha Cha Cha’? These Other K-Dramas Have the Same Peaceful and Healing Vibes Too
Sep 23, 2021 • Kyzia Maramara
Aside from gazing at Kim Seon Ho and Shin Min Ah’s dimples, what we love most about Hometown Cha Cha Cha is that it has such a light story. It’s simply about two adults who cross paths in a peaceful and sleepy seaside town and fall in love, featuring a community of nosy townspeople in the background. Two episodes every weekend deliver two hours to forget about your problems IRL and just focus on Chief Hong and Hye Jin’s blossoming relationship. While you’re looking forward to the weekends, you can fill your weekdays with other “healing” K-dramas with heartwarming storylines just like Hometown Cha Cha Cha. Here are the best ones:
Reply 1988 (2015)
One of HomCha‘s charms lies in its community of cast members. We’re not just focusing on the romance between the main leads, we’re also given backstories on the rest of the people in Gongjin. In Reply 1988‘s case, it’s the neighbors in Ssangmun-dong in Seoul. Reply 1988 is divided between the stories of the teens and their parents. It chronicles the struggles of 18-year-olds in the late 80s — education, love, family, and everything in between. The story also fast-forwards to 1994 and 1995 and sometimes visits 2016 too where Sung Deok Sun (Hye Ri) is being interviewed with her husband. Viewers are left to guess who among the Ssangmun-dong squad she ends up marrying.
Reply 1988 will only be on Netflix until Sept 30.
When the Camellia Blooms (2019)
In love with HomeCha‘s small-town setting? When The Camellia Blooms is also set in one, a fictional town called Ongsan. Single mom Oh Dong Baek (Gong Hyo Jin) opens a bar named Camellia. It takes a while for people to warm up to her and her business at first, like Hye Jin with her dentist clinic, but pretty soon, Dong Baek is part of the town. She meets playful Yong Sik (Kang Ha Neul) who unabashedly declares his love for her and attempts to woo her in every way possible. This series also has a touch of crime and mystery.
Fight For My Way (2017)
If you’ve ever seen a clip of Park Seo Joon doing aegyo or acting cute in one drama, it’s probably from this drama. Fight For My Way is about a group of friends in their late 20s who are, essentially, fighting for their way in the world. Ko Dong Man is a former taekwondo champ who falls in love with his close friend, Choi Ae Ra (Kim Ji Won), a department store employee who dreams of becoming a TV announcer. They’re both childish and immature (hence the aegyo), which makes their budding affection for each other even more challenging to navigate.
Run On (2020)
Good vibes, lots of running, and film. Run On is about Ki Seon Gyeom (Im Si Wan), a sports agent who falls in love with Oh Mi Joo (Shin Se Kyung), a subtitle translator for movies. It also features other main characters like Seo Dan-Ah (Sooyoung) who is the fierce CEO of a sports agency but often looked down upon because of her gender. She in turn falls in love with art student Lee Young Hwa (Kang Tae Oh). While largely a romance drama, Run On touches on subjects like family dynamics and working hard to achieve your dreams.
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (2015)
It’s impossible to believe that not everyone’s eye has been blessed with this super kilig masterpiece starring Nam Joo Hyuk and Lee Sung Kyung. Weightlifting Fairy is a story about collegiate weightlifter Bok Joo who starts harboring a crush on a weight loss doctor. Meanwhile, her childhood friend, swimmer Joon Hyung, is falling in love with her. The chemistry between the lead actors will make you roll around your bed in kilig. They even dated IRL for a while!
Hospital Playlist (2020, 2021)
How about a drama that will literally and figuratively heal you? Hospital Playlist centers on five 40-year-old friends who have been friends since medical school. They’re reputable doctors at Yulje Medical Center by day and they play in a band by night. Hospital Playlist is a heartwarming medical drama that’s about love and friendship. Season 2 just ended so if you haven’t already, you can go ahead and binge it in one week.
Because This Is My First Life (2017)
Computer designer Nam Se Hee is against marriage and relationships and would rather live with his cat. He is also a bit short on cash so he looks for a housemate to help pay off his mortgage. Enter Yoon Ji-Ho, a single woman who has given up on dating due to financial struggles. A miscommunication causes them to believe the other is the same gender so they sign a contract to become housemates. In the process, they learn more about each other and eventually fall in love. Because This is My First Life might sound like it doesn’t have much of a plot, but the writing makes it work. It’s a great slice of life drama everyone needs to watch.
One Spring Night (2019)
One Spring Night is a slow-burn romance and slice of life drama rolled into 16 satisfying episodes. The plot is simply a breath of fresh air. Yoo Ji Ho (Jung Hae In) is a pharmacist and a single dad. He meets Lee Jeong-In (Han Ji Min) and falls in love with her. But she’s coming from a relationship with her long-term boyfriend, Kwon Gi Seok (Kim Joon-Han) who is everything her parents want for her — stable job, wealthy family, handsome, and smart. Although it isn’t set in a small community unlike dramas like Hometown Cha Cha Cha, it’s a quiet, peaceful drama that never fails to bring all the feels.
Watch it on Netflix.
Do you know other dramas like Hometown Cha Cha Cha?
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