Hometown Cha Cha Cha Shimmies Up 8.733% Ratings in Episode 3 as a Sign that the Romance Slice-of-life Drama Can Still Get Audience Interest

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• I'm happy to see it doing well. Episodes 3 and 4 were so good.

  • I agree! It's really picking up now and the last scene of ep 4 was so good.

• LOL dentists are not typically wealthy enough to buy Hermes bags on the regular... product placement FTW.

  • Funnily this is the one ppl I can buy because she has enough money to start a dental practice even if it's in a small town, and ep 1 suggested she's in the habit of buying expensive things even if they squeeze her budget (the shoes). And at least Hermes bags have good resale value, more than other luxury brands' trendy bags.

  • Koreans have this habit of buying luxury items to show off even if they bought in on credit/debt so I’d say it’s not far from their reality haha they’re too image conscious, and not sure in SK but from where I live the people who can afford to study dentistry and eventually open their clinics are from at least upper middle class

• I dropped it already. It's giving me Hallmark movie and Sweet Home Alabama vibes, and the drama seems like it has a checklist of all the kdrama tropes to check off.

  The Kim Seon Ho fans are in 7th heaven right now, so good for them. At this rate, given how MASSIVELY beloved he is, it feels like KSH is on fast track to joining that exclusive Hallyu male stars club. It's a bit shocking to me, really.

  • It has a checklist of all the kdramas trope to check off. And that's what turn me off. Kdramas will not be able to leave all their usual trope but too much of them only tire me out. I can't take the drama seriously. The drama is nice for an escapism. Light, fun, with exceptionally beautiful people on screen. But for me it lacks the contemplative quality that makes slice of life drama stand out from other genre.

    • "Light, fun, with exceptionally beautiful people on screen. But for me it lacks the contemplative quality that makes slice of life drama stand out from other genre."

      Ding, ding, ding! Yep, this right here. The drama right now is like cotton candy - fluffy, pretty, and sugary, but bearing no nutritional substance whatsoever.

• LOL at this drama getting twice as high ratings as Start Up did. Good karma indeed.

  • both leads are very cute and I like the relationship build up slowly, that how it should be in reality.

• Jokes about the Hermes aside, I actually think it makes sense for Hyejin? Those designs are classic, not likely to date soon (unlike recent years' trendy designs like that Dior saddle bag, Fendi baguette, Bottega Veneta puffy clutches etc)...the kind of thing a professional woman with years of experience, no kids and a love of luxury goods might splurge on with an eye on reselling them someday because Hermes is known to fetch good prices on the resale market, sometimes higher than retail.

  • I am in the "makes no sense" camp. Dentists make a good amount, enough to afford a Birkin (or two), not the entire Hermes line-up. Hermes also constrains inventory so unless you're a celebrity or chaebol heiress, you cant buy whatever and however much you want. This is pure PPL, unrealistic but nice to look at.

    If she whips out a Himalayan croc Birkin in a future episode, I will laugh so hard.

    • This is not true. Hermès limits accessibility to the big 3: Birkin, Kelly and Constance. Lindy also limited but not as much as the other three. The rest of their bags are easy to get in store (including the red Herbag Hye Jin always carries).

    • @Melone - that's true, if someone wants an Hermes bag that's not a custom order or in a very in-demand colourway they can buy it in-store without waiting...if they go for whatever colour/size the store has available. Like Hyejin's red bag, it's not a 'classic' colour but I've heard irl stories of first-time customers being given the chance to buy weird-coloured bags in-store instead of, say, a black Birkin. The catch is that they won't let you buy more than a few per year, to prevent flooding the resale market.

      The ones who are pickier about their bag or want a colour/skin that's not available in-store often talk about spending time 'developing a relationship' with the Hermes SAs ie spending a lot of money buying scarves and small leather goods first before being put on the list to get the bag with the specs they want.

  • I thought that was a fake or secondhand. Many people bought birkin that way when they can't afford the real deal. Second hand stuff has good quality these day as many websites vouch for their originality

  • How do you know whether she can afford or not? Dentists are paid different, depending on whether they work privately or hired in a public health sector. Plus, it is South Korea, where people live and breathe for luxury stuffs as @Q mentioned. It is not like they use a mask and whatever nonsense stuffs as PPL like they did in TKEM.

• Loving n enjoying this fun n sweet drama development so much. The leads are cute n their chemistry with each other n all the casts is amazingly good. Looking forward to more fun adventure yay.

• Wow, that rating is impressive. I guess both are loved in Korea and it shows in the rating.

  Also local audience seem to like it when the story is set in a local town. Just like When the Camellia blooms.

  • When the Weather is Fine was set in a countryside but the ratings were only around 2%. Sad because I thought it was a beautiful drama but I guess it also depends on the star power of the leads especially on the GP. Camellia had GHJ and HomCha has current IT boy KSH.

    • When the weather is fine was such a nice surprise, I love everything about it. Home cha is in the similar vein but in a sea side setting but for some reason I'm not feeling it. Could be that I have a bias for the winter cozy vibes. But also home cha feels like something I've seen before.

      But atleast it's still doing well you can't underestimate the crazy star power Kim seon ho has these days, it's a bit of a turn off tbh but I'm trying to separate the actor from his fandom.

• EP4 went up to 8.742%. It'll hit double digits soon at this rate. Love me some Shin Mina and Han Ji-pyeong was bae so I had to check this out. But I was astonished to find myself not caring all that much about the leads or their upcoming romance. Perhaps it's their bland chemistry. I find myself more invested in the side characters like the halmoni squad, the one-hit wonder who makes bad coffee, his feisty daughter Ju-Ri, Hwa-jung ajumma and so on. The writer is smart to give attention to the townsfolk because they're the MVPs carrying the show (and its high ratings).

  • If you look at the reactions of korean forums you'd realize you are in the minority for thinking that lol. Not that your taste or opinion is inferior since its objective but many are saying the leads chemistry and acting are the main draw point that contributes to the ratings.

    • I think you mean subjective. Which it totally is.

  • Am i the only one who finds they have such a good chemistry? Like i haven seen a drama w this good chemistry since CLOY..

    • I think they have great chemistry too, but less of the cheesy slow-mo would be good.

• After Nevertheless, Marriage or Divorce, Mine, Penthouse, and Devil Judge, I think the Korean audience is all tired with toxic/heavy/mind-twisting dramas and settle for a comfort drama like this one. Plus, the main actor and actress are much beloved there. Thus, the uptick in rating is not a surprise. Kudos TvN!

  • ^good point. Lots of heavy dark dramas on air for months, a drama that isn't like that seems quite refreshing in comparison.

• I really liked the 4 episodes and how they relationship is evolving! They look so good together. I like the ambiance in the town and its habitants.

  I don't think it's surprising she's rich. She worked in a clinic for years and was the one with the lot of patients. Clearly, she did a lot of esthetic jobs that pay more than just cavities. She had famous patient like the idol. Her dentist friends were the same, the Gangnam one paid a lot of taxes...