It has been said that “good shoes take you to good places” and that turns out to be true for Shin Min-a’s character in the Korean drama Hometown Cha Cha Cha. It just takes her a while to realize that her new home will be good for her.
Shin’s character Yoon Hye-jin was fired from a high-priced Seoul-based dental clinic because she complained that her boss was encouraging patients to get unnecessary procedures. Although the conscientious Hye-jin is suddenly unemployed, she buys a pair of expensive shoes to convince herself that her future is bright.
She wears those shoes to Gongjin, a seaside town that she visited years ago with her parents. The same shoes lead her to meet Hong Du-sik, a handsome jack-of-all-trades who provides the town’s residents with various essential services. She leaves her shoes in the sand and the tide carries them away, bringing one shoe near his surfboard. With only one shoe, Hye-jin is forced to borrow rubber sandals from Du-sik, played by Kim Seon-ho. Despite his kindness, Hye-jin finds him suspicious.
Not sure what to do next, Hye-jin decides to move to Gongjin. The town does not have a dentist and she can open a clinic there for much less than it would cost in Seoul. However, the man she will need to make it a reality—from securing real estate to hanging wallpaper—is none other than Du-sik.
She will also need Du-sik to communicate with her new neighbors. The close-knit town has a gaggle of meddlesome but well-meaning residents that she finds impossible to avoid and easy to offend. It’s going to take Hye-jin more than changing her shoes to fit in and fully engage with her new community. Du-sik, the man who found one of her lost shoes may be just the person to point her in the right direction. He’s not only multitalented. He knows how to charm everyone he meets.
MORE FOR YOU
Shin Min-a recently appeared in the dramas Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff 2, as well as the film Diva. Kim Seon-ho starred in the dramas Start Up and Welcome to Wakiki 2. Hometown Cha-cha-cha also stars Lee Sang-yi as a variety show production director who visits Gongjin. The tvN drama is a TV remake of the 2004 film Mr. Hong, which starred Uhm Jung-hwa and Kim Joo-hyuk.