Kimsamsoom

Or it's HDS grandfather, he died before he was able to tell anyone about it. It's probably just sitting in the bank for the last decade or so. Would explain why nobody seemed to have gotten richer, because no one knows about it.

Grandfather might even have passed away during that storm.

It would be fairly weird to introduce a love triangle now when we are more than halfway through. There is a SML, but it seems platonic between him and the FL.

For some reason, I didn't feel HDS was really jealous. Like he never entered the creepy, super jealous persona. In fact, he seemed to feel it a bit, then just brush it off later. Plus I feel the emotions are very clear on Hye Jin and HDS side.

I'm not sure he is jealous of PD helping the townspeople, more of confused I think why PD is doing it.

Actually lots of rom-com's flop. It's the easiest to write due to how long the rom-com formula has been around, but it's not easy for pure rom-coms to be critically successful, especially not now, when audience demand more depth in their dramas.

Start up was a victim of how it wrote it's ML and SML. KSH stealing the spotlight didn't help. And if your implying Start Up didn't do as well as it should because of KSH fans, you must be jesting i'm sure.

Start Up is just that, a mediocre drama that was saved mostly because of KSH. A lot of people felt uneasy with the character of NDS. But as poor as the plot was, it wasn't as bad as TKEM.

Pretty sure people like KSH for more than his dimples. He is an excellent actor, with a great grasp of micro expressions. His chemistry with SMA is on point.

I think some of the hate seems to stems that some people are not fond of the ML. And some assume it's only doing well because of Idol worship of Kim Seon Ho, which I think is unfair to this drama. Although there are certainly KSH fans here, I truly believe they are not just blindly loving the show due to dimples. Give KSH fans more credit, there is more depth and maturity for these fans.

And like you, I agree that this is pretty standard rom-com so far, but the acting of everyone (not just KSH), the cinematography, OST, and direction so far has been excellent.

A kdrama that has an amazing plot, but really poor acting can easily flop, just like a kdrama with so-so plot, but amazing acting can be a ratings success. I truly feel the chemistry/acting of the cast is really elevating homecha to must see healing TV.

A few people has mentioned how Homecha is very cliche, and formulaic. And it is, no questions about it.

The scenes are telegraphed, you can probably predict where the story lines are going. By now, we can probably guess what little mysteries the drama tries to shroud. We can all probably predict how the love triangle will go, and disperse.

But why is it, even though I know what is to happen...

My heart flutters
My eyes tear up
My heart aches

Why is it, even though I've seen this type of drama play multiple times before...

It feels fresh
It feels real
It feels like something I want for myself

Why does this formulaic combination of flavors, taste different?
Why does the plot seems deeper than it is?
Why does this slow burning, seaside drama, feel more frantic, more gripping than it should be?

That is Homecha in a nutshell...

It just goes to show, that even a predictable, formulaic, and cliche Kdrama can be good, if the director, actors/actresses, and cinematographer all work in unison to create an enjoyable piece of theatre.

Indeed, home cha doesn't offer anything fresh, or anything that hasn't already been done.

But the amazing chemistry between not just the ML/FL, but all the rest of the cast, the tiny micro expressions and KSH, and the many heart fluttering scenes are enough to make this formulaic Kdrama, seem fresh and vibrant.

I was just thinking of what I would feel to be in HDS shoes in regards to Hye Jin and PD

I cannot pretend to be in that kind of situation. But I do know friends who have been in that situation. The situation I speak of, is when you meet a guy/girl at work, and you are attracted to them, but then, enters a guy/girl who has extensive history with your crush. I mean let's even say they've known each other since High School.

The amount of intimidation, and helplessness is there. Then add to the fact, that you and the girl are from two different worlds. She is a materialistic socialite, and you are a chill, hands on free lancer, and I cannot even start to fathom what HDS is feeling.

Clearly, PD and Hye Jin have a lot of shared history, friends, schooling, and etc... And in real life, just for breaking the ice, or as a conversation starter, Hye Jin and PD have much to talk about, while HDS and Hye Jin have less off. In fact in real life, even when making friends, it's always easier to make friends with people from similar culture, background, hometown, compared to someone with less foundational backgrounds.

I feel for HDS, not only does he need to break through all that shared history between Hye Jin and PD, but he also has to either change who Hye Jin is, or he has to adapt to who she is and who her parents are. Luckily for him, he has a bit of experience living in Seoul, but in his heart, he is still a rural boy.

So far in the drama, I keep seeing Hye Jin coming around to Gongjin life, and HDS's way. Hopefully we see some scenes, where it is actually HDS that is slowly adapting to Hye Jin so that they can meet in the middle.

Just some random thoughts lol! Saturday can't come sooner!

I've seen her in Oh My Venus, and I think she's doing much better here. Her chemistry with the ML is quite good, and overall I prefer the story of this one over OMV.

a lot of shows are this way, for a more "accurate" assessment, wait for the rating a few months after the show is finished.

with Kim Woo Bin I believe.

shin min ah

In Asia it's different. Agencies get a fairly big cut of profits for Idols and etc... so they have pretty big control. They find attractive men/women, then spend the money to train them to dance/sing/entertain. So they feel they have the right to control the image they expect their idols/actors to have.

It's like a fan perspective, when an actor/actress get's married, they probably start losing out on certain roles, and may even be pigeonholed to certain typecasting, which can be damaging to ones career. A lot of actresses/actors are still single in their late 30's. Even SMA is not married yet, but maybe soon, and she's approaching late 30's. I guess it depends to these people what they value more, career or marriage. It's no different than other industries, where people may value career over a relationship.

You don't even need abandonment issues to feel this. The yearning to be love is a human reaction that stems from lower self esteem.

And although, HDS has shown himself to be very confident, there is definitely that need within himself to be useful to people. And he probably gets a decent amount of personal satisfaction of being wanted/needed by people all the time. His soul probably craves it, as he fears that when he no longer feels useful to others, they may as you say abandon him, or no longer seek him. Right now, due to his minimum wage rate, he is in hot demand.

HDS has this inert superman complex. In some ways of all the people in the village, he is one of the few, if not the only one from the village who got the opportunity to get highly educated and come back. And in that sense, he may feel that he is the savior of Gongjin, using his higher education to help people. But as i've noted before, by doing so, he is not really learning to be an effective Chief, but rather he becomes an enabler. In fact in Episode there is this line from the hardware store owner. "PD did the same job, but he did it for free". So imagine, HDS is already charging dirt cheap, and giving his utmost abilities in each job he does, and yet, the people of Gongjin has shown that they are able to forego his services if someone does it for free. What does this tell you?

I would hope that the presence of the PD and his actions will serve as a wake up call to HDS, that the village will survive even if he is not there, he doesn't need to constantly save/help people. And he needs to be able to face his abandonment issues and realize, people will still consider him a friend and Chief, long after he has stopped helping them with their day to day lives.

HDS has that real fear that we all get. Are people nice to us, befriending us to get better service/cheaper cost? or do they really value us as people. And maybe, that is why he cares so much for Gamri, because like him, she has been abandoned by her family, left to grow old in Gongjin.

The love triangle here is reminiscent of the love triangle in Racquet Boys I feel, where it's kind of a one sided romance from the PD side to Hye Jin.

I believe what may have attracted, or allowed Hye Jin to crush on PD in the start, is most likely his status, high profile, and their shared connection.

HDS has no status, is not a celeb, and doesn't have a shared history with Hye Jin, but strangely she is drawn more to him.

I believe that agencies, prefer their actresses/actors to be single, or for the public to think they are single. It increases their marketability, as if they are still attainable kind of.

And for others, as mentioned it is for privacy sake, as some fans can get quite crazy in their idolization.

I think at one point, the MDL ratings used to mean something. But ever since the push of greater C/K-drama content on Netflix, you'll notice that comment counts for a lot of the newer Netflix dramas have spiked, there are more people reviewing now, and there are more fake accounts now, to push a drama both up and down, depending on what agenda people had. Then MDL had a big purge, and now I feel it's just hard to trust any of the ratings now, since it's so easily manipulated, given enough time by fans. I think My Anime List had this exact phenomenon happened on of the Anime's that wasn't that great, if I recall correctly.

I tend to put more stock in reviews, and comments, and I tend to read and put more faith in the reviewers/commenters who take the time to state their views in a cohesive manner. And even then, I still form my own opinions on whether I like it or not.

With other shows on Netflix's like Money Heist, Squid Game, and etc.. of course there are better shows out there, that puts you on the edge of your seat, keeps you guessing, and really gives you gut punches with certain emotional scenes.

I don't believe homecha ever intended to be any of those things. In it's purest essence, it's mean to be a romantic comedy, with a formulaic mystery for the ML/FL to keep audience guessing. But in all honesty, even take out HDS trauma or FL's trauma, there is enough character development and plot direction to keep your average Kdrama fan interested. For me, it is an easy watch with many cute and funny moments to keep me interested. But where this drama really shines, is that it does a great job of not overcomplicating it's plot to allow it's characters, and the actors/actresses breathing life into them do the heavy lifting, and allow their natural acting talents shine. I've seen my fair share of Kdrama, where the supporting staff all start to blend together, due to lack of emphasis given to them.

In Homecha, the drama is able to successfully give each of the main supporting characters their own leg to stand on, that even though, the ML/FL don't dominate the screen time as much as other dramas, there is that sense of cohesion still. I don't want to skip the scenes of any of the other supporting characters, from the proud parents of Bora, to oh yoon and his adorable daughter Juri, to the lovely side romance of Mi seon and the cop. These little stories form a greater part of what life in Gongjin is all about.

This is one of the few Kdrama's i've watched, where the supporting characters are given such lovely development, where it isn't the ML/FL for 95% of the show's run. And for me, that is a special thing, and probably one of the larger reasons I enjoy the show. The fiery chemistry of the ML/FL is just icing on the cake for me.

To be fair, when you've spent enough time on MDL, you learn not to trust the ratings as much. Highly rated drama's don't all turn out to be amazing, just as poorly rated dramas don't necessarily mean bad ones.

It affects probably people who are new to MDL, and for those people, there is no harm for them to try a highly rated show, as they can easily drop it if it's not their cup of tea.

props has to go to the director as well, he knows how to choose KSH's good angles, and the closeup to capture all those micro expressions have been amazing.

His little nuanced acting is really a sight to see, blink and you'll miss it. His reactions to certain supporting character's dialogue, really tells you a bit more about HDS character than words can ever do.