KURVE-drama Review : Are you team Hometown Cha Cha Cha’s Hong Banjang or Squid Game’s Jun-ho?

Written by : Tamariskha Tibby

“La la la la la la la la la, romantic Sunday~”

DID YOU SING THAT LINE?! Who else can’t wait for the weekend just to watch another episode of Hong Bajang being the sweetest boi to uri Hye-jin? Or are you also waiting for Woong’s love cell to come over again to Yumi’s? Let’s talk about three #extraordinary K-dramas today! (CAUTION! Possible spoilers ahead)

We’re so blessed to have so many great and entertaining K-dramas in 2021! One of the most popular and ongoing dramas currently airing is Hometown Cha Cha Cha. The title itself might confuse some of us who haven't watched any of the episodes. What does it mean? What is the story all about? According to Netflix, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is a Romantic TV Comedy, but a lot of people are suspecting a sad ending especially since TvN is known to make dramas with tragic endings (don’t die on me Hong Banjang, will never be ready #JusticeforKimSeonHo 😭). For those who haven’t got the chance to watch this k-drama, I highly RECOMMEND this one for you! It is the kind of drama that will make you all smiley and warm throughout each of the episodes but you might cry and relate to the stories of each of the characters as well. I bet a lot of people just can’t get enough of Hong Banjang’s cool and goofy sides, Hye-Jin’s cute outfits, the Kopiko advertisement (lol), Ju Ri’s relatable love for DOS, and just everyone’s interactions with each other in Gongjin. 

source: instagram.com/tvn_drama

Last week, episode 14 contained a lot of ‘onions’ (or ‘mengandung bawang’ in Bahasa Indonesia) and unexpected twists! (although despite all the sadness, Kim Seon Ho still looks amazing👅) Who would have thought that the woman in Hong Banjang’s picture is actually the sunbae’s noona? What? And what will happen to Hong Banjang’s and Hye-Jin’s relationship as his past finally resurfaces? I really do hope everyone gets their happily ever after in the next two final episodes. Prepare yourselves #KURVIES! Get your popcorn and sit back as we watch the two final episodes from Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha this weekend.

ONE OF THE HOTTEST SHOW ON NETFLIX EVER! (with the hottest casts as well👀-my personal favourites are Jun-ho, Sang-woo and Sae-byok❤️). I might be biased, but the way that people from different parts of the world talk about this show non-stop on TikTok, Instagram, and many other platforms is just simply... amazing. I personally think that one of the factors that contributed to this show’s success is the show creator, 황동혁’s relentless fights to make this show possible. I haven’t actually watched the show just because I can’t stand violence, but thanks to TikTok and this show’s popularity that I got to know everything I needed to know about the show without purposefully searching for it, as it shows in my #FYP all the time. HOWEVER, I do watch all the interviews and behind the scenes videos! Even someone like me who hasn’t watched the show could find this really intriguing and became curious about the different casts and the story behind this show’s production. 

source: instagram.com/netflixkr

According to one of the recent interviews done by Netflix Korea (watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjuB2eC7Mmc), Squid Game is really close to the creator’s heart as he relates to Gi-Hoon and Sang-Woo, and that the actors’ involvements, as well as the whole preparation in making this show alive really show the determination of everyone involved in Squid Game. Also, according to an article by BuzzFeed, the creator of this show, 황동혁 (Hwang Dong-Hyuk), has been working on this show relentlessly since 2008, facing a lot of personal and professional hardships, as well as countless rejections, but was finally able to produce the number 1 most popular show in 90 countries! Even though I haven’t really watched this show, I could say that anyone could learn a lot from Squid Game and that the hard work that Hwang Dong-Hyuk and everyone else has put into making this show is truly inspiring! 

I was extremely excited when I heard that Kim Go-eun (Yumi) and Ahn Bo-hyun (Woong) were going to act together in a k-drama. Not going to lie, when I first saw the spoilers from TikTok, I thought that I would not like the drama because of the animations involved but when I gave it a try, I ended up falling in love with them! They are just too funny and they accurately describe what could go on in a person’s mind and how different things like reasoning and emotions could struggle to produce a desired behaviour/act. But just as Yumi’s cells show us, we might get hurt a lot of times from our experiences with different people we meet in our lives, but eventually we will be able to bounce back and be a stronger person. Be strong #KURVIES!

source: instagram.com/tvn_drama

Wait, before I continue… What’s with this picture? Sunbae??? Are you lost? Aren’t you supposed to be in Gongjin with Hye-Jin and Hong Banjang right now?🤣. I did not see this coming at all! Yumi’s ex-boyfriend is actually played by Lee Sang-yi (the sunbae from Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha) and ironically, his name in this show is Ugi, just like Yumi’s previous crush before she met Woong. For those of you who haven’t got the chance to watch this show, again, I REALLY RECOMMEND YOU to get your laptop/phone right now to start watching this k-drama! Your heart will definitely flutter seeing Yumi’s and Woong’s moments together, with NCT 도영’s magical voice as he sings ‘Like a Star’ in the background.

These three shows are really entertaining in their own unique ways. If you are in the mood to watch light romantic k-dramas, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha and Yumi’s Cells are definitely worth a try! If you aren’t a coward like me (#sad) and can stand watching a show that contains violence, Squid Game is definitely for you, because although it does contain violence, what happens before and behind the production of the show, the actors’ act, the storyline and the messages the show can give us are.just.extremely.incredible.