Hometown Cha Cha Cha

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING in a Seaside Town

Dear Editors

Hello, I’m very happy to send you this letter particularly in this festive season at least for Asians.

Mind you, I am not an ardent fan of rom-com fictions, and I don’t even watch TV. And it is only natural that I haven’t watched the famous Hometown ChaChaCha on Netflix either before taking the job of representing the HCC original drama script book. (As of today, I don’t represent it.)

I had great doubts in this K-drama script to be honest as a genre. I feared too much emotions and feelings and my immediate question was this; why bother reading a drama script when you already can watch Netflix? I am a person somewhat in-between the Grouchy Smurf and the Brainy Smurf, I hesitated at first, but I finally started to read the books after watching the first 10 episodes on Netflix. And now I am convinced why people paid twice-all sentences were worth re-reading as if they are a long verse. Especially, the unsent letter from Hyejin to Dusik.

This novel starts from at the end of Hyejin’s tethers; with all her efforts and smartness, she failed miserably in Seoul because of her moral rectitude. We all know this kind of attitude doesn’t serve you well if you were to win big in big cities. No, she didn’t go to Gongjin to find her true self-she simply wanted to make money AGAIN. But all her little tactics don’t work there because only the people of love can survive in this small seaside town!

So this is a Korean style MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING but with children and grannies, failed singer, a gossiper and so one and these small tales of each character in Gongjin taste like a vegetable puree. Too healthy for a seasoned skeptic like myself, I first scoffed but then I cried my eyes out. Not just one time but many, many times.

The Greek had people to orate stories in theatres. The form of fiction as we know it dates back less than 300 years ago. I think this new genre of drama script might be a new beginning of the evolution of the human stories because I’ve found out while researching, all the sad young talented literary Korean men and women have gone to drama writing schools in early 2000s because they couldn’t get any place where they can make a living AND write. 

That’s part of the reason K-dramas recently are getting their duly attention and Miss Shin is certainly one of them and why you can find Walden and Georges Bataille on Dusik’s bookshelf. So please do not dismiss this K-drama script book too early and pick it up. Because we might be engaged in the beginning of a future of human stories inadvertently.

We all know that all brand-new things were regarded a pure nonsense at first!

So please expose yourself to this Korean style surplus of emotions, TMI and constant meddling with your businesses by those who don’t even know how to handle their own problems. But these are the very nature of Korean people-we never take no for an answer and believe in GRIT so do totally inappropriate things to win no matter what and hate each other and oneself and thus must drink lot of Soju at night but in hearts, we never stop to be our brother’s keepers and have compassion at the end of the day. 

And it is very possible that the ancient Greeks set their amphitheaters at seaside for that purpose; to cultivate compassion while watching out who’s coming to get them from a high position. So it is no coincidence that the setting of the HCC is a seaside town-we protect ourselves by cultivating compassion together in a small community like Gongjin.

The HCC’s whole stories are like your granny’s panty-big, zero-chic, warm, cozy, flowery but healthy and protective. Also I believe HCC have these eternal themes-love thy neighbors and become your brother’s keepers because in this town everyone is everyone’s keepers. Therefore, this book will resonate with many English native speaking readers not just the Asian readers and Netflix watchers.

I believe HCC is a classic in the making and am very keen to read her next book.

I sincerely invite you to drop all your pre-judgements and read it for yourself and check whether this HometownChaChaCha meets up to James Wood’s standards or to any good stories’ we know.

#BaechulHyun, Harvard religious studies professor and a full time philosopher who teaches at Seoul National University. His books are very interesting and THICK! But definitely worth buying.

#RSC Shakespeare MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING 

# James Wood HOW FICTION WORKS

#Rufus Wainwright song ONLY THE PEOPLE OF LOVE. Man live long, don’t be sad no more. We cried together at your RELEASE THE STARS concert in 2007 in Radio City NYC.

#You can order the Korean edition from Yes24.com by typing in 갯마을차차차 (Booklog Media Publisher 북로그미디어 출판사).

Alex Lee