Once Upon A Small Town Season 1 Review – A perfect healing K-drama devoid of melodrama

Episode Guide

Review Score – 3/5
Review Score – 2.5/5
Review Score – 3/5
Review Score – 3/5
Review Score – 3.5/5
Review Score – 2.5/5
Review Score – 4/5
Review Score – 2.5/5
Review Score – 3.5/5
Review Score – 4/5
Review Score – 3.5/5
Review Score – 4.5/5

Korean dramas based on webtoons are very popular right now and viewers love seeing their favorite comics in live-action. KakaoTV has so many shows coming out every month that it is constantly trying to add new content. Once Upon A Small Town, the streaming platform’s first attempt at a web drama features Red Velvet’s Joy as the main role.

This web drama has 12 episodes, which is 4 less than a regular Kdrama. Each episode runs for 30 minutes. It’s a quick and easy watch for those who are new to the genre. Through its 12 episodes, the show narrates Han Ji-Yul’s life. He is played by Choo Youngwoo.

Ji-Yul is asked by her grandfather to bring him back to his hometown. Ji-Yul was traumatized by an incident that occurred in the same place many years ago. He meets Ja-young, his secret friend as a grown man. Although he doesn’t remember much about his childhood with her, he finds something that draws him to her.

The show aired only for four weeks, which was too short. However, Once Upon The Small Town is very wholesome. One of the highlights was the decision by the producers to include ad-libs in the main episode to show romantic connections. Although I wish the episodes had been longer, there was not much for me to complain about.

Ji-Yul’s and Ja-young’s characters are great together, and Joy (Park Soo Young) and Youngwoo’s pure chemistry to thank. Their interactions are made more enjoyable by the fact that Young-woo is a Joy fan. The show would have been better if there were more episodes about Ji-Yul’s trauma. The show doesn’t pay enough attention to how Ji-Yul and his long-distance relationship work out. There was so much potential there.

Once Upon a Small Town’s cinematography is always pleasing to the eyes. We should be grateful for nature’s vibrant colors. Despite the many challenges that living in the big city can bring, the show makes small-town life appealing.

The OST single, “Missing You”, is light and upbeat. It fits in well with the plot. This drama reminds me of the incredible Hometown Cha Cha Cha Cha in 2021. This show feels like a simple tribute to Hometown Cha Cha Cha.

The show’s main characters are not the only ones who appear in the show. The male lead’s best friend is always there to offer advice. Mal-geum is also the annoying woman we see as Mal-geum. She’s not confrontational, and she’s naive enough to avoid conflict.

The show’s makers made the decision to not show Ji-Yul’s grandfather. This was a drawback. His character didn’t even appear for one minute in the series, so it felt like there was no way the audience could connect with him. We heard nothing about him except through letters and words written by characters.

The show is entertaining and healing. Although the episodes are brief and sweet, the plot progression seems to be too rapid-paced.SangHyeon deserves better. The makers made it worse by making him single at the end. Petitions for a spin-off series of Once Upon A SmalTown in which Sang-Hyeon finds true love. Let’s make this happen!