“Once Upon a Small Town” is a 2022 Limited Korean drama series, with 12 episodes, categorized as a romantic comedy, based on the web novel of the same name, streaming on Netflix.
♦ Grandpa Needs Me!
“Once Upon a Small Town”, Han Ji-yul is a successful veterinarian who lives in Seoul. But he receives a distress message from his grandfather and rushes to Huidong Village (FUN LINK: 17 Amazing Rural Korea Getaways – Hedgers Abroad). His grandfather runs a pet hospital and Han Ji-yul fears the worst! As soon as he arrives to his grandfather’s house he gets body-slammed by a police officer before he even opens the gate. He was mistaken for being a burglar. The police officer demands his identification card. He gives it to her but she’s doesn’t release her grip on him. Instead, she keeps staring at his identification. Ultimately, the other police arrive and he gets taken away.
The police apologize AFTER hauling him down to the police station. He is still in a panic because he needs to get to his grandfather. The police ask him why he’s trying to get into an empty house! Han Ji-yul is confused. They tell him his grandfather and his grandmother went on a vacation cruise. The message was sent to him with the exact words his grandfather told them to say. Han Ji-yul realizes his grandfather had tricked him into coming to the small village to help the residents.
Ahn Ja-Young, the female officer, who was the first to mistakenly apprehend him as the burglar offers to give him a ride home. She stares at him as of she is familiar with him and he returns her start with a glare since he is very annoyed by the turn of events. Now that he is in Huidong he has to stay and carry out the duties of a veterinarian. Huidong had a lot of animals that required care: pigs, cows, chickens, etc.
Ahn Ja-Young seems to be lingering around him. He doesn’t realize that she wonders why he does not recognize her. They knew each other when they were young kids. Han Ji-yul seems to be annoyed and aggravated by everything and everyone in the village. She asked him he hated the village so much. He responded that he never said he hated the village but now that she mentioned it, he does hate the village. She probed further asking if he had any nice memories of the small town. He said NO!
Ahn Ja-Young left him alone fell rather dejected and rejected. She was disappointed that he had forgotten her. Lee Sang-Hyeon, another villager, comforts her and tells him he remembers everything and all of his memories with her are nice. She sighs and says that she guesses other people in the same places with the same people have different memories. Meaning her memory of Han Ji-yul was sweet, and by contrast his memories with her don’t even exist.
As he gets calls to go to various places to treat animals, Ahn Ja-Young shows up to accompany him. He asked her why she seemed to be everywhere since she’s a police and the various things are not a part of her duty. She says everything she does is a part of her duty to serve the people. Han Ji-yul sighs and accepts that he is likely going to be spending a lot of time with this annoying female police officer.
Will their relationship change? Will he finally remember her? Lots of hate relationships turn into love in The End.
Main Characters:
- Han Ji-yul (played by ChooYoung-woo, “Police University”, “Oasis”)
- Ahn Ja-Young (played by Joy – K-Pop member of Red Velvet)
- Lee Sang-Hyeon (played by “The Witch’s Diner”)
Viewership and Rating:
- IMDb: 8.5 out of 10 stars
- My Drama List: 8 out of 10 stars
- Dramabeans: 8.6 out of 10 stars
- Letterboxd: 3.4 out of 10 stars
- Rotten Tomatoes: 6 out of 10 stars
- Common Sense Media: 3 out of 5 stars
My personal rating is the same as IMDb: 8.5 out of 10 stars.
“Once Upon a Small Town” is sweet and lighthearted; filmed in South Korea’s rural countryside with wonderful scenery. Definitely family entertainment. A typical city boy meets small town girl storyline. Some reviewers say it’s underrated. But the ratings I found surfing the web seem to be fair. When you’re watching it you might even feel the urge to sing “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.” LOL.
LINKS OF INTEREST:
Once Upon A Small Town | Fan Review Korean Drama
Once Upon a Small Town Season 1 Review | Ready Steady Cut
Good Ol’ Review: “Once Upon a Small Town” a Warm, Charming Series | DryedMangoez.com
TRAILERS/TEASERS:
Netflix K-Content. “Once upon a Small Town | Official Trailer | Netflix [ENG SUB].” YouTube Video. YouTube, August 19, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3lm7mMPH2Y.
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