I’m pleased to see that the vibe is energetic and comedic for the upcoming JTBC drama Woohoo Waikiki (or Eurachacha Waikiki), as befitting a drama centered around the foibles of a threesome of friends who aren’t quite yet where they want to be in life but “dream of freedom” as they run a guesthouse together.
At the center of the trio is “icon of misfortune” Dong-gu, played by Kim Jung-hyun (School 2017), who dreams of being a film director and had some early success with short films, but the world has been tough on him and turned him cynical. In the poster below, he’s seated in a director’s chair and holding a microphone, while seated on one side is his irrepressible friend Joon-ki (Lee Yi-kyung, Go Back Spouses), who dreams of being an actor but so far is stuck mostly doing extra work.
Sohn Seung-won (Age of Youth) is the third friend, Doo-shik, a “freelance writer who’s half-unemployed” (lol). Altogether, none of the guys has had any luck in any of their endeavors, but hope that they’ll have better luck running the Waikiki guesthouse and be able to finance their own film project. But then a mysterious baby and single mother make their appearance, and kick off an unpredictable and comical series of ups and downs.
The first video below is the drama’s first teaser, which is shot in the format of a commercial for the guesthouse, with our three guys highlighting its merits, such as top service at reasonable prices and a variety of rooms.
The second video comes from the drama’s script reading last month, and includes glimpses of our three main ladies (and love interests). Jung In-sun, who I’ve always thought of as a scene-stealer-in-the-making (Circle, Mirror of the Witch), plays single mother Yoon-ah, who arrives suddenly at the Waikiki guesthouse “like a lightning bolt” with her daughter. Yoon-ah is described rather cutely as full of energy but never quite able to do things properly; she’s got zero awareness and is so pure as to be foolish. She had her daughter at 25 and raised her on her own, and lives with an endlessly positive spirit. She takes on a part-time job at the guesthouse doing the cleaning, cooking, and laundry, giving us a “cohabitation that isn’t cohabitation” scenario.
Go Won-hee (Strongest Deliveryman), meanwhile, plays main hero Dong-gu’s younger sister Seo-jin, who aspires to be a reporter and is preparing to enter the workforce (she’s the short-haired one). Because she looks after the immature and lazy Waikiki boys, Seo-jin finds herself tapping into an inner nagginess “that wasn’t even in her fate” (I love these evocative character descriptions) and is the de facto boss of the operation.
Last but not least is musical actress Lee Joo-woo (Bok Dan-ji Has Returned), playing the cocky but lovable Su-ah, a fitting model for an online shopping mall. She may act smart, elegant, and cool, but is actually quite gullible and naive, which gets her used and duped quite often. She’s our main lead’s ex-girlfriend, but I’m thinking she’s here to be paired with his buddy Sohn Seung-won, because she’s described as “a bear who’s like a fox” while he’s “a fox who’s like a bear.” (Basically, she looks sharp and wily but is actually rather simple, while he is craftier than he seems.)
Woohoo Waikiki will be a Monday-Tuesday drama on JTBC that premieres on February 5.
