Hometown (2021) User Reviews

This drama may left you with so many questions

[Misss25 · 5/10 · 8 July 2022]

The story is bit slow at first, some might think about dropping it. But,it started getting intense after that. Every episode, I have to change my thought or learnings that I have learnt or understand so far. I mean, the twists are pretty unbelievable and unpredictable , specially, the last two episodes discoursures are out of my imagination.

But, I'm bit confused about some concepts of this drama. At first, I thought, the murder is occured or done under hallucination as she is the only one seeing the lady. After that some similar incidents also occured and this time, they saw this too. I didn't understand, how could everyone see the same Lady (ghost) while they are under hallucination. I thought, maybe, she is actually ghost. But,this thing doesn't end here, we came to know, the 'Mix tape' that actually hallucinate people and under the influence of the tape people killed their loved ones person. But,still who is that lady??

How the killer (Jo kyun Ho) is influencing so many people? I didn't get the episode where so many people are just walking in the roads to attend a cult ritual.

The police didn't watch the tape but how did he get affected by this?

The cult concept is totally unclear to me. Why he is doing this? Why people are blindly following him?

How police wife is related to Jo kyun Ho?

How the club friends are related to this cult?

Why he chooses his own hometown to attack?

What is the cult goal?

Why her father (Im In Gwan) killed her?

What did the police do to Jo Kyun Ho's father?

The drama just ended with so many questions left behind. If another season of the drama comes out, maybe my confusions will be clear. But, overall was mysterious and thrilling.

Not superb bot ok

[yankeedoo · 7/10 · 25 September 2021]

Tbh bit weird but in interesting wtf Way Kept my attention was not bored. Just not sure where it was going As I had no clue of plot One thing the bloke who was in jail Was spookily good even voice/ too Will watch end But not sure if will ff some sciences as some r not needed.

So Far, Slightly Above Average. There's Potential & Room For Story Development.

[girlygirl9983 · 7/10 · 26 September 2021]

It keeps your attention! You will want to solve the mystery too. This isn't a fast-paced thriller Tyler of storyline, but it's not boring. The OST is nice. I'm patiently waiting for Uhm Tae Goo to get more screen time, I love his works. If you feel Episode 1 wasn't that spectacular stick through it! Episode 2 is much better than, the story is slowly unraveling. It gives me the "Beyond Evil" drama vibes. I'll update my review on some episodes if I feel the need to until the end. I'm giving it a 7 for now, based on 1st 2 episodes.

Unbearably boring

[Uptondoug · 1/10 · 29 October 2023]

A cult drama with murder investigations, poorly executed. There are too many unrealistic flaws that make this thriller unwatchable: when a teenage girl vanished after being picked up from school by a young male worker of her auntie's restaurant, the police had gone all over the place to interview potential witnesses but never went to the young man's address to check. Excuse me? The No.1 kidnapping suspect and police didn't check his place? The auntie wanted to find her beloved niece, but when her niece's friend came over to offer some information, instead of urging the girl to talk, the auntie smiled, giggled, then offered to cook dinner for the girl. It's not slow burn; it's ridiculous garbage. 12 episodes cut into 6 might be watchable, though.

If you like cult movies , you shouldn't miss this

[wwwsucceedisgood · 10/10 · 31 January 2022]

This is my first review . After watching so many great shows like leftovers , dark and ... with complex storyline and good drama finally I see a great show with superb acting and well-developed characters . I usually avoid korean dramas because of so much romance but in the recent dramas I watch I never expected this show to be so smart and having satisfying ending. I realy enjoy the detective personality and Yoo jae myung acting too . He portrays the detective excatly nothing less or more . It is slow paced but worth the paitience until the end.

Can't recover my hours

[bironautoo · 4/10 · 12 November 2023]

I got so fed up with those still interviews with this so called Guru prisoner who can turn people to murderers. The loss of life is senseless to say the least, ineffective affected, sad and angry no nothing cop makes it worse. All this cause of some bloodline child, like the devil's child The way the guru prisoner talks is so exhausting I started forwarding his scenes, if he knows everything then why not just end everything. So disappointed 😞.

The schools girls were the only perfect thing, there love for their lost friend and the togetherness was beautiful. I almost just want to watch the last episode so that the last 7 to have meant something.

Cults & Serial Killers.

[Pairic · 8/10 · 13 November 2023]

Hometown: A South Korean TV series which includes a few tropes, serial killers, cults, noir, police procedural, but taken together with all of the violence and death involved it elides into the slipstream of Horror. Set in 2000, 1999, 1987 with shorter flashbacks to other years. In 1987 members of a cult launch a gas attack at a railway station killing hundreds. In 1999, detective Choi Hyung-in who lost his wife in the 1987 attack sees a pattern in seemingly random killings and suspects that the cult is back. Only one person was ever convicted of involvement in the attack, Jo Kyung-ho; his sister Jo Jung-hyun becomes involved in the case after her niece goes missing, The timelines cut back and forth, often in a confusing manner so keep off your phone when you're watching this. Killer cults may have milder cults as fronts but paradoxically this makes it even more difficult to infiltrate them. The use of mind control through mixtapes and video tapes is portrayed in a convincing yet horrific manner. The violence isn't just that of the mass killings, individual deaths are also shown in a traumatic way. There are 12 hour long episodes, the strands gradually weave together as the series reaches a conclusion. It all fits together in the final episode. At least i think it does! Stick with this one and you'll find it rewarding. Directed by Park Hyun Suk,Written by Joo Jin. On Netflix. 8/10.

Confusing...

[athenaba · 2/10 · 9 November 2023]

The first half was ok, with lots of intrigue. As someone interested in cults and their impact on people, I was hooked. Sadly the later half went downhill with twists and turns that are hard to follow and the murders left in the dust (as in not investigated nor explained). Jumping among time periods was acceptable but is sometimes (there it is again) confusing. The supernatural explained by hypnosis via videotape? Really? The ending was the most unsatisfactory, though. Lots of crying but lots more thread unresolved. I would not recommend this.

Great acting though from the main and supporting artists.

Why insult Indians for no reason? (FYI: "Guru" means teacher or the one who shines light thru the dark path AKA guidance)

[vishnumenon-62623 · 3/10 · 8 October 2021]

At first liked it... Then became very slow and very stale.. the producers tried their best to make it a suspense thriller but ended becoming slow and a bit sleep inducing boring.

Also, y r u creating a problem that never existed?

I mean India and South Korea always had an amazing relationship. We respect each other a lot and find a lot of similarities in each other's culture and so feel very related to each other (most probably cz of the spread of Buddhism in Korea long time ago and also being an Easter race just like Indian-dravidians).

The series tries it's best to target and insult India/Hindu ideologies even tho it doesn't touch any of them at all.. pretty weird.

It's like when America was discovered but mistaken as India which is why we have the racial term "red/native Indians" This series does the very same by antagonizing hindi that too by totaly mispronouncing and misinterpreting every syllable of Hindi. Showing as sanskrit mantra and yoga as marker of the ongoing "evil force".. My question is WHY???

Good story

[henrysirait · 10/10 · 6 March 2022]

Nice story...flash back here and there.. The way connecting people to each other..i would recommend this series for everyone who likes thriller series...please.

Can't Keep Track...

[blueskystyling · 4/10 · 7 November 2023]

Can't keep track of the characters and timelines!

Korean series are a challenge for a lot of Anglos because of the characters' names being hard to recognize and remember. This series adds flash forwards and flash backs and having different actors play the same characters in the different timelines and that all adds to the problem of keeping track of who is whom.

I had to just stop watching in the middle of episode 2-I just could not figure out who was missing, who was murdered, when did things happen and how were these people related?

I was up for putting in effort and paying close attention and still I just couldn't figure out what was going on!

Im basically a fan of Korean detective series, but couldn't watch this one.

Bummers.

A cheap flick

[Park_Min · 3/10 · 26 July 2023]

Went from promising to disappointing real quick. Cults and hypnosis/mind-control is the worst combination to make a mystery/thriller/horror drama. It gives the writer an unlimited pass for a lazy writing and this is what we got here. The cast was alright tho. Went from promising to disappointing real quick. Cults and hypnosis/mind-control is the worst combination to make a mystery/thriller/horror drama. It gives the writer an unlimited pass for a lazy writing and this is what we got here. The cast was alright tho. It's hard to recommend when there are better projects with the same idea and concept.

Nice to Boring

[jamnmc · 1/10 · 13 June 2022]

I thought it was good but when I reached the second half. They dragged it way too long with a lot of confusing timelines and they haven't decided what they want to do next. I like mysteries and thriller but you should definitely not watch it. Because I felt so betrayed at the end and so many questions and loopholes. When I was on episode 8 I got so bored I jumped on the last episode just to know the ending. That is how dragging and boring it became.

South Korean Trash ! Avoid it !

[vikezy-1982 · 1/10 · 1 January 2024]

This belongs to a garbage bin of cinematic endeavors

Story line: A sociopath with psychic ability to recall a ghost, hypnotize people and erase memory plans to wipe out the entire town to avenge the abuse he suffered during the childhood. After 12 excruciating hours we also come to know that the detective (main character) is the real father of this villain's perceived daughter.

Actors apart from the main character ( the detective) and the Aunt, the entire acting crew are just pure awful in their delivery (almost unwatchable after a few minutes) !

Writing is so trashy that it becomes overbearing within few minutes of each episode.

How will I ever recover the 12 hours wasted on this junk ?

Avoid it !

Stay away if you still have something to watch

[duy-730409 · 1/10 · 13 March 2022]

This is not a thriller series, because I don't feel scare at all. The first episode is promising, but after that, the story is unnecessary long and boring.

And why does it target India culture again? The bad religion uses Indian character, wear Indian cloth, and use Yoga for their ritual? It feels weird by any mean. I think the producer want to use something that is not popular among Korean, but why not just come up with something totally from imagination?

The bad guy had too much power, I am not saying what kind of power here but it surely too much. At first episodes I thought there are something strange happened, but then it turns out it was 1 of the super power that the bad guy had.

The ending of this series is, well, too original, unlike the first impression it tries to make.

Totally NO from me.

Excruciating to say the least.

[idvoxis · 2/10 · 1 February 2024]

I'm giving Hometown two stars because the talent onscreen is not terrible and because it's competently shot. Everything else is an exercise in what NOT to do when approaching a police procedural thriller. I'm starting to think that the flavor of this show is irrelevant because you have a female lead who has uncovered critical evidence that could greatly impact the investigation of her missing niece, yet she says NOTHING when the lead detective comes over for tea. Instead, she reflects on her life struggles while he literally tells her the case is stumping him. Not to mention the police fail multiple times to follow up on the most obvious of leads.

When you watch the main characters literally do the opposite of what normal people would do in their situation over and over again just to prolong the "drama", it becomes abundantly clear that the writers are not suited for TV of this caliber. The plot progression couldn't be written worse. Solving the case is not the point here, it's obviously all about getting to know the selfish characters who care so little for the victims of the crimes that brought us here to begin with.

At first I just chalked it up to poor editing combined with localization issues, but after approaching episode four, I know this is not the case. Hometown is an exercise that wallows in pitiful and mind-numbingly drawn out rubbish. If that's your cup of tea, more power to you.

Anyone leaving a high rating for this show is either not paying attention, getting inebriated when watching, or has little to no comprehension of how a clock works let alone a competent storyline about solving crimes.

I don't know how it ended up having some similarities with Indian series " Sacred Games"!!!

[tashdidarshbari · 6 April 2022]

It is quite strange to say this but this series really has some similarities with the Indian series " Sacred Games" specially in the part of that cult and what they wanted to achieve, their plan to recreate that gas attack again and kill people of that whole town, the police officer who was connected and the mastermind's father part where the police officer was giving him water and most importantly this " Guru" thing who's the mastermind of all. Though this series doesn't have the same storyline as that Indian one but it is somehow similar if you try to think about only the major parts. Though I think it can be coincidence that these similarities are there but deep down I'm still in dilemma whether it's really a coincidence or this series is inspired from Sacred Games!!