''Once Upon a Small Town'' () is a 2022 South Korean

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as films and television series, streamed over the Internet. Standing in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aerial systems, cable t ...

series directed by Kwon Seok-jang and starring

Park Soo-young Park Soo-young is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in dramas such as '' My Beautiful Bride'' (2015), '' Listen to Love'' (2016), ''Hi Bye, Mama! ''Hi Bye, Mama!'' () is a 2020 Korean drama, South Korean television series starr ...

Choo Young-woo Choo Young-woo (; born June 5, 1999) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in the television series '' The Tale of Lady Ok'' (2024–2025) and '' The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call'' (2025), in which the former earned him the Baeksan ...

, Jung Suk-yong and

Baek Sung-chul Baek Sung-chul (; born March 10, 1999) is a South Korean model and actor. He is best known in '' Tell Me That You Love Me'' (2023–2024). Career Baek Sung-chul debuted as a model at the 2019 F/W Seoul Fashion Week and began his acting career i ...

. Adapted from a web novel by Park Ha-min, this KakaoTV original series is a romantic comedy depicting Seoul veterinarian Han Ji-yul unexpectedly being thrown into a rural village and meeting local police officer Ahn Ja-young. The first episode was released on September 5, 2022 on

KakaoTV KakaoTV is a South Korean OTT streaming television, personal internet broadcasting and video player service owned by Kakao Entertainment that launched on June 16, 2015. History On June 16, 2015, KakaoTV was officially released. Initially, it ...

, and a new episode followed every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 19:00 ( KST) for four weeks. The series is also available for streaming worldwide on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

Synopsis

Han Ji-yul, a veterinarian from Seoul, reluctantly relocates to Huidong village to take care of his grandfather's clinic. Here he meets Ahn Ja-young, a policewoman and town insider with a friendly secret, and local cafe owner Lee Sang-hyeon. Ji-yul's transition from cushy capital city life to village living is not as seamless as he hopes, testing his ability to adapt to the unique dynamics of small-town life.

Cast

Main

as Ahn Ja-young, a local 3rd-year police officer and town insider. *

as Han Ji-yul, a veterinarian, who comes from Seoul to take over the village veterinary hospital run by his grandfather. *

as Lee Sang-hyeon, a young farmer, who runs a peach farm in Heedong village.

Supporting

People around Han Ji-yul

* Na Chul as Choi Yun-hyeong, a veterinarian who runs an animal hospital in Seoul. * Park Ye-ni as Young-Sook, a veterinary nurse. * Ha Yul-ri as Choi Min, ex-girlfriend of Han Ji-yul, who is a laboratory animal veterinarian at a foreign pharmaceutical company. * Lee Dong-chan as grandfather Deok-jin, a veterinarian.

People in Heedong village

* Jung Suk-yong as Hwang Man-seong. *

Baek Ji-won Baek Ji-won (; born April 30, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She graduated in Horticultural Science from Kyung Hee University. She made her acting debut in 1996 in play ''My father got cancer''. She is known for her role in television serie ...

as Choi Se-ryun. * Park Ji-ah as Cha Yeon-hong, general secretary of the women's association in Heedong village. * Yoo Yeon as Kyeong-ok, Mysterious woman with fierce eyes * Roh Jae-won as Yoon Geun-mo, a police officer in Heedong village. * Kim Young-sun as Mal-geum, the chairman of Majeong-ri, the village next to Heedong-ri, is patriotic for the initiative to tackle village affairs. * Jung Si-yul as Kim Seon-dong

Production

The series is directed by respected PD Kwon Seok-jang. Initially

Choi Soo-young Choi Soo-young (; born February 10, 1990), known mononymously as Sooyoung, is a South Korean singer, actress, and songwriter. She was a member of the short-lived Korean-Japanese singing duo Route 0 during 2002 in Japan. After returning to Sou ...

and

Jang Keun-suk Jang Keun-suk () is a South Korean singer and actor. He is best known for starring in the Korean television dramas '' Beethoven Virus'' (2008), '' You're Beautiful'' (2009), '' Marry Me, Mary!'' (2010), '' Love Rain'' (2012), ''Bel Ami'' (2013) ...

were offered lead roles in the series in August 2021. Later in September 2021, it was reported that it didn't work. In May 2022,

as Han Ji-yul, the native Seoul veterinarian, and

as Ahn Ja-young, the local police officer were confirmed as the male and female leads in the series. Baek Seong-cheol joined the cast later in May as Lee Sang-hyeon, a handsome young farmer. Since the series was shot in rural environment involving animals, the production team created a safe environment, with the advice of veterinarians, from the script writing process till the actual filming. The entire filming, where animals were present, was done in the presence of a veterinarian and a professional trainer. The production team revealed, "All props that come into contact with animals were specially made of silicone to ensure safety, and anything that could be harmful was excluded as much as possible."

Reception

''Once Upon a Small Town'' reached the

Global Top 10 list of the most-watched TV (Non-English) and entered the Netflix Top 10 in 33 countries. The series also reached the Top 10 of the OTT Integrated Ranking, which includes all platforms. "The drama has been well received and is expected to rise in the future along with the effect of the global OTT platform." The series received positive reviews from critics and viewers for its acting, screenplay, and directing. ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine praised ''Once Upon a Small Town'' and selected it as one of the 10 best Korean dramas of 2022 to watch on Netflix. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' India chose ''Once Upon a Small Town'' as one of the Top 10 best Korean romantic comedies of 2022.

Original soundtrack

Part 1

Part 2

Episodes

References

External links

* * * {{Kakao M KakaoTV original programming Television series by Kakao Entertainment South Korean web series South Korean comedy television series South Korean romance television series Television shows based on South Korean novels 2022 South Korean television series debuts 2022 South Korean television series endings 2022 web series debuts 2022 web series endings Korean-language Netflix exclusive international distribution programming