The Joseon version of ‘Youth Over Flowers’ is a big hit.

Channel A‘s weekend drama ‘Check In Hanyang’ began to create buzz in just two episodes by unfolding the growth story of Joseon’s flower youths, including Bae In-hyeok, Kim Ji-eun, Jung Gun-joo, and Park Jae-chan. The unique setting of a hotel, the ‘Epitome of Capitalism’ in Joseon, and the passionate teamwork of the four ‘Interns and Servers’ who entered the hotel for different purposes captured viewers‘ interest from the beginning, and the drama emerged as a blue chip box office hit in the year-end and New Year’s broadcast industry.

○‘Haona 4-member group’ charm in the spotlight

‘Check In Hanyang’, which aired episodes 1 and 2 on the 21st and 22nd, depicted the process in which the four main characters gather at Hanyang‘s best guest house, ‘Yongcheonru’.

Crown Prince Bae In-hyeok enters Yongcheonru in search of the ‘Hwangdonggeumshi’, the key needed to protect the throne, and Kim Ji-eun, who lives as a man disguised as a woman, enters the Yongcheonru in hiding her identity to uncover the secret of her father’s death. As they go through ups and downs, they meet Jeong Geon-ju, the successor to Yongcheonru, and Park Jae-chan, a ‘dirt spoon’ who is trying to build up his family, as fellow educational clerk.

The four of them, who always say “Haona” and say everything they want to say, are lumped together and called the “Haona 4-member group” and are treated as problem children at the guesthouse. Each of them has a unique personality and bickers with each other, but they overcome crises together, and they successfully build a thick fandom in one breath while unfolding a comical “guesthouse adaptation period” like a youth drama.

○Beatling blockbusters and ‘fastly entering’ the topic charts

On top of that, Bae In-hyuk and Kim Ji-eun‘s process of keeping each other in check also blossoms a strange romance, adding to the pink excitement.

Bae In-hyeok tries to confirm whether the golden key around Kim Ji-eun’s neck is a brass key, and Kim Ji-eun avoids him, thinking that Bae In-hyeok is suspicious of her gender. Through this, the thrilling love line created by the ‘cross-dressing female character’, a hit material in fusion historical dramas, has begun in earnest, drawing positive responses from overseas as well.

In addition to the active performance of the four-member group, the presence of Kim Min-jung, who made a special appearance, also added to the ‘firepower’. Having appeared as a hotel owner in the K-drama tvN‘s ‘Mr. Sunshine’, he has captured the attention of viewers in Korea and abroad by radiating extraordinary charisma in this role as the inn manager.

Thanks to the various charms of the main characters, ‘Check In Hanyang’ has maintained its position in Netflix’s ‘Today‘s Korean Drama Top 10’ until the 26th since its first broadcast. On the ‘Fundex TV·OTT Topic’ chart announced by topic research company Good Data Corporation on the 24th, it also rose to 5th place in the TV drama category, beating out numerous dramas starring top stars.

Thanks to maximizing the charm of fusion historical dramas, which are especially popular overseas, it has made it to the top 10 in 9 countries including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand as of the 26th.



Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com