The Trio Protagonists of the storynote
Welcome to Waikiki is a 2018 youth South Korean television series starring Kim Jung-hyun, Lee Yi-kyung and Son Seung-won. It aired on JTBC's Mondays and Tuesdays at 23:00 (KST) time slot from February 5 to April 17, 2018.
Three very different young men – Dong Goo (Kim Jung Hyun), who dreams of becoming a film director, Joon Ki (Lee Yi Kyung), an eccentric actor who performs to make a living, and Doo Shik (Son Seung Won), a freelancer writer who fiddles around doing nothing most of the time - open a guest house named “Waikiki” in Itaewon, where many foreigners come to stay. Although they have no clue how to run it, they’re eager to earn money to pay for the production of their upcoming film. They are joined by Dong Goo (Kim Jung Hyun)’s younger sister, Seo Jin (Ko Won Hee), who actually manages the household in Waikiki. Complications spark when single mother Yoon Ah (Jung In Sun), who has made an unexpected entrance at the guest house with her baby.
- Berserk Button: Dong-goo doesn't like her sister, Seo-jin dating Joon-ki. To the point of threatening Joon-ki.
- Break the Haughty: This happens to Soo-ah after being tricked by his new boyfriend who turned to be a con artist and lose all of her money. And after the con artist got arrested, it's impossible to get her money back. She decided to give up. But, Doo-shik cheers her up by telling her that she still has a chance to start over. Which led her to try new things and being a lot more kind.
- Butt-Monkey: The main characters got either hurt, humiliate, being tricked, or works hard and got nothing of it.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Dong-goo keeps his feeling for Yoon-ah after realizing that he falls for her. Although, after the story progresses he confesses that he's in love with her. Only for Yoon-ah to reject him.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Joon-ki and Seo-jin become this trope at the end of the story.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Dong-goo is this when Yoon-ah with other guys. He immediately got jealous and trying to find a weak point and get them to leave. He even spread lies to another guy from Yoon-ah's school that came to ask Yoon-ah on a date like Yoon-ah is addicted to plastic surgery, in heavy debt, a pathological thief, or a man who used to be a Marine.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Yoon-ah makes people uncomfortable by breastfed Sol right in front of them, makes unintentional accidents like breaking things, and prone to forgetting things.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Yoon-ah had it rough when she was young. She was orphaned at two and was sent to live with relatives who took her parents’ insurance money and abandoned her in an orphanage. She ran away when the orphanage director abused her, and later met Sol’s father, whose parents broke them up. Then, she found out later that she was pregnant with Sol, but Sol’s father doesn’t know when he leaves her.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
- Dong-goo acts like a jerk at first. But, we see his good side like:
- Taking care of Sol in episode 1.
- Makes an adorable little party for Sol’s 100th day and punching Yoon-ah's Ex when he acts rude and mean to her in episode 4.
- Trying to cheer up Seo-jin and even willing strip along with Joon-ki and Doo-shik in episode 5.
- Joon-ki also count even though he's self-centered, he has good sides like:
- Trying to cheer up Seo-jin and even willing strip along with Dong-goo and Doo-shik in episode 5.
- Willing to abandon his role in the movie set and distract the interviewers not to leave by performs the scene he’s been rehearsing for the movie, which looks like he’s threatening them until Seo-jin arrived. All of that for Seo-jin's sake.
- When Seo-jin is insulted and told to give up by her boss not knowing the identity “Blushing Webfoot Octopus”, Joon-ki with the help of Mutant man go through the security and to the room of “Blushing Webfoot Octopus” finds out the actor identity is Kang Kyun-sung. He really cares about her.
- Dong-goo acts like a jerk at first. But, we see his good side like:
- Love Hurts: This happens a lot for the main characters.
- Never Be Hurt Again: The reason Yoon-ah reject Dong-goo confession.
- Second Love: Yoon-ah is this towards Dong-goo. Dong-goo also one for Yoon-ah.
- Stalker with a Crush: Sang-yeon (Yoon-ah's creepy perverted stalker) falling in love with Yoon-ah to point using gifts to Waikiki's guesthouse (where's Yoon-ah lives) and using excuses so he can do creepy stuff like taste Yoon-ah toothbrush, sniffs her hair, pocketing her used tissue, sniffing and try her clothes, and steal skimpy red women’s panty (which actually belongs to Seo-jin).
- Struggling Single Mother: Yoon-ah is working hard for her baby, Sol.
- Tsundere:
- Dong-goo acts Harsh (Tsun) to Yoon-ah at first and as the story progresses he falls for her still act harsh but mellows. But, at the end of the story, he acts Sweet (Dere) to her after they become a couple.
- Soo-ah also this towards Doo-shik when she realizes that she's falling in love with him. She called him "pig" when he too close to him or make jokes. But, at the end of the story, she acts nice to him after they become a couple.
- Toilet Humor: This happens at beginning of the story. It toned down after that.
- Unlucky Childhood Friend: This happens to Doo-shik and Mal-geum. Mal-geum is Doo-shik first love, to point Doo-shik willingly get himself hurt for her. But, Mal-geum decided to work with her agent again and making a drama in China. Which makes Doo-shik sad and ask her to stay, only for Mal-geum to tell him that this is her chance. She leaves him with a smile and a handful of photos she found of them, but as she walks away, she starts to cry. Doo-shik looks through the pictures, and in one, he sees that Mal-geum drew hearts around him just like the hearts he drew on her picture. He sobs, realizing belatedly that while Mal-geum was his first love, he was also her first love.
- Romantic Comedy: The Genre of the story.
