‘Heo’s Diner’: A Fantasy Rom-Com Drama, Starring EXO’s Xiumin

Heo’s Diner, starring EXO’s Xiumin as the eponymous Heo Gyun, is slated for release this March 24.

Blending history, mystery, romance, and comedy Heo’s Diner follows Heo Gyun’s escapades as he travels from the past into the present, taking his life 400 years forward.

The plot introduces Heo Gyun, a culinary writer from the Joseon era known for his creative and literary talents. Additionally, the man has a total recall, retaining exact memories of something that happened.

Heo’s Diner also shows how there’s history in the making of K-dramas—a depiction of Joseon that evolved following the demise of the Goryeo kingdom. Based on Neo-Confucianist principles, Joseon was a period of harsher family structures, strict social discrimination, gender conventions, and a strong emphasis on lineage. Besides compared to earlier times in Korea, women’s roles and rights were minimized at the time.

In such an ethos, Heo Gyun is shown as someone who defies Joseon’s existing standards with his logic, unprejudiced thought process, and modern vision, yearning for a more liberal society where all can live freely, free of classes and biases. Consequently, his nature threatens the system, to the point that he’s accused of betrayal and gets ostracized.

At a worse point, Heo Gyun inexplicably travels through time to the present and lands in Seoul. His life subsequently takes an unexpected twist as he encounters Bong Eun-sil (WJSN’s Exy) and begins operating a diner with her in the face of his unfamiliar surroundings and new challenges while also attempting to uncover the source of something dangerous that might hold the answers to everything.

Heo Gyun and Eun-sil provide a romantic angle to the story. Eun-sil is fearless and driven, blunt and uncompromising about what’s right and fair in life. The way she is, when juxtaposed with Heo Gyun’s, is expected to result in distinct interactions, graduating into deeper feelings for each other as the story unfolds. His appearance and mannerisms, which contrast with those of the present, are expected to add comic relief to the plot.

Heo’s Diner, directed by Oh Hwan-min and Kim Kyeong-eun, centers on the web novel Heosikdang, written by Jeon Sun-young. The drama’s cast of characters also includes Lee Sae-on, Lee Soo-min, Kim Hee-jung, Oh Ji-ho, and Choi Won-myeong in important roles.