Twinkling Watermelon

Twinkling Watermelon is a 2023 South Korean television series directed by Son Jong-hyun, and starring Ryeoun, Choi Hyun-wook, Seol In-ah and Shin Eun-soo. It aired on tvN from September 25 to November 14, 2023, every Monday and Tuesday at 20:50 (KST) for 16 episodes. It is also available for streaming on Viu and Viki in selected regions.

Synopsis
Twinkling Watermelon tells the story of a CODA boy with a natural talent for music, who fights with his father to pursue his dream of becoming a guitarist in a band. After the fight, he travels back in time to 1995. He joins a band with his childhood father and forms a band called Watermelon Sugar with the suspicious youths he meets there, and communicates with them through music.

Main

 * Ryeoun as Ha Eun-gyeol
 * Jung Hyeon-jun as young Ha Eun-gyeol
 * The only hearing person (CODA) in a family of deaf people. Eun-gyeol is a model student by day, but at night he leads a double life as a guitarist in a band. After having an argument with his father, where his father learned of his musical interest, he time slips to 1995 and meets his parents when they were younger. He strives to know more about his parents' youths and make his parents' lives shine brighter.


 * Choi Hyun-wook as Ha Yi-chan
 * Choi Won-young as adult Ha Yi-chan
 * A hot-blooded man who seems to have jumped out of a cheerful cartoon. He lives with his grandmother who owned an accommodation house named Snail House. In the present, he is Eun-gyeol and Eun-ho's father, who can no longer speak nor hear. He is proud of Eun-gyeol's achievements as a model student at school who he hopes will become a doctor.


 * Seol In-ah as Choi Se-kyung / On Eun-yoo
 * Lee So-yeon as adult Choi Se-kyung
 * 1) Choi Se-kyung: The cello goddess of Seowon Arts High School. Se-kyung was a person considered to be everyone's muse with her innocent beauty and elegant aura reminiscent of a scene in a movie. She was idolized by many boys either from her school or neighboring schools. She is the daughter of the owner of Viva Music, a store that existed during Eun-gyeol's childhood. In the present, she has inherited the Viva Music store which has been redeveloped into a luxurious home.  She keeps her father's handmade guitar, which she gives to Eun-gyeol as her father had wished.
 * 2) On Eun-yoo: Se-kyung's daughter who looks exactly like her during her youth. Her mother dolls her up and forces her to become a cellist to follow in her footsteps. She lives in a disharmonious family until she is 18 years old, when her parents divorce. Upset with her mother's controlling behavior and her drinking habit, and after finding out that her father has remarried, she time slips to 1995 so that she can find her mother's first love, and cease her existence.
 * Shin Eun-soo as Yoon Chung-ah
 * Seo Young-hee as adult Yoon Chung-ah
 * As a young person, she is a cold and isolated person, who is born deaf. She dreams of a sparkling life like the great Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. She is highly aloof toward others except to Choi Se-kyung, who is much friendlier toward her. In the present, she is the mother of Eun-gyeol and Eun-ho and owns a chicken restaurant. Unlike her teenage personality, she has overcome her disability to become a bright and loving wife and mother.

Band members

 * Ahn Do-gyu as Oh Ma-joo
 * Kim Hyeong-beom as adult Oh Ma-joo
 * A band manager and Yi Chan's childhood friend. He is highly knowledgeable and resourceful. In 2023, he owns MJ Entertainment who manages a famous rockstar Yoon Dong-jin.


 * Yoon Jae-chan as Kang Hyun-yul
 * Song Chang-eui as adult Kang Hyun-yul
 * A genius bassist. He was a former member of gangster and bullies called Jindo Dog. After meeting Choi Hyeon owner of Baekya Music Store, he changed his life and started focusing on music.


 * Lee Ha-min as Lee Si-guk
 * Ryu Soo-young as adult Lee Si-guk
 * A drummer from the church band. He is very short tempered especially toward Yi-chan's antics.


 * Lee Su-chan as Noh Se-bum
 * Jin Tae-hyun as adult Noh Se-bum
 * A talented keyboardist who majored in classical piano and studied abroad early.

Eun-gyeol's family

 * Choi Won-young as Eun-gyeol's father
 * Seo Young-hee as Eun-gyeol's mother
 * Bong Jae-hyun as Eun-ho
 * Eun-gyeol's older brother who is born deaf. He dreams of becoming a national Paralympics taekwondo athlete. Due to his handsome appearance, he is highly popular on SNS, to which he has been addicted since childhood.

Snail Boarding House

 * Go Doo-shim as Go Yang-hee
 * Yi-chan's grandmother and the owner of boarding house.


 * Lee Seok-hyung as Jung Bal-san
 * A college student at a boarding house run by Yi-chan's grandmother.

People around Eun-gyeol

 * Chun Ho-jin as Choi Hyeon / Grandpa Viva
 * Park Ho-san as younger Choi Hyeon
 * Owner of musical instrument store Baekya Music, later renamed as Viva Music. He was a famous rock star whose career declined after his girlfriend became pregnant. His girlfriend is actually Choi Se-gyeong's real mother. He is supportive of aspiring musicians who seek his advice about music even later in life, when he tutors Eun-gyeol on the guitar.


 * Jung Sang-hoon as master
 * Master of the mysterious musical instrument store La Vida Music. Through the store, Eun-gyeol and Eun-yoo time travel to 1995. He keeps in touch with both time travelers through their dreams by calling them on phones, even broken ones.


 * Woo Je-yeon as On Ji-hwan
 * A second-year student at Myeongsae University Medical School, vocalist and guitarist for the band 'Golden Mess'. He is Choi Se-gyeong's boyfriend and later her husband, and also Eun-yoo's father. However, their marriage falls apart because of their different approaches to parenting.

People of Jinsung Instruments

 * Kim Tae-woo as Yoon Geon-hyung
 * Cheong-ah's father who is the chairman of Jinseong Musical Instruments. As a businessman, he frequently travels so he has no idea how abusive Cheong-ah's step mother is.


 * Kim Joo-ryoung as Lim Ji-mi
 * Cheong-ah's live in tutor and later, stepmother who is the chairman of Seowon Arts High School Foundation. She uses harsh methods to torture Cheong-ah, who will be the next chairwoman of Jinseong Group.


 * Kwon Do-hyung as Yoon Joo-yeop
 * Lim Ji-mi's biological son and Cheong-ah's stepbrother.


 * Lee Soo-min as Yoon Sang-ah
 * Lim Ji-mi's biological daughter and Cheong-ah's stepsister, who is an art student at Seowon Arts High School. She looks down on poor boys no matter how handsome they are.

Others

 * Koo Jun-hoe as Goo Jun-hyung
 * Main vocalist of Spine 9. He sees and hears Eun-gyeol's musical talent and attempts to recruit him into his band.


 * Yeon Oh as Jeong Ji-oh
 * Spine 9 bassist.


 * Han Min as Bae Soo-tak
 * Spine 9 drummer.


 * Kim Jun-hyung as Yoon Dong-jin
 * Yoon Do-hyun as Yoon Dong-jin (2023)
 * Chuncheon National University legendary guitarist.


 * Kim Mi Hwa as the Landlady

Special appearance

 * Kim Hae-jun as Choi Jun, the DJ of a tteokbokki restaurant.
 * Heo Jung-min as staff in a cafe

Production
On September 5, 2023, production company Pan Entertainment announced that it has signed a production and supply contract with Studio Dragon for Twinkling Watermelon worth 15.6 billion won.

Viewership
Twinkling Watermelon was ranked number one in viewership in twelve regions including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Sweden, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and more in the week the drama's finale episode was released. Furthermore, it also charted in the top five in 64 countries.