Start-Up

One of my First K-Dramas and It was a Good one!

I watched this back during covid after needing a show to watch during the lockdown and loved the watch. It's a pretty enjoyable drama with a good story that I'll admit got a bit boring towards the backend of it probably because of how they starting pushing things quicker but I still loved watching it.

I wasn't that big a fan of the love triangle but I do think that Dal Mi and Do San were the best option to be together because of how they could relate to one another and although she found a deep friendship with Ji Pyung it felt more of a mentor-mentee friendship between them. Dal Mi never really showed a love interest in him despite the reveal of who he really he was. Do San loved her from the beginning without even knowing a single thing about her other than the letters and did what he could with her best interests at mind even though the lies kept getting caught into another one. With Dal Mi too, even after the truth coming out never stopping her feelings for him never left. I think ppl getting mad over that just wanted the actors to get together rather than focus on what the characters ending up growing towards.

I wish we got to see a bit more at the end of the drama with how they built up their company even if it was just for an episode or two. They showed at the end to it's big success from small start-up office because we didn't see much really happen in that office or the self-driving company and even a bit of the wedding would of been fun but so and so.. Also, I really enjoyed Dal Mi's mom and grandmother's relationship after they got together again. They didn't show a whole lot of it but it was super nice.

This is a good drama to sit down and watch with good acting and great OST, bit disappointed how people didn't end up liking it too much because they didn't think Dal Mi ended with the right person. People got hit super hard with second-lead syndrome even though it was pretty obvious it wasn't going to happen.

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Great representation of family, relationships, friendship and well, starting a business!

I've seen quite a few people bashing this drama but I personally really enjoyed it.
From the production all the way to the actors and storyline this drama is everything I have been searching for.
I personally am a sucker for office-style romantic comedies and I was looking for one where the FL is the CEO as opposed to the ML being the CEO and this drama was suggested to me multiple times. It took me some time to "get into the mood" for it, but once I did I got to enjoy three days' worth of laughter, tears and butterflies!

If you're anything like me - enjoy cheesy rom-coms, amazing friendship dynamics, character development, internal conflicts and learning something new, then I suggest giving Start-Up a go.
I really like dramas that have educational bits and bobs in them and similarly to Suspicious Partner, this drama had small explainers throughout on business, investing and start-up terminology which I found very educational. In addition, if you have no idea how start-ups work, then this looks like a fun introduction. Also, I really enjoyed how each episode had a start-up related theme, which also tied in with the whole storyline of the series (character development, relationships, what events may take place etc.).
I also wanted to give a separate shout-out to the director and production team. I managed to cry nearly in every episode including the first. I mean, I have never had such a strong emotional connection to a drama - crying on episode one. But I think the storyline was so greatly developed and the actors were able to portray that storyline so well that viewers could emotionally connect with them, feel what the characters felt and let their emotions go wild!

Honestly, this drama was a great journey and I would definitely watch it again :)

Okay, SPOILER-FREE review over, let's get into the good stuff!

This drama was my introduction to the wonderful Bae Su-zy who is considered to be Korea's Sweatheart and oh boy do I see why! She embraced her character so well and was able to portray an amazing Seo Dal-Mi and one I could relate to. A girl in her mid-20's who doesn't really know what she wants to do and is stuck fantasizing about a boy she wrote letters to 15 years ago who she never met turns into an astounding woman, who is strong, confident and inspirational. The amount of character development she alone goes through from doing things just to win in a battle against her sister to actually having a goal that is for the greater good and not for a petty vendetta.
I also really liked that this drama highlighted the fact that you do not need to have a university degree to succeed in life, however, if you do not, people will judge you and think you are "stupid" or "not worth it". Higher education is ridiculously expensive and not everyone can afford it - that's why start-ups and small businesses exist - to give people a chance to succeed.

Nam Joo-Hyuk portrayed a great ML. Nam Do-San was just perfect. I really enjoyed that for the first time in a long time we had a ML in a drama who was sincerely interested in the FL and did not try to hide it (unlike our second ML Mr. Han Ji-Pyeong). Yes, he was a little bit of a geek but his geekiness made him so innocent and pure that he brought me pure joy. You could see his actions were reflecting his good intentions and even though they might not have been the right path at times, he was such a pure soul I wanted to protect at all costs.
It became quite clear from the very beginning that Dal-Mi and Do-San would end up together at the end and honestly I did not mind that. I oftentimes hate love triangles, just because the second ML usually gets dumped, left behind all by themselves (which was sort of the case with this drama), but Ji-Pyeong annoyed me a little so I was a hardcore Dal-Mi x Do-San shipper.

Ji-Pyeong was portrayed by Kim Seon-Ho who I think did a great job of playing a lost and lovestruck man who doesn't really know what family means or how to express his emotions. By the choice of my words, it becomes quite clear that I was not the biggest Ji-Pyeong fan, but I can excuse a big part of his actions on the fact that he grew up in an orphanage and never knew what family meant.
I mean, this guy lived with Dal-Mi's grandmother for like a year, made a ton of money, left for Seoul and just disappeared? Who does that? Personally, it feels like pure disrespect to the person who took you in and I was very happy to see him integrate into Dal-Mi's family later on in the series (I was also really rooting for him to end up with Dal-Mi's older sister In-Jae just because it made more sense for him to end up with her - they were both older, ambitious, successful... and well, lonely - match made in heaven if you ask me! And I am really hoping they ended up together once the drama ended :))
Another thing that really bugged me about Ji-Pyeong was his lack of balls. Let me explain. Ji-Pyeong was way older than Dal-Mi and Do-San. While Do-San was in San Francisco for three years, Ji-Pyeong did not get the courage to just ask Dal-Mi out, I mean he made his feelings clear, she shot him down once, and he just sat back and watched her hoping Do-San will never return back to Korea. Again, who does that? This man had so many chances to just get the girl of his dreams and he lost them all. Then, when he saw that he was going to lose to Do-San when he came back from SF he decided to play it dirty by lying that he was dating Dal-Mi. God this man bugs me. He did call her telling her he regretted his actions straight away but Jesus I was ready to punch him at times.
Because of his actions though, we can see he is kind. And I am happy to see him finally let go by the end of the series. It's refreshing and shows growth and I am really hoping he finds his person later on.

Now, I wanted to give a special shout out to Seo In-Jae, Dal-Mi's older sister portrayed by Kang Han-na. Honestly, I first couldn't understand how a child could just so coldly turn their back on their own father, who only wanted the best for them. I mean she was a stone-cold **** and I hated her guts. Even after when Dal-Mi was let go from SamSang Tech when it was acquired by 2STO and you could see In-Jae felt bad for her sister she did not offer any help. Just advice which was delivered in such a harsh manner, maybe it would have been best to say nothing at all?
I have a lot of pride, so if I were in Dal-Mi's situation would I have been able to go for a job interview at my sister's company, who was hiring, knew I was in trouble and did not offer help? Probably not. But I guess this is what the drama tried to show us - that maybe sometimes it's best to step down that pride pedestal and choose your battles wisely. If Dal-Mi would have never joined In-Jae's company, they would have never made up. Granted In-Jae did go through quite a lot but I really wish we saw her character development earlier on in the drama and not just in the last few episodes.

I also wanted to mention the friendship dynamics represented in this drama because they were so good. I never had such a close group of friends like Do-San had and I would kill to have even half of what he has in the drama. Their friendship is so strong and you can see them supporting each other no matter what. Inside jokes and the way they act with one another were also so realistic, it seemed like the actors themselves had fun shooting their friendship scenes.

And of course family! The drama is big on family and children-parent relationships.
First, we have Dal-Mi's family which fell apart when she was in her early teens. She and her sister stopped talking pretty soon, her mum was not present and her father passed away early on so she was brought up by her grandmother. We can see how much admiration Dal-Mi has for her grandmother, how much she cherishes her and cares for her. We can see how her grandmother is trying to mend and bring their family back together by accepting back Dal-Mi's mother who left Dal-Mi's father in one of the worst ways possible. I think this drama did a great job at representing women as the head of the family, which is so important (even when it came to Do-San's family you could see his father "had the upper hand" but his mother controlled it).

Then, we have Ji-Pyeong, an orphan who doesn't know what family is but so desperately longs for it and loses it only to regain it again. I think his storyline was pretty great and contrasted with Dal-Mi's perfectly.

And finally, we have Do-San, an only child - the son, who made it his life's goal to please and make his father proud and kept failing. His failures built up this fear inside of him which stopped him from telling his parents the truth. I think the part where Do-San tells his father that they should no longer strive to be each others' pride was a key development in their relationship. I also really enjoyed all the parts where Do-San asked his parents for dating advice, which, if I am not mistaken, came only after the pride conversation he had with his dad.

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A Feel-Good Watch

I'm not an experienced K-Drama watcher by any means. But most of what I've seen are rom-coms so I had an idea of what to expect. Personally, I think I found this drama at the right time. Most of my enjoyment comes from how much I relate to the two leading characters (mid-twenties with hopes and dreams but feeling lost, stuck on what to do, etc). But there are other reasons as well.

First and foremost, the two main characters SDM and NDS. I like that they're awkward around each other, because I can imagine such interactions in real life. We can't expect everyone to be confident, smooth-talking and flirtatious. I think it's important to show that there are people who are not like that, and are able to make things work in their own way. SDM is more outgoing, and NDS is more introverted, but ultimately they are both very earnest, naïve, and have similar values. They balance and build each other up. Individually though, I think SDM had more spark, and had more potential to grow. She also had more to lose based on her past. As for NDS who had a thriving childhood, he was not as ambitious unless it was something he really cared about, so he didn't grow as much.

Now let me talk about HJP and CWD (who I'll affectionately call Granny, like I did while watching). This was my favourite relationship in the whole show and I wish we saw more of it. So wholesome. I get that one of the main genres is romance, but their relationship is so unique and beautiful that I just couldn't get enough of it. When an act of kindness cannot be repaid, of course you'd be grateful, yet anxious. HJP was on his toes the whole time to help Granny, but there are things that even his incredible resources couldn't solve. He appeared to be a lead but turned out to be more of a secondary character. Despite that, he was a character that made you want to cheer him on until the very end. He definitely stole the show, as many reviewers have said. I personally found him the most likeable.

My critique begins here.

I had mixed feelings on how the story started and how the characters were introduced. The promo poster shows four characters so I expected four leads, but in the show it's more centered around two leads, one secondary character, and the last one is barely there, mostly in her own story. This is the sister, WIJ, who I wish we could have seen more of, as she experienced many issues that were unique to her. Unfortunately, we mostly see her with her sister and not alone.

Another concern are the letters - which drove the start of the show - which are occasionally forgotten until they are brought up to fuel the love triangle (which by the way, was not very convincing). When they aren't mentioned, the characters continue on as if how they were brought together wasn't that important, as they're too focused on the future. It was a confusing back-and-forth. That's where the drama came from.

The character development could have been better, and the stakes could have been higher. Some major conflicts were resolved too quickly despite the suspense. They were missed opportunities for character development. Subplots involving minor characters could have been explored more and organized better. Some things were long forgotten and then came back, and other things happened way too suddenly to make any sense.

Overall, this was a satisfying watch. There was a good amount of comedy. My favourite parts were the bromance. As for the "drama" genre, there is definitely drama in this drama but it doesn't last very long. I'd say it's mostly a rom-com, making it a feel-good watch.

Last but not least: the sound track is wonderful, and is good for easy listening any time. The cinematography is great too: the way they play with colour, transitions, and composition keep your eyes on the screen.

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Spread Love, Not Hate

This is a very informative, inspiring, & heartwarming show. This show breaks stereotypes, breaks gender roles, & loves differentiation. It was my first time to watch a Kdrama where Nam Joo Hyuk & Kim Seon Ho are included in the cast but it’s very clear to me that the main male lead is Nam Joo hyuk. Dosan’s (Joohyuk) apperance in ep 1 is short but impactful. Episode 1 laid the foundation on what will be the main plot & who are the main characters. It’s clear as day that Dalmi(Bae Suzy) & Dosan(Joo hyuk) are the main characters where the main plot which is about “Start-Up” and its theme “Youth Coding Romance” revolve. The letters were plot devices to help Dosan & Dalmi meet. I cried buckets in episode 1 because of Dalmi & Injae’s father - Mr. Cheong Myeong. He’s the beginning of “Start-Up”. He’s the Sandbox! I really love the show & people around me also love it. A lot of people I know from the start-up company industry, IT or Computer Science/AI field even those from academe watched a Kdrama for the first time because of Start-Up. We watched it as what it is and we were unbothered by the “unnecessary noise”. By the way this show was highly recommended by one of the most respected marketing gurus in PH and a 2002 Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) of the World awardee - Josiah Go. You can google his review about Start-Up. Even founders of a start-up company like Platzi (a Guatemalan-Colombian educational platform) tweeted their amazement about the show.

It is a well-thought out & well-researched show. The team worked closely with Sparklabs South Korea (real-life Sandbox/start-up incubator). Thanks to the genius writer Park Hye Ryun, brilliant director Oh Choong Hwan and to the whole cast and crew for giving us a wonderful show during pandemic. Go watch it and be comforted, be informed, & be inspired. Let’s continue to spread love, not hate.

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The story line and cast

The story started with a small lie but in the later episodes story was evolved into new concept of how the FL works hard, and how she got involved with ML another good thing about the story is to understand how all the actors were related to each other and when truth was coming to reality I felt damn bad for FL and ML as well how the 2nd Lead fell in love with her despite everthing at start was lie, the emotions potrayed by the actors werer on point which made me stick to the end of drama. It's a must watch for people who are into technology (even though it was not completely about this).

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I am also a Software Engineer and also ever participate similar Event.

In this drama, there is "Sandbox" event.
In Indonesia, there is also similar event: "1000 Digital Startup", and I also ever joined the event
The point is it is very good to see that the event in the drama is quite similar with the event that I joined. So, I understand the thrill when finding teams, hackaton, etc.

I am also a Software Engineer and and also ever joined Mathematics Olympic. It is like I quite understand what Nam Do San feels.

Pro of the drama: Episode 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 are very very good. Not only it brings so much emotions, but it teaches us how to run start up from the start, how to manage the share, how to be good leaders. I truly amazed on how this show does research about everything and so detail.

Cons of the drama:
- Person like Nam Do San who has almost all IT skills in 1 person literally does not exist in this world. He even can save company from hacking in 1 day. Not only that, he can revamp the self driving cars algorithm in a week. Not only that, he can run a program in a device where even tetris cannot play. This is something that I laugh and my friends also laughed at this. They try to create a story where there is 1 super person that nobody can compete with. It is too good to be true, for me.
- eps 9/10 is just downhill for me. The drama maybe expect the watchers to cry when Seo Dalmi found out the truth about 15 years ago. We already expect Seo Dal mi will be disappointed (we already know this from the first eps), but we expect something more, beyond our expectation. But, instead they make these eps just dragging until the end. I feel this is very boring.
- In either eps 11 or12, there is a scene where Nam Do San hit HJP. I feel this is off. Something I missed probably. Nam So San might be thinking of Seo Dal Mi a lot, but what HJP does is actually helping Seo Dalmi. There is no reason to hit HJP. I thought Nam Do San is a logical person, but they changed this person in this episode. Because of love....
- There is a problem in the drama that say they will have more cost because there will be lots of users that use the program. Again, I feel that this is unrealistic. No one in the company suggest offline mode? No one in the company suggest trial mode? No one suggest limit per day mode? No one suggest for lite mode? Seriously?
- The text-to-speech program that introduced in the drama, is just to perfect to be true. And this is also develop by Nam Do San alone. Again, unrealistic for me. Even natural language program is currently is being developed by Google, but Nam Do San does this alone (and by their small team).

Overall, I am quite happy when there is drama that has a digital theme. I like the emotion it bring and also the knowledge it shares to us. What I don't like is the exaggerated skill Nam Do San has (maybe because I also an IT), and eps 9/10/11 that feels boring.

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Tale of dedication and determination

This show is absolute gem that i found after months of starting new k-dramas and then dropping them because i lost interest. I got attached to the characters within 10 minutes of the show. Mr. Han and the real nam-do-san were a treat to watch. No doubt strong cast and familiar faces did added plus points to the show. But the story was no ordinary one, it was for dreamers of a startup.
The journey of Samsan tech boys was full of ups and downs yet it gives hope to dreamers. Nam do san portrays a nerdy engineer with low self esteem yet he isn’t a quitter.. Even thou he wasn’t the guy from the letters but his feelings were genuine and he was persistent in pursuing them. Fortune does favours the brave as he didn’t backed out pursuing his feelings for Dalmi.
Mr Han started with nothing but build a name for himself with hard work. I was sad that he didn’t got the FL. His character didn’t got the love he deserved. That’s the only thing that made me sad otherwise I enjoyed the show.
Dalmi oh silly girl!! she was never in love with the guy in the letters, he was a mere distraction during the time her life was a mess. Hence after finding out who the real guy from the letter was, she never shows interest in Mr.han or shows concerns or even talks about his letters, it bothered me. She made a big deal about the guy from the letters yet when she finds out, Nothing! we get absolutely nothing from her. But I get that too as she was now interested in the real nam do san.
The crux is to follow your dreams and don’t give up. Aside from the messed up loved triangle, I loved everything about the show.

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A decent slice of life.

This drama is a good choice for those days when you don't want anything overly dramatic.

The plot is not dynamic. But this is not necessarily a bad thing; as it perfectly sets the background for the story to unfold.
It had the time and space to provide detailed insights on how start-ups are established and the difficulties they might face.
From that perspective, I found this drama to be very informative. You actually get to learn something from it.

There was an attempt to add a touch of mystery to the plot to make it more engaging, I guess. But ultimately, I felt like the writers desisted from it. (Much to my disappointment)

As for the characters, I wasn't focused on the main leads and their chemsitry. (They were just ok, if you ask)
The relationship between Han Ji Pyung and the grandmother is the one that gave me the warmest feelings.
Han Ji Pyung himself, is a very charming and charismatic character. Probably, my favorite one.
The other characters are all likable, and not very k-drama typical.

All in all, "Start-up" is a drama worth-seeing if only for its charachters and unusual topic.

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Lots of pretty adults with the emotional maturity of toddlers

Before I start I should say, my rating of this drama as a 5 is probably not entirely fair, but I’m so pissed off at the story that it was a struggle to even go as high as a 5. The entire plot and every character centers around petty asinine lies. Everyone lies in this drama, and certainly every single character lies to the FL. I guess when you live in a world where everyone lies, staying in a relationship filled with lies from minute one must seem normal. But it pissed me off a lot.

This could have been a great story about overcoming odds and striving to succeed despite every roadblock. Or idk, literally any other storyline that wasn’t about the lies someone told the FL every five minutes. This story probably should have gone with a strong FL approach and just abandoned the whole romance story arc. Instead it’s all like, yo these two dudes are mega liars but since they’re the only two dudes in the entire world, pick one. Mega gross.

I don’t even dislike lying and dishonesty as a concept, but what I can’t forgive is clumsy, trite, petty lies with legit zero cleverness. I btw also dislike dudes that sob like babies while staring at a scrunchy instead of respecting their chick enough to trust she didn’t….idk even know what….screw her mentor in the back seat? Like, can we please be reasonable you immature man child?

All that hate aside, there were some good comedy moments. That’s about all this drama has going for it. The actors did well, but that unfortunately is not near enough to redeem the garbage heap of a script.

Overall l, I wouldn’t watch it again and I wouldn’t recommend it. The dude on the scooter thing was hot though, so I guess there’s that.

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Worth watching

Short review just to say that people have been too strict judging this drama. If you are uncertain if watching it or not, let me say: give it a try.
There are lots of dramas which get REALLY boring in the second half of the show, but not this one. I really enjoyed watching every single episode, the directing is great and the plot is not that bad. Fresh, new and cool, i've never watched something like that. I wasn't interested in it at all when i first read the plot, but i decided to give it a shot because of the cast and thanks goodness i did it! This drama was a Easter egg for me.
Of course, the story had many flaws, maybe it's not realistic for many aspects but let me remind you we are watching a tv show not a documentary. The purpose is having a good time. And in my opinion the director is a true genius, keeping you stuck on the screen wanting to watch more and more.
I'm warning you that there is a quite big component of romance (said from someone that isn't a fan of love stories), but it's not that cheesy and the story goes on smoothly, mixing wisely the love side with the work and carieer one.
What i liked the most about this show are side characters. They were all interesting and well characterized and i always watched gladly their scenes. As for the leads, they could have been characterized a bit better, especially for Dalmi which loses consistence as you go on with episodes, but not in a catastrophic way.
My only true disappintment is the ending. It could have been way better and i expected more from the last minutes of the show. Nonetheless i'm really happy about this drama and i absolutely don't regret watching it. I really really had fun and i recommend it.
P.s. visuals, colors, acting, ost, and especially directing were all very on point.

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Exciting to watch, but I would love to see a better story line

This show was very popular and got high ratings, possibly because of the good-looking actors/actresses and the story of young millenials trying their luck to achieve in this cruel, harsh world. It is all about following your dream, with all its ups and downs, the struggles and obstacles you have to pass through. The story line was so intriguing until you reached episode 6, then everything went down. Still interesting to watch, but at the end this was more about a love triangle instead of how you struggle to establish a start-up (compared to Itaewon Class - which I watched after this one- which showed more substance on the struggles of doing your own business).

I remember there was a competition in social media between the "Do-San Team" versus "Ji-Pyeong Team". Both teams were strong in sending messages through twitter, instagram, facebook, but still many could predict that the main lead, Do-San, would win the heart of Seo Dalmi, the female lead. Interestingly, I didn't like her character. The cute, young woman who basically had little to offer but aspired to become a CEO (which she did get). Then all you see in this self-centered character who can only think about competing with her sister, but when things didn't seem to go her way, she teamed up with big sister.

She cant even decide which guy would be the best one for her (well, this is a love triangle drama, so I understand why this had to happen), but she keeps on giving false hopes to BOTH guys. She was the one who broke up the relationship with Do-San, but then took the effort to travel miles away from Seoul to meet Do-san in his hiding place trying to reflect on his life. Was this because of love? No, it was because she needed Do-San to help her win her proposal. Ha-ha. And of course, our dear Do-san would say yes. Dal-mi also sort of already said no to Ji-Pyeong, and yet invited him to come over and spend the holiday at her grandma's house.

Big sister, In-Jae, who seemed like a cold, tough woman at the beginning actually shows more substance in the way she deals with things. Deep-down inside I really wanted her to team up with Ji-Pyeong, or even get romantically involved. She was much more mature than Dalmi, and I think In-Jae and Ji-Pyeoang would make a perfect match

Anyway, if there is one character whom I liked most, that was Halmeoni (grandmother). She may just play a supporting role in the story, but she actually touched the hearts of all main characters: Dalmi, Injae, Do-San and of course Ji-Pyeong whom she treated like her foster son in the early episodes.

I did watch the show until the end. I also did wait in anticipation every week for each episode, but I really wished the story was made better, perhaps with a twist. The ending was so predictable and so cliche: the main leads get married and live happily ever after, and the second lead would calmly accept the fact that he could not win her heart. Oh dear, I just hated that last scene watching them all walk together, as if nothing happened among them in the past.

Apart from the weak story line, the music was good, the cinematography was also visually pleasing.

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Good Boy deserved better

I was putting off this show for very long.. I had already seen some spoiler clips on instagram so i knew who the FL will end up with, still decided to give it a go for Kim seon ho and nam jo hyuk’s sake .
I have got to say the writers played us with the first episode and i wondered how after this amazing backstory did ji pyeong not ended up with the FL !! We got introduced to The Good Boy, we empathised with him, rooted for him and looked forward to his story but all in vein. They butchered his character towards the end. I am not necessarily saying that he should’ve ended with the female lead but he didn’t deserved to go like that. He made mistakes like not owning up to letters while he had the chance to and missing on opportunities to come clean in the beginning. That’s where Real Nam do san got the opportunity to shine. But why build Mr. Han soo well when you are just gonna use him as a prop to bring the main leads together and then throw him?? He was more than a mere prop.

Also I don’t understand the criticism on real Nam do san, he was soo organic and real. Not a made up ML full of cliches. He had his complexes just like a normal person. He lied to keep the girl bcz he was afraid he wasn’t good enough. The only flaw in found in Nam do san was that he started an unnecessary rivalry with Mr Han. He got ungrateful. But there’s no lie if I say he deserved the girl more and he eventually got her.
Injae my girl was done bad by the writers. She was insignificant even after working soo hard.
I have no issue with nam do san and dalmi ending up together. But wished better for the 2nd leads.

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