Start-Up

longest catfish episode I have ever watched

no thoughts just han ji-pyeong being the only person with brain cells.
The main characters were written terribly, initially, Seo Dal-mi was great then everything she did became about Nam Do San.
Their actions never had consequences and that got annoying very fast, I was not rooting for them, they kept doing things randomly hoping for the best.
I did not care about the love triangle or the love story in general, it was like watching two pieces of wood flirt with each other for 16 episodes.
The only two characters I really liked were Han Jipyeong and Won Injae, and they were the only reason I kept watching. I just wanna hug Han Jipyeong cause somebody has to and I volunteer. Also, for some reason he has great chemistry with random male characters so Han Jipyeong bisexual king.

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A drama that can grow on you

I agree with the majority of the viewers, that this drama could have been better in many ways. However, that doesn't mean this was overall a bad drama. Like almost everyone else, I had major second-lead syndrome until about episode 13.

I thought that it was both interesting and smart to start the drama with Han Ji Pyeong's background, making us think that he would be the male lead. (Even though I knew that was not the case because there were spoilers eveywhere on FB). That establishment made it clear to viewers that he would have a special role and connection to Seo Dal Mi.

The whole 15 years of writing letters back and forth was sweet but also paints Dal Mi as a major idealist; as she could not give other people a chance because she was so hung up on who "Nam Do San" despite never meeting him in real life. I appreciate her Grandma's intention of setting this whole letter thing up with Ji Pyeong because she was only trying to give her a friend. The only thing that bothered me about the whole process was that the Grandma never really considered how Ji Pyeong felt through it all.

There were so many times in the drama, when one of the characters wanted to tell Dal Mi the truth but decided not to because of another excuse. The part where Do San decided that he didn't want to tell Dal Mi the truth anymore because he wanted to live up to the "Nam Do San" that she knew from the letters was a low point in Do San's character, imo.

Another striking part that needed more conclusion / story to was Dal Mi and Ji Pyeong's relationship. She knew that he liked her but she didn't tell him clearly how she felt even throughout all those years when Do San. It felt like she was giving false hope to Ji Pyeong the whole time, but in doing so she knew he would be by her side whenever she needed. How could she not address the fact that he was truly her first love?? How could she just not properly talk to him about it after getting mad at him for lying? Even if she doesn't love him anymore, she could have given him some kind of wrap-up to it all. She went on about how great "Nam Do San" was from the letters, but the second she met the real Nam Do San, she was able to forget all about the emotions and sentiments from the letters - just because he asked her to not bring up the past?

So many unanswered questions and plotholes. HOWEVER, this is why I think that it is much better that Dal Mi didn't end up with Ji Pyeong. I don't think it would have been possible because all she knew of Do San was through the letters and when she met the real Do San, her idealized image came to life in human form. There would have been no way for her to detach that. And even after she found out it was all a lie, it was too late for her and Ji Pyeong because she had started to really like the real Nam Do San.

I also think that after everything Dal Mi and Do San went together, it makes sense for them to end up together. They went through a lot of growth together and experiencing the whole "chasing my dream" together. Whereas Ji Pyeong was already successful, he was an outsider looking in at the youth. Which is why he is perfect in his mentor role.

Despite Do San's character being so lacking and painfully hard to watch, his character really turned into better form towards the end. Though, I don't know how realistic that character growth is since he was once so insecure and anti-social - I think Dal Mi definitely helped him grow into his own skin. The scene where Do San asks Dal Mi for the final time why she likes him and she said "because it's you, you're the reason" - I thought it was very sweet. Even though it's super cliche, it finally confirms that Do San has nothing to worry about and doesn't need to compare himself to Ji Pyeong because he finally got what he wanted - to be liked for who he truly is. I am satisfied with how the main characters' stories wrapped up - being CEO/CTO and getting married.

I wish there was more of a wrap-up / follow up to other characters. I wanted to see Ji Pyeong's involvement with the orphanage company and In Jae and her company. I also didn't like how they separated In Jae so much from the family even towards the end. She had like two scenes with the Grandma. It was just weird how the Grandma so easily gave in to be so protective of Dal Mi's mom. I guess the Grandma really is just that giving of a person - since we saw this in episode 1 of how she helped young Ji Pyeong.

The ideas used throughout the drama for the hackathons, different companies, etc were nice and fresh to see. It definitely felt more modern and up to date? I wished they gave more insight about the whole start-up process.

Other notable side characters, Chulsan was great for comedic purposes especially his relationship with Saha. Yunsan, pissed me off so much. Blaming Ji Pyeong for killing his brother - bruh he didn't have to go that low.

Overall, this drama was worth the watch. Despite all the flaws and injustice for some characters, I think that it was nice to watch the characters grow and become successful in their dreams. Obviously everything is glamorized because it is a k-drama, no start-up can succeed that easily but because this doesn't happen in real life - it was fun to watch. Ji Pyeong's character carried the whole damn drama, he is smart, dependable, and very caring. I'm glad he didn't end up with Dal Mi because he deserves someone who is actually on his level (sorry Dal Mi).

The OST was really good though, Red Velvet's Future, Ailee's Blue Bird has been on repeat for me.

If you can get over how painfully built Nam Do San's character is, and how naive Seo Dal Mi is then you can get through this drama. Plus Ji Pyeong and the Grandma's scenes were always so cute.

I love all the actors and actresses in this drama; I think Suzy did a great job playing Dal Mi and is one of my favorite roles from her so far. Nam Joo Hyuk did good as well because he made Nam Do San to be so believable. And I'm so thankful that this drama introduced me to Kim Seon Ho (I'm sure everyone feels the same way).

If there's any gain from this drama, it's motivation to maybe start your own business? But also a new found love for the up and coming Kim Seon Ho himself. I'm going to binge 2 Days 1 Night Season 4 because I can actually see him laugh and smile with those cute dimples of his in that show lol.

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This drama was honestly perfect based on my personal taste. I loved it from the very beginning to the end, I noticed some people were kind of disappointed about the love triangle but I have to say I didn't think too much about it and just went with the flow. I didn't even bother to think who I wanted Dalmi to be with, both the first and second male leads left a good impression on me.. I really liked them (even though they were kind of upsetting at times). The cast was impeccable, and so was the story and osts, and this is why Start Up left such a wonderful impression on me: nowadays dramas are quite delusional and often boring. However, this time I haven't been bored once, it was always sooo entertaining and made me laugh and cry continuously. It sort of comforted me with its character's stories, which I felt so immersed in. Love it love it love it!

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Plunge into the start-up industry

This kdrama explains the inner workings of the start-up industry and all the terms you need to know to sound smart. For example, I did not know what was "acqui-hiring".

We learn that behind any successful start-up is a desperately resourceful CEO, a genius techie and a great mentor at an incubation center. The love triangle between these three adds complexity to the drama. While Bae Suzy and Nam Joo-hyuk are so cute together, Kim Seon-ho stirs second-lead-syndrome.

The story of their start-up itself is quiet interesting and the personal motivations are real-worldly for young twenty-somethings. The insights the writer, Park Hye-ryun brings is typical of her writing style and I was educated on the lives of rookie journalists in Pinocchio (starring Lee Jong-suk and Park Shin-hye), and felt I got an inside view into the workings of the prosecution department in While You Were Sleeping (also starring Bae Suzy, and Lee Jong-suk) and I Can Hear Your Voice (starring Lee Bo-young and Lee Jong-suk), even though legal dramas are done to death in the Kdrama world.

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An Honest Review

Start up was a quality drama of 2020. The first episode sets the stage for the story line in the most perfect way. You start of the drama laughing and crying. I enjoyed the story line, even though there are definitely some holes as the story progresses of things you want to know but just never do. The ML and FL do an excellent job at emotional scenes and continue to do so throughout the drama. The ML did an good job changing his mannerisms as the character grows and develops in the drama. The SL was also amazing his adlibs are super funny and its a joy when his face comes on the screen.
If you hate dramas with love triangles this is NOT the drama for you. You will get frustrated and drop the drama. I enjoyed how the story progressed between the ML and the FL it was sweet but not overly romantic. I found myself rooting for them the entire drama.
The drama also has a nice ending that ties up most of the loose ends. You don't get a ton of details but you can infer what happened. All in all I really enjoyed this drama and will be watching again.

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Best k-drama I've watched!

I am consistently captivated by the multifaceted elements of this drama, from its compelling characters and evocative soundtracks to its exquisite cinematography. The acting, storytelling, video shoots, and background music coalesce to create a truly perfect piece of art. Immense kudos to the entire team for bringing such a beautiful drama to life; I sincerely hope they produce another season!

No matter how many times I watch it, I never grow tired of it, which is a testament to its exceptional quality. Personally, the characters Han Ji Pyeong and Haemulni stand out to me the most; their impeccable acting draws me in every single time. This drama consistently hooks me, demonstrating its unparalleled brilliance.

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Makes me mad all around

Talks about being entrepreneurs and how to startup a company, but this show makes you want to punch a whole in your screen, like why would they show a show that after working soo hard your company will fail hard. Also the love triangle in the show is just soo bad, like you have to give Hanji pyung more scenes to grow with suzy to develop more feelings. As of right now the show went bad after ep 12 it went from decent to a train wreck, don't expect much after this kind of ending. Also the ship with hanji pyung with suzy woulda been a better choice to improve this overall ratings jeez.

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It's not worth it

I had so much hopes for this drama. The pilot episode looked promising--groundbreaking even. The OSTs and visuals were very enticing. But the storyline started to go downhill after Episode 10 when Dal-mi found out about the letters. Like a lot of people, I was waiting for a big confrontation about the letters with Ji Pyeong, Do san, Dal-mi, and halmeoni, but there was none. Dal-mi brushed the letters off and continued to pine for Do san like nothing happened. The storyline was filled with clichés and unrealistic stuff--a far cry from that of the first few episodes. What really was the point of building up a storyline centered on the letters, only to see them being reduced to mere plot devices? Moreover, using them as voiceovers for Do-san's scenes was very absurd, considering that they were Ji Pyeong's words.

As a corporate professional, the business aspect was something that I was looking forward to when I found out about this show but it was overshadowed by the annoying love triangle. I don't know why the love triangle had to be dragged on even after the three year timeskip when they were still going for the clichéd ending. It looked like a cheap move by the writers to keep their ratings up. If you're thinking of watching this drama because of the business aspect--it's not worth it. Go watch Itaewon Class instead.

Aside from the business aspect, I started watching this drama because of Nam Joo Hyuk and I was expecting a lot from his character. During the first few episodes, I cheered for him every time he came on screen but in the second half, he became more and more selfish, claiming things that weren't rightfully his. What Living Buddha? As a genius, his immaturity was disappointing and his bad traits were slowly starting to overshadow his good traits. Every time I start to see a hint of his character development, he always does or says something that makes me think otherwise. There was way too much plot armor going on for Do San just because he was the main lead and all the circumstances were unrealistically very convenient for Do san. Would a busy CEO in real life really follow someone in a remote place just to recruit him?

The main leads were very unlikeable. It was so difficult to root for them as a couple. Do san and Dal-mi's confession scene was underwhelming. In a different context, Dal-mi's reason, or lack thereof, for liking Do-san would've worked, but let's not forget that she met Do san under false pretenses.

All the parallelisms and symbolisms in the show pointed to a Jidal ending. The drama would've been amazingly unique if they followed through with those. You would have to abandon all logic to appreciate the ending.

On the bright side, the cast portrayed their characters very well. You wouldn't be able to imagine another actor/actress in their places. You would see a substantial improvement in Nam Joo Hyuk's acting and Kim Seon Ho's acting was just phenomenal.

I really don't know what PHR was trying to accomplish for this one. Whatever it was, it was poorly executed. It's even more disappointing when you know that apparently, it took PHR two years to write this drama.

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Don’t watch this You’ll regret later

Sorry to say this I’m a fan of Nam Dohyuck I love him love is acting and also his acting in this movie is awesome. But the character of Nam Do-San is so annoying. First I watch this I already think that Nam Do-San don’t reserve to be with Deol-Mi and after watching there nothing change Do-San still don’t Deserve her. I thought he a math genius skip Highschool to college having kind heart so that why he dropped school giving away his gold medal who know he cheat on the test so he feel bad about the person he cheat so he give away his gold medal to him. For Han Jipyeong because the name of a good boy he do everything to keep that name he alway be a good boy who help Deol-Mi grandma and Deol-Mi when there are problem. Han Ji-Pyeong never leave Deol-Mi and alway stay by her sight hide her when she cry stay by her when she is sad Making her happy while Do-San can’t do that. The last thing Han Jipyeong did is give the person he love to much an annoying like Nam Do-San because he want them to be happy and he can be happy if Deol-Mi happy. I’m was really happy once Nam Do-San Left to San Francisco for 3 years and wish he will never be back again but after 3 years why why why he is back. The story pissed me so much.
I rate high for cast because everyone is acting perfect but the story is the real problem for the whole thing
Han Jipyeong once said: You want them to be happy how about me why I have to be the one that have to cry.
Everyone in the story is so selfish except my lovely Han Jipyeong🙂❤️

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