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"Sail Without a map".....BIG NO
Ji Pyeong and Won In Jae should have had a better ending than what was given to them. They had the best character development and it was disappointing that the show ended the way it did. Obviously, Ji Pyeong won people's heart with how much he went through to achieve success. In Jae might have had a life of luxury but she worked hard to get where she was with her step father's company. Both of them deserve better. Seo Dal Mi character did mature along the way. Nam Do San in my opinion is the most selfish character in the show. He had parents who provided and supported him, he's smart and good looking, all he had to do was push himself to succeed yet he is so hang up with one mistake that he is the one ruining his life. If Ji Pyeong had never entered his life and change its course, he would have been stuck with his dead end business. Dal Mi and Do San having their HEA just didn't sense.As for the story, it started out well, building the start up company and tackling the hiccups that came along the way, but after the time jump, the premise of the story got lost. The success just happened and the problems were just glossed over. I won't rewatch the show. I would still recommend it, just don't expect a thought provoking story.
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A bit sloppy but comforting?
Good:+Bae Suzy (Dal Mi) is pretty and can act well
+In Jae has a strong personality, is pretty, and I really liked what her kind of relatable character added to Dal Mi and to the story. In the beginning, it was interesting and funny and in the end, it was endearing and entertaining.
+The friendship dynamic between the Samsan guys
+The 2nd couple was cute
+Their loyalty to each other
+I really liked the CEO of sandbox. that woman was really good
+I liked how Dal Mi and Sa Ha became friends as well
+I really liked all the different competitions to win Sandbox (even tho Samsan tech winning everything was kind of really unrealistic)
+Mr. Han kept having to save them from everything and having Dal Mi not even going to college didn't sit right w me. The grandma had already sold her shop why wasn't she just grateful and helped by getting a high paying job *SMH*
+I liked how unique it was in a unique way. It wasn't a totally original plot or something but it showed completely different people in uncomfortable situations that they didn't expect which we don't really see often.
+I liked DalMi's mother in the end bc she regretted everything and was a funny character but never forgot how weak-willed she is and how she willingly left her daughter behind (who gives a child the choice to choose 1 parent like tf) and didnt send money or visit or anything.
Bad:
- Why was In Jae so freaking ungrateful and acted like she was better than anyone else??????? The mother gave dal mi who she didnt see grow up or see in 10 years a bit of attention and In Jae was jealous and even stole Dal Mi's story and didn't feel guilty ??
-It was a forced love triangle if I've ever witnessed one. IDK I just NEVER shipped Dal Mi with Mr. Han or liked him. He felt like an unwanted side character that kept giving them problems. and it has nothing to do with the chosen actor.
- It became really sloppy. Everything in the first half of the show was thrown out of the window. The father's struggle w business, Do San knitting became non-existent, Dal Mi always taking risks (which is understandable since she had experience after 3 years but it was her only personality trait so yeah)
-Call me shallow but I, and other watchers, care about what the actors look like in a show and for me, it affects how much I like it. By no way do I mean this in a bullying or hateful way. I simply as a human being didn't think the Males leads were handsome so that made me not ship the relationships as hard.
-It was a bit boring and cliche. no real character development and there were forced events to move the story. It had a lot of potential but lost it midway. Many problems could've been avoided if they communicated better which is personally a trope i hate
in the end, I did want to watch all episodes and wished most characters the best. most of it was quite entertaining and I'm glad they married in the end lol. I'm glad they grew and became important figures and got more money cause that's important!! it was more of a comforting and safe drama in the end, no real excitement or action or really emotionally moving things but it was a keeps-u-smiling-and-slightly-bored-but-u-keep-watching-anyway-cause-u-can't-stop drama.
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It was so good, like the ending how it was.
I'm late reviewing this one, but I really wanted to share my opinion (even if has been almost 3 years since they aired the last episode,). First of all, I couldn't be more disaree with almost all the opinions here I mean, I respect them, but Im disagree and makes me think we weren't watching the same drama and I have the same fight on twt while it was airing.To all, I'm gonna resume it, this drama has it all, good music (excellent if u ask me, GAHO, Red Velvet and others made it up so well) good acting performance, good characters and even if you don't accept it, good plot.
You gonna feel binged to it since the first episode and gonna start to feel emotional about Dal Mi's story, You gonna feel angry and gonna want to know when everything gonna be revealed and maybe, if you are objective, you gonna accept the ending.
Here we go with the spoilers, everyone was so disappointed in 2021 when Do San got the girl and even now, I can find dissapointed comments on internet about how they just found out Sr. Han didn't got the girl and thats the only reason why people give to the drama a one star review, just beacuse they didn't like the ending throwing the rest of the story.
Yes, its true the relationship between DalMi's grandmother and Sr. Han, was one of the best things in the drama. It melted my heart how she loved him as a grandson and confort him everytime as soon they met again, but for a lot of people this got mixed with Dal Mi and Sr. Han's relationship and they assumed he has to be with her just because her grandmother. For me the ending was what it has to be, even if there were things that killed my braing while watching this drama (like the relationship dalmi have with her mother, I still cant understand why she had leave her and be ok with that, i know he apologized later, but even when that happened I cant still be ok with it), so the ending its the sum of all the things that happend thorough the drama and even if Sr. Han was so sweet, he had a lot of opportunities to be with her, but he didn't dare to say anything and Do San got all the opportunities and did even a little bit more for her... and well, that's my opinion upon to this drama. That's all. ^^
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Forget the hype, the discussions and all that, it's a great K-Drama!
This is the first review I'm writing and I'll try to be brief about it. I started watching Start Up as soon as it premiered in Netflix, and as a fan of Suzy I was really impressed by how much her acting was better and the whole story and atmosphere the drama was created in the first few episodes. It was funny, a little sentimental when it needed to be and there were some great moments of reflection to but without dragging too much the viewers.The problem started as soon as the drama started getting hype by social media and many new viewers, a whole fan war began over the love triangle they build and it became such a mess that I have to give props to the writers for trying to ease the viewers and please both sizes at the same time. If you don't know what I mean, basically many people were mad saying Seo Dal-mi should be with the boy who wrote the letters, that's Han Ji-pyeong, but for me, these people missed the main focus of the drama itself that wasn't exactly about love but growth and sucess. Because of these fights, I had to stop watching it and only finished a year later when people got over it.
Now, after the whole issue is done I really enjoyed this drama. It's fun, it's heart-warming, the acting is on point and the OST is even better. It's very well-produced, the writers did a good job with what they had and with what they proposed since the first episode and I will rewatch it again in a few years.
I absolutely recommend it and also advise that when watching Korean dramas you don't fall too much into false hopes and don't read too much into it because that takes away the whole magic of your vision and your own experience with the drama.
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Great slice of life of start up in the high tech world
10/10 is my rating. This is a 2020 South Korean Romantic Drama with 16, 72-85 minute episodes.
As young children, Seo Dal-mi (Bae Suzy) and her sister became separated when their mother and father divorced. Seo-Dal-mi chose to stay with her father in South Korea and her sister went with their mother who remarried. Dal-mi's step-father is a wealthy businessman who was able to provide Dal-mi's mother and sister with wealth and status. Dal-mi's father died on the brink of receiving an investment to realize his dream of the next big thing in the tech industry. Wanting to fulfill her father's dream and show her mom and sister that she made the right choice in staying with her father, Dal-mi strives to make a big splash on the tech scene as the CEO to a start-up. Dreams for a successful start-up business start and sometimes finish with admittance to the start-up groomer, Sandbox, which is South Korea's version of Silicon Valley. Nam Do-san (Nam joo-hyuk) was a "math genius" as a young boy and grew up to be a genius coder. He founded a start-up, Samsan Tech, with two close friends. With his business struggling, Do-san agrees to play the role of stand-in as Dal-mi's first love who she "met" as a pen pal when she needs a date to an important event. The young dreamers apply to Sandbox and all are accepted. The situation becomes complicated when Dal-mi's actual pen pal also comes into her life and discovers he has feelings for her. Will these young dreamers realize their dreams and overcome nearly impossible odds to form a successful start-up. Who will Dal-mi end up with, the man who wrote her letters and supported her in her time of greatest need, or this "new" love that is the perfect partner for her aspirations?
Spoilers* At the start we are introduced to Dal-mi's father and it was a sad moment when he died after just realizing his dream of getting investors to start a business. Young Dal-mi had elected to stay with her father when her mother and father divorced. The relationship between the Dal-mi and her father was very heartwarming. Her father's mother, the grandmother, was also a very compelling character and it was understandable why so many people were drawn to her. I love how the grandmother adopted this orphaned young man in spirit and took care of him despite his bristly exterior. The grandmother also took such careful care of Dal-mi not just physically but emotionally after her father died. It was an interesting slice of life to see what a technology based start up might go through trying to get their idea(s) off the ground. The friendships, romances, and just the character development was all very well done and interesting. I really liked 2nd guy but I did not feel too bad for him to lose the girl as it had taken him too much time to realize he liked her and, even then, he was too slow to show her how he felt. I also liked him to the extent that I was glad she didn't wind up with him because she would never have loved him as much as he loved her. The 2nd guy could have been unkind and kept Do-san and Dal-mi apart by withholding information but he cared enough about both that he told them despite it being against his interest to do so. I liked Nam Joo-hyuk in "Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo" and "The Bride of Haeback" he is a very diverse and talented actor. Suzy Bae is just incredible. I first saw her in "While You Were Sleeping" and loved the role she played as a very vulnerable person troubled by visions she could not control. There was so much chemistry between the two leads and they looked very good together. It definitely made me root for their relationship. It was interesting to observe how each team member brought talent to the table and how they moved so many concepts into developed ideas into reality. I highly recommend this and would readily watch it again in the future. One of my new favorites.
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"No pain no gain"
This drama starts with a childhood story, but the journey is there too. The mental of a CEO should be strong from the beginning. The path won't be flat, there would be obstacles, and also failures. This drama has it all, when the FL (Seo Dalmi) wants to build a start-up company. I learned a lot about some management methods here. And the nation's favourite.. Han Jipyeong the good boy. All of his scenes with the halmeoni is really emotional and heartwarming for me. Well, Dosan also has a part in my heart (since Joohyuk is my favourite actor) because he also works hard. I'm very emotional while the Samsans came back from the States and visit their first ever office for the last time. They had gone through lots of things from that small office, until they can work in the States. The "no pain no gain" phrase is the best phrase to describe this drama. In my opinion, this drama isn't only about Dalmi's first love, this is also about self improvement, responsibility, and "good things take time".Was this review helpful to you?
way to much overated
why? i cant remmember how much i push next vid before finished the episode, or i just skip some scane. i dont really care how about the real do san life it is, mostly skipped. the first time i watch series watch everything but the main role. and.. this should be end at 5 episodes.its enough. rewatch? if this movie is the last thing on earth, i should pass. music? i cant remember wich one os good to listen, acting cast? over all its good. they are just ruined by the story line and bad execute from the director and suchWas this review helpful to you?
my comfort drama
I know you might think I’m crazy, but I love this drama so much!!just everything about it makes me so happy!
the cast is so good, Sansan tec crew all make me laugh
I love bae Suzy and nam joo-hyuk so much, I know everybody had second male lead syndrome for this but not me! I feel like dosan and dalmi are perfectly suited and they had so much chemistry
want Suzy and joo-hyuk to reunite soon!!!
I have rewatched 4 times and it never disappoints
only think I would say is there is far to much crap about start-ups and not enough romance
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Such genuine emotion
This drama is SO GOOD! Especially the ML is raw and honest and not afraid to show emotion. The characters are well developed, they deal with real life challenges and when they make a decision you think “that’s exactly what I would have done.” It explores themes of belonging and self worth and what it means to pursue a dream or what is means to be valuable. Honestly, it is worth it just to watch Nam Joo Hyuk cry - he is amazing ❤️. And the kissing scenes do not disappoint. I am actually not done yet and I am not 💯 sure who the male lead is- they keep us guessing until the end better than any drama I have seen.Was this review helpful to you?
Great visuals, tech vibes, but the love triangle felt like buffering on a slow Wi-Fi!
"Start-Up : 7/10 – A Well-Made Drama That Somehow Left Me Cold"(not my cup of tea and i do not know how )
THE GOOD:
Bae Suzy & Nam Joo-hyuk’s visuals – Stunning, even when the plot wasn’t.
The tech world setting – Refreshing change from chaebol romances.
Kim Seon-ho as Han Ji-pyeong – The only reason some of us kept watching. (Second-lead syndrome? More like second-lead trauma.)
WHY IT DIDN’T CLICK FOR YOU:
The love triangle felt unbalanced – Team Good Boy vs. Team Rich Boy? Neither?
The pacing issues – Started strong, then meandered like a bad startup pitch.
That ending – Rushed, divisive, and kinda unsatisfying.
THE "WAIT, WHAT?" MOMENT:
The letters subplot – Emotional manipulation or masterstroke? (You decide.)
VERDICT:
"A polished drama that just… didn’t spark joy for you. And that’s okay!" Watch if: You love underdog stories or Kim Seon-ho’s smile. Skip if: You hate love triangles or tech bro idealism.
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Disappointing storyline....
The first episode was just awesome! My expectation was so high and I was so excited, but in the end I was disappointed. The storyline was not very interesting, and I had a hard time carrying on watching it. I kept going only for Seon Ho, as his acting is just phenomenal, and he is carrying the show. It could have been a great drama if the scripts followed the story of the first episode.Dosan is like a puppy that agrees to everything that DalMi said, especially difficult business decisions. Most of the time he is just crying and acting childish.
On the other hand, Ji Pyong is a strong character, and his words are harsh, but it was always true, and people sometimes need their eyes opened instead of sugarcoating. Also, I love his relationship with harmoni.
I really tried to keep watching, but dropped at episode 10 and skipped to the last episode. It wasn't really satisfying ending for me.
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just give it a try and you will never regret it.
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