Start-Up

My favorite scenes (only including time stamp)

🖥🖱
Ep 1 55:12 01:05:55 01:07:55 01:12:40
Ep 2 59:51 01:07:58 01:08:34
Ep 3 29:05 47:06
Ep 4 08:39 46:21 56:25 01:12:18
Ep 5 31:48 43:06 01:08:53
Ep 7 06:17
Ep 8 13:45 22:17 50:16
Ep 9 3:00
Ep 10 27:08 29:40 58:17
Ep 12 16:14 01:22:44
Ep 15 23:50

Not a fans of Nam Do San nor Han Ji Pyeong, but can I admiring Seo Chung Myung? For real? This series got my heart on the first half, but dumped mine when the "letter" story become so complicated. Cause we all know, a good lie is still a lie. Though, I would rewatch some episodes of this drama when life is getting harder. ❤

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Underwhelming, but maybe worth a try

If you are reading this review and wondering whether to watch the show, watch at least the first episode. The pilot episode is one of the best episodes I've seen. Unfortunately, it's downhill from there.

Start-Up is a show that lacks balance. Some storylines/conflicts are dragged out for too long, while others are glossed over.

The business plot is weak but perhaps that's me having my expectations set too high by similar tech shows like Silicon Valley, Mr Robot, Halt and Catch Fire. This is much a consequence of the business taking a back seat to the romance story. The romance is wrecked by an unnecessary conflict that could have been resolved within the first few episodes. Seeing how polarizing it is online is just a testament to that fact. A good story shouldn't have that.

The show could have benefitted from having well developed platonic relationship between the FML and either, or perhaps both, MLs. But I guess I have given up on KDramas ever giving equal focus to platonic opposite-sex relationships, everything has to be romantic.

Ultimately the show could have benefitted from more business and family conflicts and less romance.

I really loved the first 4 episodes and would probably rewatch them if it had developed better beyond that. I would still suggest that you give it a watch if you want to. The show has some great cinematography, the best OST I've heard and some great acting. It's a shame that the writing couldn't keep up. But even then there's still a good story in there. If the pilot hadn't been as good as it was, I think I would have enjoyed this story a lot more.

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Nice and entertaining

Start-up was on my list of kdramas from Netflix to watch and I finally came around to it (actually on April 2022). It was pretty nice.

I have to admit, for some reason I was convinced that Dalmi would actually end up with Mr. Han from the very beginning, so I was kinda surprised (eventually maybe even a bit disappointed) that she didn't lol.

I ended up loving the barely there romance between secondary characters, as usual. Chulsan and Saha were very cute. Also! Chulsan, Yongsan and Saha were ROBBED at the end like why the hell were they not included in the final scene??? A crime tbh, they were all relevant characters in my opinion.

Anyways, i liked the drama, it was nice.

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I've watched the first 5 episodes while the series was still relatively new. I was so excited about the NJH & Suzy pairing, when news broke out I thought it was a match made in heaven. As I started watching the series, HJP started growing on me, so fast, that I really wanted him to end up with SDM. When I found out (by mistake) that Team DoSan won, ngl I was lowkey disappointed and put the series on pause until now.

Started the series again almost 4 years after, mainly because I share the same MBTI as SDM and I was curious as to how much I could relate to her. Absolutely mind blowing - it felt like I was watching my own reflection. I sympathised, , empathised, learned and grew along with SDM it was a beautiful experience.

Team HJP or Team NDS ?

The story played out pretty nicely and surprisingly I was not disappointed this time on. Both HJP & NDS suffer from their own flaws, HJP's struggles from expressing his feelings well - rooting from his loneliness and self reliance growing up as an orphan. NDS had it easy growing up but has low self esteem, lacks motivation and has impostor syndrome. It all depended upon where the elusive "spark" lies. For SDM it was NDS but for me it was and still is HJP. There's just something about him that makes my heart ache, wanting to continue cheering him on and wishing for his happy ending.

HJP kept his past and current relationship with Halmeoni rather secret from the other characters in the show. A lot of the most beautiful and heart warming scenes that stole the audience's hearts were private moments of HJP with Halmeoni. HJP also kept his feelings for SDM suppressed as he felt indebted to Halmeoni. There were a few moments where I'm sure would have made him win SDM over if he could just be honest and not cover up his intentions with lame excuses. SDM's character was not able to feel nor to understand HJP's character as much as the audience did which is why I understand how she ended up with NDS. I felt for HJP and was really sad & annoyed when the SamSans kept HJP from talking to or helping SDM. It was so unfair on his part but I could so relate because some people's lives are just fated to be as such - unfortunate & unlucky in ways of love.

On the contrary, there were lots of moments where (in SDM's absence), NDS was immature and petty. What a lucky bloke he is, I am pretty sure if SDM was there to witness such, she would have chosen HJP. Though NDS did gradually become a descent person to some extent - he's still the luckier guy who took advantage of the situation when he had things paved out to his convenience.

The story build up was really unique as up until ep13/14, I still held hopes for HJP & SDM. But considering the characters' story buildup, it did make sense that SDM ended up with NDS - we ENFJs have a weak heart for weak people.

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There have been several bad reviews on this drama and I'm here to do it justice. although I wasn't a fan of story and the logic behind the plot, sometime it was just...unnecessary, but aside from the romance I think the whole start-up, failing and trying and the work related story was interesting and inspiring even.

I'm happy with the ending I think it was the right thing to do anyway. backstory was fine but sometime they were just overdramatic.

acting was on point most of the time, although I believe Suzy could do better.

The character I loved the most and related the most to was Do San, I think Nam Joo Hyuk did a decent job portraying Nam Do San.

overall, you should watch this drama for the romance between ML and FL and also the work space stories, I think the relationship between the two sisters was also great.

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Inspiring and Uplifting, the Great Outweighs the Stumbles

Start-Up is an inspiring story that's a realistic, fun story that is very enjoyable to watch with a few shortcomings.

Story:
The storyline about Sandbox and the main casts' journey of starting a business and expanding is very inspiring and enjoyable to watch. Everything was done so well, but one thing I wish could've been done better was the romance. By the time Nam Do San's charm was revealed, Han Ji Pyeong had managed to take over until he sometimes seemed more like the main lead, but otherwise, Start-Up's story was uplifting and enjoyable to watch.

Acting/Cast:
The acting was great. At times, Nam Joo Hyuk's acting wasn't as up to par compared to Kim Seon Ho's, all the actors did really well. Nam Joo Huk and Suzy had amazing chemistry and so did all of Samsan Tech. Suzy and Kang Han Na also had really great chemistry as sisters. Seo Dal Mi's family also had such great chemistry.
Overall, the chemistry of this cast was out of the roof with superb acting.

Music:
The OST for Start-Up was one of the best OSTs I've ever heard. "Future" by Red Velvet is definitely one of my favorite songs ever and while there are too many to list, the rest of the OST's songs are amazing as well.

All in all, Start-Up had some shortcomings, mainly how the romance was written out, but the cast's superb chemistry and acting and the rest of the well-written story outweighed it. Start-Up shows the story of three friends running a start-up. They realize they need help as they try to make the most of the scarce opportunities in front of them. This story shows them finally succeeding, through many hardships. I recommend you watch this very uplifting and inspiring story. You won't regret it :)

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A WELL WRITTEN BUSINESS STORY SELLING BAD ROMANCE

I struggled to rate this show,even though i had good laughs and good tears but the psychological warfare in characterization that the writer put us through was too much.This is the first time i have ever watched a drama whereby the 2ML takes the ship from episode 1 to the the last episode,As a woman the ML visuals was stunning but if i was to be in a Titanic wreck,i would hang on to 2ML,this man had depth and great leadership in a world of headless chicken that we named developers.Every time there was a problem,in my mind i was like what would HJP do? He might have seen to be brutally honest most of the times but the world doesn't run on weak minds.His relationship with Grandma Choi is what kept me emotionally connected to the drama,you get to experiences a stranger who takes on a role of a parent to a young man who is lost and it goes on for ages.She was his home,his peace and his world and he was worth 10 sons..The last part where she saw everyone in her family has finally met but her heart went to HJP and the way she immediately went to him even with her eyesight deteriorating..I think she will worry about him for the rest of her life and I hope he finds someone with a heart like Grandma Choi(in season 2 that i have written in my head)
This show would have gone way better without the romantic tag but as we know romance sales and Korea film industry oversupplies this product.I dont think it was necessary to create a love triangle.HJP could have remained a mentor to Do-San and crew,and maybe leave the ML and FL to fall in love naturally.The letters from the FL past would have been about the dad story and his struggles to start business,like a dairy type of correspondance and this would have build up to the present,the mentor helping the FL to bring to reality her dad’s dream.Am not a kdrama writer but thats the direction i would have taken this to.
Overall,using the common line of the drama”Sail without a map” this drama sailed with the wrong map instead,the funny part was funny(when ML and 2ML were using the national anthem lyrics to pretend they are in deep convo,and when he was trying to train him how to be him) the emotional scenes were really emotional but the romantic tag was unnecessary cos even the chemistry between the lead was non existent

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ITS NOT THAT BAD, But...

Honestly from Episode One I was FULLY interesting in the show, I didn't skip much.
But There's one thing that I couldn't really y'know actually be THAT happy about.
Do-San and Dal-mi.
Those two, the main couple of the show apparently, I just don't feel that much of a connection? Like they're not bad of a couple but not so great either. I just didn't feel it to the point where I'm smiling at every single one of their scenes.
The First Episode made me believe that Ji-pyeong was the main lead, but I was wrong. But the fact that he hid that he was the guy behind the letter for 15 years? 15?! And the grandma also hid it to! I didn't like that part. Therefore, I didn't ship Ji-pyeoung and Dal-mi.
The Music. OH MY GOSH. I love it! Especially the intro! Could listen to the whole thing all day.
The acting wasn't bad but wasn't like "WOW! I didn't know that this was a show!" It was amazing but not bomb throwing.
The sister was kind of a waste of a role to be honest, I didn't really care about her so-called vilian of a sister role.
The story is pretty average but unique to me at the same time. Y'know average pen pal story and never knowing his identity until years later. But they did a twist and instead of the female lead ending up with the pen pal she ended up with a guy who's life was about to fall apart.
The Show is bad but good too. I find it unreasonable that some people give this show like a 1 or 2 star rating cause it's not all bad.

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Props to the team behind this show

It's not very often that you see a show that depict a specific idea without butchering it.

As a developer I appreciate the details in this show... why... because it seemed that they actually hired a developer for the show and discussed the terminology and functionality of a lot of the items discussed in the show. While not everything was correct a lot of times it actually made some sense, that is if we compare it to the god awful shows about musical instruments that doesn't even meet the beat not mentioned the correct notes.

As for the show we have the basic ingredients for a standard romantic drama:

* love triangle
* misunderstanding
* tragic plot

That said the story was interesting and enjoyable to watch. Some of the plots were a little to large for their own good but it was a nice balance.

The show was like watching 16 movies one after another, since each episode was around 80minutes... and it seemed that there is no end to each one but in a good way. That said maybe if they decreased the episode count a little it would have been better, since by the end they almost revealed everything and I was starting to wonder what would they show for the last 2-3 episodes.

While I wanted a different conclusion to the love triangle I was OK with the culmination nonetheless.

There were a little too many product placement in a lot of the scenes that the camera specifically panned to a specific product that it became a little too annoying... there are so many times I can see how can a desk go up and down, no need to double take the same scene twice each time.

The actors play was really well done and the music fit the show.

So if you are looking for a wholesome show to relax to, give this one a try.

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This drama start with boom and drop it value from ep 9

First, after watching episode 1, I think this drama will best considering writer’s past drama that I loved to watch such as I Hear Your Voice, and While you were sleeping. I love the plots about exchanging letters and pen pal because this day we only using gadget to communicate with peoples but this letter exchanged make this drama different from other dramas out there and because of background story and cinematography I’m in love with han ji Pyong and haelmoni characters the most.

I truly hope after watching episode 2, SDM will end up with her pen pal HJP.

After episode 9 to episode 15, I was disappointed...my imagination that SDM will choose HJP all broken by the plot that not consistent and have many plot holes. First time watching Korean drama that I hate 1st male lead character. By the way I love watching Korean dramas. I only continue watching this drama because HJP. Wish HJP will find his happiness at the last episode.

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There was so much promise...

Honestly, I was super excited for this drama and as soon as I saw the trailer I decided not to watch ANYTHING until every episode had been aired. When I finally got the chance to sit down and start watching it however the excitement I once had disappeared just like the plot of this drama.

The main problem with this drama is that the first few episodes started on a high. From the very beginning, it had a very promising theme, storyline along with some great actors. The problem with starting off well, however, is that if you don't keep building on that high it's super easy to slip and in this case, the drama slipped and fell down the rabbit hole of disappointment.

After episode 5, everything really started to crash and burn. I've listed below just a few of the reason why this happened:
1. Main male lead kinda annoyed me – he whined a lot, felt sorry for himself and got a bit dramatic.
2. Some scenes just felt so irrelevant and others were just awkward to watch.
3. I rarely ever skip past the romance scenes of the main characters, but in this case, I did because they just weren't it.
4. SOOOOO much wasted potential with quite a few characters development.
5. Uncomfortably predictable story - Mainly because I really didn't enjoy the drawn-out love triangle and just didn't want it to end the way it did.
6. Sign me up for the inaccurate way they portray start-ups where no-one really has any business experience

Don't get me wrong the reasons I have listed above plus many others (which would be spoilers so I won't divulge any more) are why I will probably never watch this drama again. But if you haven't watched it I would still recommend it for the things that were done right during this drama:
1. Kim Seon Ho who hands down was one of the best actors/characters during this drama
2. The development of some of the characters relationships with each other did leave me feeling a bit emosh
3. It was nice to watch visually – the shots were great and it did have a lot of cinematic appeal
4. I know I've mentioned it before but it deserves to be mentioned again – Kim Seon Ho!

At the end of the day, I don't regret watching this drama, but there was so much wasted potential. They had some many chances to flip the script and create a unique and interesting ending. Instead, it became predictable and similar to basically every basic romantic k-drama.

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