Kimsamsoom

Yes, it's not as easy to find, but if you go the person's profile, instead of adding friend, you can choose to block them.

The only downside to blocking is that the thread get's deleted, so sometimes you'll see people reply to your post, but can't view the post since that person is blocked. Also, it gets weird seeing some people interact with themselves since you can't see the blocked peopled. But it really helps trim the toxicity.

FYI, I don't block all NDS fans, or Dodal fans, just the one who personally attack me, or call me names. I may be mature and kind, but even I have my limits.

Thanks for the kind words, you stay safe as well :)

You go to his/her profile, and under add friend, you can just choose block user.

dkdktv is on team HJP, so they didn't talk about the reasons.

I am also curious to see a youtube video defend NDS side. I have yet to see it.

It may go down soon. A week ago the number of people rating all 10's are at 24%, now it's only 22%.

The average of all 10's for mediocre dramas in 2020 is 13%. So if Start-Up ever heads there, then we are looking at similar ratings to ROY.

You can try reading the reviews, maybe that would be a good start in figuring out the why.

Because, regardless of which side of the coin you are on, you have an opinion, and I feel I should respect that. But writing these types of statements "the writer of this drama still much better than you in every possible angle." makes me question your intent. Are you here to just spew negativity, then I don't really need to respond further to your comments.

"I don't get PG13 movie and series" I'm trying decipher what you are saying, are you saying I'm taking the show too seriously? Sorry, didn't realize we were watching cartoons now...

"if you want to compare the rating it would have been better if you have chosen a better series to compare not a garbage."

You do now TKEM and Start Up are rated the same right? And you do know TKEM has more watchers locally and internationally than Start Up right? ROY, has twice the domestic viewership ratings than Start Up as well, and it's rated 7.6 on MDL. I don't really get your logic here.

If most watchers are hopeless romantics, don't you think NDS and the show in general would have more fans? Honest question. I think it shows that the audience has gotten smarter, and demand more of the shows they watch, don't you think?

I don't go on FB, so I can't comment on that, but other shows like CLOY, PBIO, and TKEM are just a few shows who got much more hype than Start Up, and the hype of those shows surrounded the Main Leads, and not the Second Lead. Think about that for a second.

I wrote my personal review, how people decide whether to watch or not, is up to them. You can go ahead and write one and list the pros and cons, so that those you read yours will be encourage to watch. Even it out then.

It is because I am an adult that I wrote such a review, and place my ideals on what I watched. If other adults read my review and realize we share the same ideals, then great. If some people like yourself don't agree with me, then it's also ok with me. Well normally for me, if I don't like a series, I will feel it's not worth watching, it's kind of common sense.

I can already tell your getting frustrated, by your choice of words, which are once again getting on a personal level. So I suggest you read the other reviews out there, and see if they are more level headed than mine.

Also, you said your defending the series, then go ahead and write on the general comment section, or write on other people's review. I noticed, you only wrote on mine.

All your doing here is making NDS fans appear in worse light, by personally attacking me and my review without any basis, except that I should be nicer to the show?

Maybe stop while your ahead. Your getting close to a block from me :)

Yeah, back then it used to be worse. For the most part, HJP fans would lament each episode, as HJP keeps getting crushed by the ML.

Then NDS fans would come in to gloat. Eventually most HJP fans just blocked the NDS fans. And the last few episodes became much smoother in general.

There may have been a shipping war here, but most of the HJP fans are mature and nice enough.

Sorry your experienced got ruined anyway. But yeah, block the trolls, it makes the comment section much better. Plus that's what the button is for.

Regardless of who you root for, if you engage your fellow community in a nice way, and don't personally attack other people, we can all play together :))

Sorry, I have a lot of people on my block list.

For the past few days, these are the post i'm seeing.

1. People posting about what KSH are doing, his IG followers.

2. People posting on what they didn't like about the show.

3. People who are at ep. 4 or ep. 6 or ep. 10 and trying to find out if the show gets better or if it needs to be dropped.

4. People who are analyzing NDS and HJP respectfully.

Ever since the show ended, I don't really see the toxic atmosphere you are talking about. And I check in almost everyday. So I don't see anyone being mean.

But again as I said, I have certain people blocked, so maybe you are talking about them?

Toxic because?

Sorry, I have so many people blocked, so I only see the nice post, care to elaborate?

The last 6-8 episodes just chooses to ignore much of what happened in the first half. It's basically a brand new kdrama by the time Ep. 10 rolls around.

What is worse, they explained the reason if Big Hands in a 2 second clip, that if you just so happen to blink, you'll miss it. SDM and NDS clearly have a communication problem that is never addressed even until the end of the show. They never talk about anything but their love for each other, which is weird since both of them have family issues.

In fact, by the end of the show, you wonder how much they know about each other, and how low their score would be if they joined one of those couple game shows.

Realistically, SDM not caring about the letters, is a clear contradiction of how she let the letters define who she became as a person for 15 years. For the writer to just do away with it, is kind of insulting to the viewers.

The writer feels that showing a few scenes where NDS saves the damsel in distress is going to forgive the fact that NDS and SDM are in an unhealthy relationship. Add to this to the backlash that SDM's character had to be destroyed to add some semblance of good in NDS character, turned a lot of people of.

Even the select few who did like the show, agrees that NDS character is not so likeable.

And the even rare few who blindly like NDS, agrees that SDM character was weak.

PHR, the writer, must not be so happy of the reception KSH is getting, because I doubt he was her first choice to play HJP, and he effectively ruined her drama by outshining the other stars.

There are tons of reasons. You'd be surprised.

1. NJH is in the promotional material.
2. NJH and Suzy are being interviewed together.
3. NJH and Suzy are playing games on Swoon
4. NJH and Suzy are billed as a couple on the Swoon Awards.
5. NJH and Suzy are from the same agency.
6. NJH and Suzy are the same age.
7. NJH explains in an interview why he should be endgame.
8. NJH and Suzy have worked with PHR before in her others dramas.
9. NJH are being shown in the OST cover page
10. NJH and Suzy are being shown in OST music video.
11. NJH and Suzy are being used in promotional material.
12. In the opening sequence of the show NJH and Suzy's name appear first

Oh wait, your asking for plot reasons explained by the show? Hmm, I have nothing...

I don't think you get it.

It's human nature. You have experienced in your real life, which makes you relate to NDS more.

I have experiences in my real life which makes me relate to HJP more, and less with NDS.

From the amount of people who support HJP over NDS, it seems majority of people's real life experience is closer in relation to HJP.

In the end it's just a difference of experience.

I want to share a real life situation of mine.

I have this friend who seems to be following everything I do. When I found a job in this particular industry, she followed suit, when I travelled to this particular place, she followed a few months later, and lately, she even seems to be copying my fashion style.

I know they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but I'm not feeling it.

And now, she's even succeeding in the career i've spent a longer time in. I can't help it, maybe I'm being petty or jealous, but why can't she have her own thing? Why does she have to copy what I'm doing, then do better at it than me?

When thinking about this, I thought about the conflict of NDS and HJP. And how NDS is similar to this girl, and I'm HJP.

As much as I want it not to bother me, she's doing this, I can't help it.

Just a little personal story I wanted to share.

But for me, if you've seen 10 episodes already, no reason not to finish it. You may be frustrated though.

The SL's screen time drops around ep. 7 or 8 I think. But yeah, the SL was outshining the ML, and he had to be dealt with.

It's also kind of the FL's fault for being undecided on the outside, but decided on the inside.

The writing quality drops a lot after Ep. 6, and the rest of the show is basically akin to a HS drama where the cool kids (NDS) are fighting the squares (HJP and WIJ).

I think everyone wants to ignore the romance, as the romance is one of the shows weakest point. And NDS did start off as not your typical main lead INITIALLY, but after eps. 6 or so, the writer wrote him very stereotypical of a Korean ML, which includes the sad backstory, which made his character less complex.

The show has some good points, with the OST being the best part of the show. But good review regardless :)

Oh dear, he is still posting? LOL!

"You call this an essay? THIS is an essay" Crocodile Dundee reference :)

"HJP represents the life that most of us lead. He was forced to mature at an early age and understood the stark reality of life/business. He is forced to criticize people’s business ideas b/c..that’s LITERALLY his job. "

Disagree, most people actually are closer to NDS rather than HJP in terms of upbringing. Statistically speaking, there are more children with at least one parent than children who are orphans. And NDS actually has two parents, which puts him in what I like to call a bubble state. Keep in mind I am talking about the Asian culture here, not sure if you are Asian. But in Asian culture, parents, especially dual parents household, tend to place their children in a bubble, so children in these type of household tend to mature much slower than those who are in western society, and thrust out of their households at age 18 or so. In fact this is VERY clearly proven when NDS is 27 years old, and still living at his parents house, and is given money for THREE years to support NDS dreams. This is a bubble that forces children like NDS to grow up spoiled and naive to how the world works. So a lot of Asians grow up this way. Obviously not as bad as NDS, but there is more similarity to our upbringing o NDS than HJP. Having even one parent is better than having none.

HJP on the other hand, is forced to grow up very fast, with no one to support him. So understandably, he becomes a bit harsh along the way. I would say, some do grow up like HJP, and the mantra of "Sink or swim" is felt more aptly in HJP's case, where if he screws up, he will starve as no one will be there to catch him. This is not the norm of most people in society, who have at least some sort of safety net to help prevent them from utterly failing in the form of parents or close friends.

"There was no point in the drama that hinted HJP had feelings for Dalmi when he wrote the letters to her all those years ago; he simply saw her as a little sister/friend that he liked writing to. HJP didn’t even think about Dalmi until Grandma mentioned the letters to him. But once he started developing feelings, he knew all too well what the consequences would be and was afraid that Grandma would think differently of him if he told the truth."

HJP's last line to SDM was that your words comforted me when I was young. These are the same exact words SDM writes to HJP in her last letter. And keep in mind this comfort by HJP is one of the reason SDM loves NDS aside from the large hands. And the fact that he still recalls some of the words he wrote to SDM, shows how much those letters meant to him. And the fact he looks at the letters and plant and says this is enough, is more proof. But if you think HJP never had feelings for SDM, then that is your perspective, but I don't share it.

FYI, prior to talking to grandma, he already knows who SDM is and what she is to him, it's all detailed in the paragraph before this. The mask he creates is not because of his shame towards Grandma, but rather because he feels that he does not deserve any happiness. If anything, Grandma with her words of "Good Boy" instead creates a self imposed cage on HJP that prevents him from pursuing his selfish desires.

I will agree on one thing, just like HJP, we sometimes allow people to label us, and we feel the confines of these labels. Like someone will say, "Oh, fti317, you are such an honest person", so when the opportunity comes where you have to lie, even if it's a white lie, the self-imposed cage of being honest may stop or hinder you from doing it. Sometimes, these cages are not even brought upon us by other people, but by society themselves. Like labelling all Asians smart. It's a difficult stereotype to live up to, and yet sometimes we allow this to cage us and force us into situations we do not want to be in.

"On the other side, there’s NDS who represents the immature, hidden side of ourselves. His greed and violent actions are all things that people can imagine themselves doing when placed in situations they don’t like. "

Yes, key word here being "Imagine" and "Hidden". Everyone in their lives have had immature, dark, or selfish thoughts, but what separates us is how we act upon them. These animalistic nature are nothing to be proud of, and often are flaws that we as human being strive daily to overcome, until they no longer become our flaws, but a source of our greatest strength. These thoughts do nothing more than handicap the capabilities that we have. By allowing our inner NDS to overcome our sensible HJP, we rarely will accomplish great things.

"but there’s been instances where I also wanted to punch someone because they told me something I didn’t want to accept or hear."

Being an Asian, you will experience a lot of situations where you hear things you don't want to accept or hear, either from parents, or your boss, or even sometimes your friends. It's how you react, and your thought process that dictates what kind of a person you will become. Act like an NDS, and you push yourself farther away from the light, and will be stuck in limbo forever. Accept that life is tough, and emulate HJP, and your journey to the light begins.

"Then, with the time-skip, his *kind of dumb and very unrealistic* support for Dalmi to participate in the bid for the Smart City was mostly due to the development of his confidence after working for a global company and figuring out his self-worth."

Actually, after the time skip, his *kind of dumb and very unrealistic* support of Dalmi is still the same as he had prior to the time skip. NDS as a person doesn't grow in three years. And he literally doesn't figure his self worth, until the Second Lead HJP, tells him to value his self worth, it's ridiculous that the ML needs the approval of the SL to chase the FL don't you think?

"He firmly believes in Dalmi’s abilities as a CEO and his coding abilities to win the bid wars against other already-established corporations. "

SDM has not proven much of anything after the time skip on her capabilities as a CEO. In fact, without nepotism, I don't know why WIJ would hire SDM for her company, much less make her a CEO of a company that is going thru 2 Billion won in funding, it doesn't make sense nor is it realistic.

NDS belief in SDM pre and post time skip are the same. He is still doing whatever SDM tells him, and he makes everything impossible into possible. It's literally the same character growth, nothing much has change. Regardless if SDM has proven herself or not, NDS still views her as the most perfect and best CEO in Korea. Something, only he sees, and the audience does not, creating a disconnect.

"NDS has developed as he grew out of his insecurities and did not lash out in the same immature ways he did pre-time skip. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still a HIGHLY flawed character, but that’s just a perfect illustration of how we all are as humans: we are all selfish dreamers deep inside where we wish only the best for ourselves and desire to escape reality."

He did not grow out of his insecurities, which is shown in all it's glory in Ep. 15. I would rather relate to a flawed character like HJP than a flawed character than NDS. Both Main Leads have flaws that we can learn from, but only HJP's flaws makes me want to be a better person. NDS flaws makes me want to hit myself with how frustrating his characterization is.

You make it sound as if HJP himself is not a dreamer, and HJP himself does not wish for only the best version of himself, nor does he desire to escape reality. His character was so complex that it encompassed almost all of NDS flaws, but in a much more relatable light.

"This drama isn’t perfect, but I empathized with both the male leads and wish people could look past the romance (or failed romance) and watch it under a different lens."

It becomes hard to do this when majority of the drama is the romance. Looking past the romance would be looking past majority of the drama. The romance should have been dropped midway to the series, but as we saw, it festered until Ep. 15.

"If you made it this far…thank you for giving up your precious time and I hope you can (or try to) understand the perspective of someone who gave this drama a high rating."

Interesting points, I enjoyed the read :)

I understand where he comes from, but I don't understand his actions. I did not enjoy the show, I enjoyed the SL character, and his Arc kept me invested. The ML couple, I felt their arc was too boring and cliched, and I didn't really enjoy their story, as it seemed too much of Mary Sue and Gary Stu for 2020, when smarter shows exist.

Just because I understand someone's backstory or background, doesn't mean I will agree with their actions. In this case, their actions are the complete opposite of what I would do, which makes me relate with them less.

For example, someone has a harsh parents. So when they are 18 years old, they ask to be legally emancipated from their parents. Although I understand having strict parents can be difficult, emancipation is the wrong move to do. So in the end I don't relate with this 18 year old.

See what I mean?

ok! I'll check it out when I have more time.