Start-Up (2020)

Seeing the hype surrounding this drama, my expectations were high going into it, that was not a good idea.

I rarely dislike dramas, i may find one boring but rarely have i disliked one. I've only disliked 2 dramas i have ever watched and they have the same problem. I can overlook a boring plot or story, but what i can't overlook are unlikable main leads, and that is exactly what this drama has. An unlikable main lead makes it really hard for me to support him or her and it just overall makes watching the drama unenjoyable. It also seems that the drama was confused as to who the main leads were throughout the whole show.

Before diving into the negative, lets talk about the positive, Han Ji Pyeong, the second lead (supposedly). He is the saving grace of this drama. The story started with him, and should've been about him but that didn't happen. The writers really didn't do him justice, he was the character that felt most alive. Whenever he was in a scene, he breathed life into the scene and whichever character that was sharing it. Needless to say, i'm team good boy.

Now for my biggest problem with this drama, Nam Do San, the main lead (supposedly). He is the most toxic, insecure, entitled prick for a main lead i have ever seen. Not too mention he's also a manipulative liar and too violent to my liking which are not exactly adjectives you would want to use to describe a main lead. He is so unreasonable in most of the show that it started to really piss me off but he always manages to get away scot free because he's the main lead.

As for Seo Dal Mi, the female lead. She was fine in the beginning but as the drama progressed, it felt as the writers gave up trying to give her character growth and made her rely on someone else to help her pass any obstacle.

Now the romance, i wasn't the type that hoped for HJP to get together with SDM but at least make a ML that is better than the SL. I felt that NDS was inferior to HJP in every aspect which made it very unsatisfying to watch the romance progress as i constantly felt that the ML didn't deserve the romance, he didn't seem to do anything to deserve it either

The writers really wasted such good potential. The plot was intriguing but the way they wrote the characters and the story were downright horrible. *sigh* that's 16 hours of my life i'm not getting back.

i would give 1/10 but for Kim Seon Ho, i'll make it 1.5/10.

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How much a dream worth? How we can pursue our dreams without compromise our present? When it's time to give up and when it's time to go on? These are some lessons that we can learn on "Start-up". And how pleasant is this learning!

The story of "Start-up" is full of twists and beautiful relationships, and I think that this was the reason why I loved so much this process. Seeing a character as Dal Mi (Bae Suzy) I just knew that this would be a great experience. Dal Mi was the key to this drama for me. Her courage and determination made me think a lot about my choices and my dreams. She was a consistent character and I don't have a thing to complain about her. Do Sam (Nam Joo Hyuk) was different, though. In the beginning, I didn't like him too much, maybe because he just appears at the end of the episode and I already was in love with Kim Seon Ho's smile until there, LOL. Do Sam started as an insecure boy with no ambition and no perspective, and his posture made me uncomfortable many times in the first episodes. Because of that, I thought that maybe Dal Mi and Ji Pyung (Kim Seon Ho) had a better future together, but with the follow episodes I start to see tiny flashes of an unexpected personality that could surprise me (and did that indeed). The growth of Do Sam was remarkable and I loved to see how Dal Mi did part of this. He was an incredible character and I was cheer for him like crazy at the end. The performance of Nam Joo Hyuk also was incredible for me. The last drama with him that I saw was "The Bride of Habaek" and he was totally different! Remembering of "Weightlifting fairy, Bok Joo", it was equally different. So here I could see a part of this man that I didn't saw before and I loved it.

I will write an entire paragraph because he deserves this. Kim Seon Ho, you conquer my heart on this. I generally hate love triangles, but I never saw this relationship as a triangle. From the beginning, I thought that Ji Pyung had a unique path to walk on this show. His relationship with Ms. Choi (Kim Hae Sook) heated my heart and make me cry many times. The way how a person could change the future of someone with a simple action was beautifully showed and I couldn't love more. I loved to see his growth as I loved Do Sam. Both of them need to grow in different ways and I think that because of that their friendship was so important.

The only thing that I missed was a conversation between Do Sam and his father. After so many disagreements and repents, I think that they deserved a moment of catharsis. But maybe this was too cliche, I don't know. It was just something that I wanted to see elaborated.

I loved In Jae (Kang Han Na) and the fact that they didn't put her only like a b*tch, but like a person that made mistakes but also knew how to fix them. I loved the SamSam Tech friendship and the way how they kept their dream alive even when nobody believes it. Well, I really enjoy this drama, and the end included!

I'll rate this as "amazing"! (★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★) This is a different type of drama, focused on every kind of relationship. It was a great experience and I hope that Kim Seon Ho shows up as the main character soon! I can't get tired of these dimples!

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so much wasted potential

in the first ep, it started so promising. but the writer seemed to lost their way. i highly recommend it if you want to get so much stress from a drama. i dont care who the female lead dalmi ends up with, but the writer should've plotted everything much better. and no i dont believe all the people who are giving low ratings is all because their ship is not ending up together. the plot messed up in many ways, not just because of a stupid ship. this drama had potential in the beginning because it focused on the youth and business stuff like that, it gave inspiration to us viewers on working, but it ended up focusing on a stupid love triangle which they had to drag till the end of the drama.. im speechless they ruined a drama with such good casts. throughout the story we've seen many sides of dosan, he was a workaholic, persistent, sometimes immature boy with a low self-esteem but near the end he's strong and knows what he wants... however, without jipyeong his view would be clouded, even in terms of his relationship. I like both characters but jipyeong is the one that shines brighter than anyone. he haven't once mentioned about his harsh childhood, he's acting in favour of everyone and simultaneously forgets about himself, let alone being silent in his actions. and yet, he's the one who constantly has to go through numerous hurdles. i think we've been manipulated by the writer and she meant to play on our emotions. jipyeong truly deserves better, better than dalmi. but the writer likes to make us suffer. anyways if i were to ever rewatch clips of this drama, it would only be because of jipyeong. his character carried throughout.

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It's a youth drama full of hope, dream and love. It is worth your time!

While I completely agree that this drama has its flaws and writing its up and downs, I still enjoy it a lot. While I don’t think my review will ever appear on the first page I am going to skip the obvious parts and jump into why I think spending your time with this drama is going to be worth it.

Below are some of the reasons why I liked this drama:
**No, the boy from her childhood is not going to be the main lead. - To me, that’s one of the most surprising parts of this drama; in fact, I have not seen it in any romance drama before and this is super refreshing to me. I was never had the worry 2nd ML will actually become the ML cause there was not even one hint in the drama that the FL would ever fall for 2nd ML. I liked how the writer chose to end things between the two of them: let it stay as a beautiful memory of childhood.

**“Red thread stories” are beautifully written - I called them "red thread" cause they form the backbone of the story and how characters come together and meet. These "red thread stories" highlight the great writing of this drama and really improved the main plots.
Here are my favorites:

- How “Sandbox” came about - how Dal Mi’s dad told this story to SH VC’s president the day he passed away after struggling for so many years with its own startup; how this has become the support and dream of many young entrepreneurs and helped both daughters of Mr. Seo becoming successful.

- Why FL and In Jae got separated and became rival; the story of their parents' divorce and that both are strong-minded but internally still cared about each other and were worried that they have made a wrong choice

- The story between Han Ji Pyung and Dal Mi’s grandmother; it led to why HJP wrote the letters and started the story; they are one of the most heartwarming scenes in this drama

- The friendship of the members of Sam San Tech; how they stick together through thick and thin, trust and help each other out during hard times but don’t grow apart after becoming successful

Now a few words more to counter-argue with some of the critiques I have heard:

** Many viewers complain about how superficial and unrealistic the startup scenes are depicted there - Personally, I don’t fully agree. Though I agree the writers could have toned down the path to success slightly in later episodes, I liked how all key elements are incorporated. Some of the tough aspects are shown in Mr. Seo’s story or the early days of San Sam Tech. If you want to watch stories of real-life startups I am sure there are tons of drama/ documentaries for you to watch. Don’t waste your time on a 16 episode Korean drama full of pretty actors/ actresses, hope and dreams. I think this should have been clear when the ML walks into FL’s life like Cinderella in episode 2.

** Female lead becomes someone who is solely dependent on her choice of a man - I don’t know why many think this way, at the end, the FL was doing a great job working for her sister In Jae. She is hard-working, smart, ambitious, and dares to dream - she would have been a successful start-up CEO wherever she goes and would not have needed a man...

** ML becomes useless without the FL. - Well first, he is not really useless but just realizes how much she means to him. That the fame and the money he dreamt of isn't that interesting if he is all by himself. In the end, the Dal Mi really helped SST to get to where they were in the first place.
Though I agree it's slightly exaggerated but isn’t this what we all want to see from the ML in a Korean romance drama?

** It's a useless triangle, and the drama is abusing 2nd ML. - We shall recall that the Han Jin Pyong did not visit her after he found her again. He also did not admit his feeling to her and kept on being warm and cold with her. On the other hand, Nam Do San has been drawn to FL the moment he saw her and there are countless moments at which Do San did things for FL without hidden agenda, such as appearing at the event for her. For me, it was very clear, that Han Jin Pyong, although being a very loveable character and supportive mentor to the FL, did not have any chance. I found the maker did a great job by having Han Jin Pyong realizing exactly that and open the path for Nam Do San and Dal Mi to become happy. What do you want from a love who does not love you back?

Above are my general observations of Start Up. I would really recommend everyone watching it, especially those who are first time into Korean dramas.

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Doesn't deserve the hate!!

I just read some reviews on Start-Up here and other social media platforms and I had to write a review here. As much as I agree with most of the views on the drama, I think it is very biased and not a clear depiction of what the drama is as a whole. It felt very biased and I can see from biased fans of Kim Seon Ho(great actor and deserves another drama as a lead soon). From the very start, HJP had a strong connection with Grandma and the writers very well showed it till the end. He didn't look for Dalmi 15 years and only liked her after being jealous seeing her with DoSan while DoSan's lover for Dalmi has been genuine since the beginning. HJP and Dalmi were never going to work out as HJP is much more mature and successful and deserves a much stronger female counterpart. Do San as much he was low self-esteem and lost kid, his love for Seo Dal Mi was genuinely true and helped him grow stronger over the later eps. They had to be the end couple.

Everyone had a decent ending, HJP invested in an orphanage, he got a family in grandma and Dalmi, DoSan got his character development from crybaby, dependent and lost genius kid to a responsible and mature CTO, Dalmi became the CEO of the company and making big decisions rationally and Kang Hanna got back with her family. Samsan Tech grew into become a unicorn company.

The OSTs were really good and fitted the scenes when they were played. The acting from Kim Seon Ho 10/10 and the rest of the cast did really well to portray the character despite their flaws. I sincerely ask everyone watching for the first time to see this drama as a whole and not be biased as Kim Seon Ho or Nam Joo Hyuk fan. This drama showed the struggles of a start-up and a good romance. It doesn't deserve the hate on the actors because of how some people wanted the ending to be like.

It's your views and your opinion so I don't have any say but just wanted to tell you here that this drama doesn't deserve the hate. Nam Joo Hyuk and Bae Suzy do not deserve the hate and this drama doesn't deserve the hate just because Kim Seon Ho didn't get the ending you wanted. Sorry!

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Encouraging drama with stunning OST

Despite of all controversial that happened related with man lead and second lead male, I personally think this is one of the most fun drama to watch in 2020. This drama gives motivational message, example of genuine love, persistence in reaching the goal, bromance, team work, lesson learn from bad experience and etc.

In my opinion, the character developments are there, I can see how each character was growing. I love how every 'bad' character there changed to be a better one as the eps goes, and at the end of the day all the cast are in a good term.

There are a lot of scenes that made me lol so much because of the awkwardness of the three San and Dalmi. They're entertaining for sure.

About the romance part, Dosan was not a prince charming like Jipyeong, but in my humble opinion Dodal relationship was make sense because they spent a lot of real time together.

I actually don't care so much about who will end up with Dalmi, whether it's Dosan or Jipyeong. I just really enjoy to go with the flow of the story. For me the writer has been done a good job in writing, most of the moments were related to each other.

The soundtrack, oooohh I love them! they build the vibe in each scene.. My fave is 'Wendy - Two words', I'm still listening to it to treat my longing for this drama.

No offence, but I think you'll gonna love this drama if you don't put yourself so much in one of the team, especially SML's team. If you do, I think you have to be prepared that you put yourself in disappointment because you may want him to get something more and ML get something less.

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Stellar start, sweet end

Oh Startup — my weekly joy that slowly became less enjoyable as time went on. I decided to watch this show as a fan of Nam Joo Hyuk, but as with many others, Kim Seon Ho quickly snatched my heart. The first four episodes were probably the peak of the whole drama (I cried in the FIRST episode! And laughed out loud by the third!). As time went on, some of the lustre had gone away, but I could still live with how it all ended.

The best parts: Halmeoni, obviously (until she said it was too late! HOW COULD YOU?), Han Ji Pyeong (everything about him, including that SUPER lame handshake at the end), tech bros in plaid (got some real "ushering in a new generation" vibe at the end), Yongshil and his human cameo, smart independent women (looking at you, Saha and Injae), and pretty accurate nods to two of the worlds I'm most familiar with (business/investing and tech).

Unfortunately, there were also clear gaping holes where the storyline could've been so much more fulfilling:
• No murder mystery plot. Seriously, cut that out. I saw a post suggesting that this story were more about the character's self-confidence and leading to similar realizations / crying by the corn dog stand moments.
• More Injae!! Seriously, she deserved a backstory as rich as our other three leads.
• Justice for everyone's favourite character. I was weeping seeing him alone in his apartment even by the last episode. Don't give a man that kind of backstory, make him the most rootable character, and not give him the family he so deeply needs. I loved the orphanage bit at the end, but seriously. He deserves the world and then some.
• Less love triangle: it was great to start, but dragged on for too long. At some point, I wanted a resolution one way or the other — and there was still enough room in the plot for both of these men. Either the Dalmi-Dosan relationship should've been fully professional/about working together while Dalmi-Jipyeong was romantic, or Dalmi-Jipyeong was fully professional/mentorship-related (with a side helping of true brotherhood between Dosan-Jipyeong) while Dalmi-Dosan was clearly endgame earlier on.
• Similarly: more closure on the letters. We got a Reply 1988-style "explanation" on the letters for 5 minutes in the last episode, but it didn't pack as strong of a punch because we didn't SEE it happen, and the circumstances were totally different. I wish our characters addressed these letters in more depth and explored the associated feelings more seriously.
• And finally, a better answer to the question: "Why do you like me?" Dalmi's answer was so hollow and unfulfilling (SUCH a cop-out). I would've lived for a more realistic answer — that he's always been there for her, that he pushed her to follow her dreams (and even surpass them!), that he was a doer and someone who balanced her out perfectly. All of those reasons would've made sense to me, and maybe I could've hopped on-board this ship if this type of explanation were paired with some super cute flashback/montage-type scenes.

That being said, it was still a great mix of humour, inspiration, and sweetness. The episode 16 closure felt realistic, and oof I FELT those Good Boy - Halmeoni scenes deep in my heart (from the letters in episode one, to the shoe scene, to his freak out about being a bad boy, to Halmeoni lamenting it's too late, to Good Boy realizing the reason for NoonGil). I even liked Dosan, who was relatable, nuanced, and flawed in his own right. Heck, I probably would've loved him if Kim Seon Ho didn't unprecedentedly outshine him here. The cinematography was awesome. And the OST was one of the best in the business. I enjoyed scaling up with you, Startup!

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Not bad... But could have been better

-The plot idea was pretty good
-The actors and actresses were amazing (main and support)
-The characters were well thought out
-The OST was nice
-The costume design was spot on and aesthetically pleasing
-The production in general was great, they paid a lot of attention to details

They were so many outstanding things about the drama that the expectations were set too high... So some aspects of the story and character development were a bit disappointing.

So... The drama was OK. Do I regret watching it? No. Could it have been better? Definitely. Would I rewatch it? Probably not. At least not in the next 5 years.

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It's not that bad as pepople are saying it is

I started watching it because i love NJH and i think he is a really good actor and he played Dosan very well, i love his acting but Dosan as a character and person is just not likable. Till the end i just couldn't like him. But i loved HJP since the first scene, i love how Kim Seon Ho portrayed him, it is perfect. Everytime he cried i could feel it and sometimes i cried with him. And now i'm in love with Kim SeonHo too.
I really hate this kdrama thing with love triangles and second lead but in the same time i love it. But here in Start Up it was just too painful for SL (here comes SL syndrome that everyone feels now) and it was too much to handle. Almost everyone was done with it and some people even dropped it beacuse of it.
I managed to finish it only beacuse of HJP and Grandma. Everytime these two were on a screen i got so emotional and couldn't hold back my tears.
Yes this drama is a little bit of mess but i don't think it is the worst drama in the world. You can see a beautiful friendship of Samsan Tech guys- i love them, and beautiful fathers love, grandmas love. I really think it is worth to watch at least first two episodes because they were beautiful and you can't tell they weren't.

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A Drama NOT to remember but A character (HAN JI PYEONG ) to Cherish !!

I really don't know how to explain how the drama affected me ( for the first time negative way). I have never been so pissed before, if I don't like a drama I just simply drop it and never look back it was that simple but this Start-Up drama don't even leave me after I dropped it and the reason was even if it was a mess there is one sunshine in it, obviously that was none other than Han Ji-Pyeong ( played by Kim Seon Ho ) himself. A character who is selfless and great mentor <3

I started the drama with a lot of expectations and in the first episode, they really blew me up with an amazing start. Thought it will be a modern yet classic story to remember now I laugh at myself to think that way LOL!

Now that I think of the story it is neither a modern one nor a classic, it's just a black hole. The visuals, the directing, and OST can be appreciated but not the story, character developments nor the wholesome meaning of this drama. They lured the audience with false hope till the end, to keep their lowest rate convenience. I really wonder without this Han Ji-Pyeong character what will happen to their drama? will it even survive that long? They literally used the character to lure the audience not only them the whole media did the same. You can see Kim Seon Ho is everywhere now because people loved him that much that they will open any videos of him wherever it posted. And I am not complaining by the way as I am a fan of Kim Seon Ho too so I do the same. If don't like his character in this drama fine with me as we all have personal preferences then again can anyone tell me what was the purpose of the show? how it started and how it ended? Sailing without a map maybe works for 00.01 % of persons in life and in the Tech world ZERO. Not listening to your mentor makes you nothing but a disrespectful brat. Having a loving family and friends yet whining about your life makes a person immature, coward, and ungrateful. No matter how bad your relationship with your sister but making it seen in front of the world doesn't look good even worse when you are working for your sister and never tell her about her family person's sickness. In Jae, all her life all she did is to make practical decisions, not like Dal-mi who got lost in two boys. and ready to sail the boat without a map in the world of Start-Up.

So, Start-Up thought me in the end if you are selfless like Han Ji-Pyeong will get nothing, if you are like In Jae who is determined, practical, hardworking then you won't be accepted by your own family. Sorry, I am not following any of this. Being honest, selfless, determined, practical and hardworking is the way of life for me not sinking the boat.

Thanks no Thanks

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