This review may contain spoilers
my honest opinion...
Had been a fan of PHR since Dream High with I Hear Your Voice being my all time favourite drama?? Honestly, i felt disappointed that this story fails to deliver what it had promised.Story, Casts & Acting
As the title suggests, i was expecting more focus to be on the business aspect in the Start Up world but honestly everything seems oversimplified in this show. Arguments and ideologies doesnt seem to fit the real world mechanisms. Of course, this is just a drama and i am no expert in Start Up but i just did not feel the woah aspect of this whole start up picture they were trying to paint? It just felt like their success just happened because they were the leads /pure luck? Instead of developing the business aspect, they dragged out whole 16 episodes of the show on a stupid love triangle which made no sense to me.
FL was single all her life because of JP's letters (which imo Ep 1 was well executed when they painted JP's background story + meeting Halmeoni & eventually being DM's penpal) but this whole point was seemingly disregarded after she realised JP was her true first love instead of the male lead DS. I am fine with the closure (in ep 16 when JP, being best boy said that the 'DS' in the letters was just a fictional character and that he did not look for year in all of the 15 years). I accept this but was hoping they had not dragged this closure all the way til the end. I felt injustice for JP's character not because he did not end up with DM, but because he was so selfless all this time, always giving without expecting anything in return. And right til the end, he remains lonely. It almost seems liek the entire purpose of his existence is to save the stupid leads, and become their punching bags / sacrificial lamb. But thank you for giving Yeongsil (Yeo Jin Gu cameo) cameo at the last ep (at least we saw him smile at the end) and Halmeoni to JP. At the end of the day, i know JP is too perfect to even exist in the current world.
While the whole plot was messy, i would say the most of the cast acted well in the given script, even though the entire story felt unrelatable in the current era... For the main leads, i could not relate to the loveline, it somehow felt forced and unrelatable. Perhaps because there were just too little scenes that showed how their r/s had progressed enough to convince the viewers. To me, i just felt like DM would not have ended up with DS if she knew right from the start he wasn't the one that wrote those letters. It just felt like DS was riding on JP's letter to get the FL. I still can't figure out why they fell in love with each other (seriously they used hand size as a reason). For IJ, her screen time was so pathetic it almost felt like she was a cameo for this drama? Considering they took 8 months to film this drama...
While i would not recommend watching this show (unless you are a diehard fan of the leads), i am thankful for PHR for writing HJP and casting KSH. While it wasn't the first drama i watched KSH in, i must said he really executed his role perfectly, together with how his character was written. It is definitely this show that made KSH gained more recognition and attention. PHR better do him justice and cast him as a lead in her next drama (ok maybe not if it's gonna be poorly written like Start Up)> I am sorry, but the main leads' character of this drama are one of PHR's worst compared to the past dramas & characters she created. I am surprised since this production took almost 3 years to materialize.
Music
The OST? I love it! Only downside? Their covers do not match the theme songs? Not to be biased but they should have given JP some justice and at least used his cover for the songs that mirrors his feelings ?? Maybe it's just me but the lyrics of a few songs seems to be relating to JP's character.
Rewatch
Will not rewatch this show, because at the end of the day i can't relate to this show and the story it's trying to tell? But of course this is just my personal preference. I hope to see all the leads in a better production next time. Til then :D
Was this review helpful to you?
I haven’t seen a drama this thoroughly perfect in every aspect since a long time
Heartwarming, so funny, lovely, relatable, etc.It was really great; I haven’t skipped, or fast forwarded anything. I learned about business. It inspired me to work hard.
I related to so many things in it on a very personal level.
I laughed hard. I enjoyed the cinematography a lot. It was thoroughly perfect. It got me, but not that deep, and that’s the only missing thing. Every character was good, events were exciting
I was touched by the pang of sadness and confession of truth.
Not to mention the realistic and beautiful romance.
And something very important about the drama is that I couldn’t predict it… the storytelling and drama both were new of their kind and refreshing.
It is the modernity I am looking for; the proper use of technology; adequate and not exaggerated.
Was this review helpful to you?
Disappointment but thank God for Kim Seon ho
Hmm where should I startOkay I started watching this drama because of the actor who plays Nam Do San and in the start of the series it had so much potential. I was even okay with her being with Nam Do San, but as the story progressed it was evident that Nam Do San is a toxic male lead with a boring arc. The character Ji Pyeong had an amazing and very heart warming arc that truly made me feel for him. There was so much more chemistry between him and Dal Mi at least at the start of the series than Do San and her. They look like literal siblings with zero chemistry and relationship development. Do san’s characters is very immature and I mean high school immature and very short tempered and ungrateful. Dal Mi’s character started out with so much potential but ended up being the cliche drama character that is love blind. Ji pyeong’s character was written so beautifully and maybe a little too perfect. I loved the grandma. In Jae’s character had a lot of potential but they didn’t spend enough time on her because they were so focused on the stupid love triangle. Love yong-sil! Love the production, set, and cast. Hate most of the plot of how the letters were seen as useless all of the sudden and the little focus on what starting a business is actually like. Overall lazy storyline, nothing new or fresh. Would never watch it again, maybe just Ji pyeong moments but that’s it.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I just wanted to give my credit to second lead character only for this drama. Jipyeong and grandma also dalmi's sister and her dad bcoz their characters have strong impact to this drama except for the main lead characters. This drama story totally messed up and the main character also for me give bad influence to the young generation. There are some attitudes from main lead character that not really good such as easy to mad or bad tamper sometimes cannot control his emotion very well, easy to make big decision especially for the business purpose without discuss with the expert one, start to fight with other peole although he actually wrong for the first place, always lies, and sometime cheating and although he makes mistake but he did not say sorry especially to Jipyeong. With every bad thing that he had done but he always looks gud to the other people especially female lead. And this is totally wrong at all in a real life he not matured at all and his character not gud as a role model for the audience especially to the young generation. Was this review helpful to you?
Heartbreaking story
Poor storyline. Male (nam joo hyuk) and female lead (suzy) has very bad chemistry. The love scenes for them is too desperate. The business story when they enter sandbox is quite interesting. But the samsantech squads are ungrateful and their team is so annoying. However, Han Ji Pyeong's character (Kim Seon Ho) need to be appreciated. He is such a great actor. When he sad, we can feel sad. Especially the scenes with Haelmoni. I feel enjoy from episode 1-9. After that episode it becomes worse. Very cliche Kdrama. How comes the director and writernim expect the viewers to like Nam Do San. Worst Kdrama ever. Why took so long to wait for Bae Suzy to become the main lead. If her performance is just so-so. I don't think Nam Joo Hyuk can be the main lead. His acting is so poor and annoying.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
All about this Kdrama
Start up is a series for delulu business goals. Real life start ups doesn't work the way it's shown. People kind of gave up after watching episode 10 because the story is superiorly about the love triangle and how they are gonna make sure that second lead must suffer in the later half.The fact that dalmi and hjp never had a conversation about letters and their relationship didn't get a closure at all doesn't sit right with me. Like there is literally no efforts made from both sides.
Nam dosan has this unhealthy behaviour called rage issues. He breaks the nameplate, like if you find that's cool, then you need help because people in corporate world must deal with things smartly and maturely. Thank god, HJP alerted dalmi to record the meeting, that's what saved dosan. If not, they would be fit to open SST corndogs outside sandbox.
One asks hjp to give honest answers and other punches him for answering honestly. What a clown behaviour, smh.
Was this review helpful to you?
Very nice
I think it is a very nice series with a very inspiring story. I loved how it began and how it told the story of the two sisters. I loved how it told the story of many people in the series and so it was not boring at all. I personally enjoyed the ending and I enjoyed the suspense of who she will choose eventually. Maybe because I am not a business oriented person and have nothing to do with the business major in my actual life, some parts were a bit dragging for me and I might have gotten a bit bored. However, I can imagine for other people who are majoring in business, this might have been quite an enjoyable ride. All in all I would recommend people to watch it.Was this review helpful to you?
Not PHR's best work but still worth a watch
Park Hye Ryun dramas Dream High, I Hear Your Voice, and Pinocchio are some of my all time faves. I haven't finished While You Were Sleeping though because I find Suzy and Lee Jong Suk's chemistry more sibling-like than romantic. I was looking forward to Startup but was not really sure about the casting, which was a foreshadowing of things to come lol.
Startup is not at par with PHR's greatest hits, but it's still a solid, positive, engaging drama about the struggles and perseverance of youth in the technological startup business. Yes, maybe it's bogged down by the controversial love triangle, but well...at least everybody's buzzing about it, and catapulted Kim Seon Ho's dimples to popularity.
I'm the last person to be a fan of messy love triangles, but I think the drama from the start has been obvious that Do San is the end game. It's just that PHR put a twist on the beloved romance trope of mistaken identity through love letters. If she followed the usual trope then Jipyeong is the end game.
I have a Nam Joo Hyuk allergy from Bride of the Water God, he did better here as Do San, though it's not enough to overshadow Jipyeong. Do San seems like a beta hero made from the same cutout as Dream High's beloved Sam Dong, but Kim Soo Hyun knocked that role out of the park with an endearing accent and trademark heartbreaking cries. Sam Dong also had a life- altering sickness there which would have put everybody on his ship, while Do San's troubles about confidence feels like just our everyday troubles. It lacked drama oomph.
I do commend PHR for trying something different from her usual drama that tackles some kind of whodunit mystery crime. Her trademark endearing relationships and good drama mixed with good comedy is still evident. Suzy was a good surprise! She's always her charming self but I'm impressed with how more controlled her acting looks in this drama.
It's just Kim Seon Ho's Han Jipyeong has such a good backstory, with that gruff but secretly selfless role we're all weak for, and on key scenes that mattered he brought his acting game. Honestly he didn't get a lot of screentime, also pretty Kang Han Na. I really wished there were more Mom-Dal Mi-In Jae scenes, but their personal differences were just smoothed out off- screen, suddenly all is well and there was no emotional payoff from their initial fallout. Despite all that drama off-screen, and what- could-have-been's, I'll be on the lookout for PHR's next project, who knows maybe it'll be Jipyeong's own happy ending.
Was this review helpful to you?
achei ok
não é um dos meus doramas favoritos, mas eu até que gostei desse aqui. no geral, a série em si foi MUITO (tipo literalmente) chata, eu não aguentava mais assistir essa série. DEZESSEIS EPISÓDIOS!!!!! parece que tem anos que tô tentando terminar esse dorama.gostei muito da atuação dos atores e AMEI demais essa ost (claramente vai para a minha playlist de osts favoritas). AMEI O FINAL (o que me surpreendeu muito). na realidade, eu acho que o episódio final foi o melhor episódio. terminar isso aqui foi um alívio, só não dropei o dorama porque não gosto de deixar os doramas incompletos. e sim, o motivo de eu ter visto esse dorama mesmo com todas as críticas dele foi por conta do ator de vinte e vinte um. peguei ranço dele, mas ainda o amo.
Was this review helpful to you?
I get to see Suzy having a mature role already, I think I got to see her improvement in acting. At first I see a lot of my friends supporting Han Ji Pyeong and also there are people around me who encouraged me to watch this drama. So I did watch the drama and my support goes to Do San more up until the 13th episode. I think the writer wants to give the second male lead vibe to Da San which I felt as a watcher. One reason also why I supported Do San's character more is Nam Joo Hyuk's transformation as an actor. This time around I found that it's not his usual roles in other dramas. Well eventually I stop doting on Do San because I find the 3 years questionable, I asked myself why did the female lead didn't fall in love with Han Ji Pyeong instead? Sure? But then again, it is what it is. I like the introduction of the drama and I enjoyed it up until the end, though a lot were disappointed with how it turned out.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
the line between good and mess
this drama start so good that it give me a lot of hope but is totally turn to a mess half way and you can feel how the writer don't know how to make the main couple fit together in a nice acceptable way.
This drama succeeded, despite all the hate and disappointment, but it succeeded in pulling us all to the end. Did it make me angry some times? Yes, but I also had a lot of fun.
The writer got into a big problem. It started with a wonderful beginning, but when events continue to happen, you feel that this beginning is meaningless. Why did they build this strong background for the relationship between the FL and the second lead if it was meaningless at the end? Don't get me wrong. I know who the lead is from the beginning, but I expected that forming relationships would be better than that. Having a great second lead in many dramas is a normal So why did the biggest disappointment happen? It was the building of the lead character.
When the drama began, I expected Dosan and his friends to act as ambitious, inexperienced young men, but what they don't work for money or success. So what? ... What model should we learn from them? Do not listen to the experts and take their speech personally, and even beaten your mentor and hold him responsible for your mistakes?!! how they have small mind all the time.
The development of Dosan's personality was the biggest mistake of the writer, this young man who started with a nice and naive personal (I was very happy with him because I love this kind of leads), but he turned into a person with the character of the victim, jealous and sees only his own problems and a woman. The nice guy who has family support and friends beside him thinks he has nothing and only wants a girl!!! This young man built his lie to get the girl, but he accuses the other person as if he wanted to steal everything from him. How can we sympathize with that !! Here the writer came to save Dosan’s character by telling a background story that kills Dosan more "the cheating" was he always like that? taking chances but crying after taking it? but never gave it back or apology! just cry over himself and think he is victim of using others? Should we sympathize!!! Goes to his father, "I don't want to be your pride and happiness" Was the father sharp with him from the start? He was supportive always he gave him money to make his own dream, but it does not matter, because this young man’s dream was a girl he wanted to be her pride and happiness lol even after years he still had the same personality only they changed his clothes but the character of Dosan can be summarized in one scene when he refused to give messages to jipyeong like it blong to him. The writer didn't know how to work on Dosan, is he the sweet or selfish, rude?
Dal Mi, I loved her very much in the beginning, but at the end there was not a great development in her character. The girl who loved someone for 15 years, and wasn't able to overcome it, of course, she is the same girl who was not able to skip the man she date for months. Her character did not develop much, she retreated a little too she was no longer independent as she was, but she followed Dosan's views when he tells her about something, and she tries to find a way to change her mind to match him.
JiPyeong was the written character so better that I doubt he was the character who wrote first and maybe he was the lead before the writer changed his mind. Now if we look at the end, who is Jipyeong in the story, is he the official sponsor for them who writes messages, hears them, advises them and is attacked, but protects them until the end? Is he the Godfather ?? he were there to receive the emotional and physical violin. This good boy who tells the facts as they are so that they learn doesn't Compliment mistakes because he care really care not want to use them, What did he gain from this relationship? NOTHING... I had great hope that Dosan will be the younger brother who listens and has a relationship with him, but the writer completely broke that. Ji-Byeong used to have the grandmother from the beginning and had no one else in the end. Well he owns Youngsil the best thing haha.
Inji, the wronged character why was she not given enough space? Instead of dragging the story of love and conflict to the end, it was necessary to focus on the two sisters' relationship and form a relationship between Jipyeong and Dosan. I am still frustrated by this. they didn't even show how the sister fix their relationship slowly the 3 years was a useless jump.
In general, the series did not succeed in conveying a good message about the youth, because Samsan's exampal was very annoying, but it succeeded in being entertaining and attractive to talk. It's a kind of drama that you enjoy on airing time better than watching it alone.
The actors were very good, Seonho was the surprise par excellence, he made the character of jipyeong seize the attention to such a degree that it covered all the love scenes of the main leads, even his scenes with YoungSil made them a nice couple lol, he was so cool yet cute what we need else, sure seonho future.will be bright from now on... Although I disliked Dosan, I liked how Nam JooHyuk acted the character maybe the best acting i saw from him. dalmi fit suzy well she was so good on it.
The cinematography and the music was very good and I liked many osts on it.
lastly would you like to watch this again? no, but won't regret watching it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Started really strong up to episode 8 or 9
I watched it on Netflix and thought it had a very interesting start although it was a bit hard to believe. Why would someone get that attached to someone that's writing letters to them and putting it in a birdbox. Makes no sense whatsoever. But whatever, I went with it and it was an interesting start.But what made no sense was how the girl could develop such strong feelings just based off a few letters and she lived her adult life avoiding relationships based on letters from 15 years ago. That made no sense whatsoever. It's like she is a monk or saint or something in between.
I thought the female lead was really good. I watched her in another Netflix show (I think it was Doona) and she was really good there too. She glows on the screen and great acting and expressions. Can hardly tell she was the actress for the other show. She just changed so completely.
Also the male lead, I watched him in Hometown Cha Cha Cha and thought that was a good show as well.
But there is something missing in this show towards the end. I am not even sure what that is. But it just felt it was not leading to anything after episode 10 or so. I just skipped and fast forwarded a lot after that. I lost interest in many parts of it and felt it was not really moving forward much or there was anything left to explore.
Music was good and acting was good. Story was good up to a certain point but then I just lost interest towards the end.
It was OK.
If you work in tech, I think some of it might produce a bit of anxiety. The constant work, competition, struggle, layoffs.
Was this review helpful to you?
