Start-Up (2020)

Wasted a potential to become one of the best drama of 2020 went from 100 to 1

The inconsistency of the story with not so good character development and force feed of the romance between the main lead is a no go for me. The letters which was the most significant part of the drama vanished into thin air by the mids of the drama. Unrealistic business led with fantasy of winning with no theory and calculations felt like it insulted the real business world where competition is tough between life and death and losing is not calculative by mere luck. I pity the writer for the unrealistic writing. There's no harm to study a bit into business perspective and if rumors of working the story for 3 straight years is true I must say it went down the drain. I wish the writers step up the game cos the world is not always golds and glitters and luck. We are past the fairy tale and for once the female lead stop acting like a damsel in distress. And if they promised us with the information for this drama is to be revolutionary with positive outlook on life and romance I can only say they scammed us. I condone glorying of violence and calculative manipulation of romance. The male lead could be a villain in any Hollywood or American drama. I see a bit of Dr. Evil in him. The hand reference is a joke and the female lead chosing him cos she loves him cos he's him insulted the 15 years memories of the letters and the 1 year of pen pal writing where both characters had comforted each other during the time. What I could not accept was that Ji pyeong saying he was not the Dosan and he did not write the letter like dude he had to look out himself cos he was and orphan with trust issues and living to fend himself so why should it matter if he did not look out for Dalmi those 15 years. Should living for himself and looking out for himself bigger then Dalmi. After all this years he still saved Dalmi and the samsans ass many times even saving Dosan from going to prison. Why was this not enough for Dalmi to have Ji pyeong. But Ji pyeong was too good for Dalmi. A week male lead with zero positivity outlook ungrateful of his parents and friends wanting to hit anyone who provokes his emotionn sulking like there's no tomorrow crying like it could fill up a river. And the duality of words like he wants his father not to be his pride but still wants to be a pride to his girl is so mocking. Is a person even a dream for anyone?. Refrain using the name of God into characters that do not meet the expectations cos it's only mocking even though we are entitled to our believes. Han Ji pyeong can fall in love and even though first love never works the writer has no right to rob off his chance of happiness. Love should not be thank you and sorry. Love has to have a reason. Dalmi could have hold on to the memories Ji pyeong gave her a beautiful memory for the past 15 years and confronted him. It's only right cos memories last forever. I'll say I am not proud to have emotionally invested into this mediocre drama and I definitely did not learn anything positive

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I Enjoyed it Despite the Flaws

I think Start-Up was enjoyable. I've watched many kdramas in the past and I don't think this was that bad despite some low ratings I saw. I just wanted to watch something cute and it delivered.

I didn't ship Ji-Pyeong with Dal-Mi and that was mainly because of their age difference. He wrote to her under the name of Nam Do-San when she was a kid and he wrote some of the letters with halmoni to make her feel like she had a friend during the most difficult time in her life. For her she considered him her first love, but for him he was initially doing it for halmoni though in some way he also found comfort with those letters. Time passes and he's already an adult by the time he meets her again with an established career and with experiences that comes with age. Dal-Mi is at a different stage in her life from him and they meet on uneven grounds. His experience lends himself to being more of a mentor as opposed to an equal partner to her.

Even though Ji-Pyeong is her first love who she fantasized about in those letters. Her imagination took over and she romanticized her feelings for him. In opposition, Nam Do-San isn't great at metaphors and is rooted in reality. It makes sense that she would fall for him because he is present and not a fantasy. They are at a similar stage in life and they are equal partners working through the successes and failures together. This drama also frames it where Ji-Pyeong is always somewhere in the periphery and in the background. For her, he functions as that distant letter, an email message, and that text whereas Nam Do-San is in the forefront, is present, is tangible, and is the big hand in her life.

In reality, both guys are red flags. Kdrama perspective shows various sides to the romantic interests that Dal-Mi does not see so heartstrings are tugged. But, if I was her unbiased friend in this show I would likely yell at her to ditch them both. I like both actors Nam Joo-Huk and Kim Sun-Ho and enjoyed their performances. Even though I paired her with Do-San, if I saw either on the street I'd probably swoon for Ji-Pyeong.

But anyway, yes! It's all very unrealistic. I find it hard to believe that the team got as far as they did with their company. (Seriously, you signed over your beloved company without getting another legal perspective besides Jung Sa-Ha!) But, kdrama magic made things happen for them even in the time jump future. I didn't come into this drama for realism so I don't mind. Overall, it fulfilled my need to watch cute interactions and get teary eyed by senior actors (Kim Hae-Sook is legend) and that's enough for me.

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Dosan Is Not the Devil, and Jipyeong Is Definitely Not an Angel

This is gonna be long but bear with me. There's a lot for me to say. First off, the experience of watching this drama felt very much like getting prepared to eat a great dish with excellent ingredients. You know they are top notch, the chef preparing it is pretty well known (even though you have never particularly liked any of her dishes, everyone else does), and the dish itself sounds tasty. However, when you end up taking the first bite, all you taste is salt. You keep taking bites every week and it keeps getting saltier, sometimes you get a taste of the other high quality ingredients but in the end, the salt always overpowers everything. The salt in this case? The ridiculous love triangle.

I want to start by talking about Kim Seonho because I started the show for him and I was glad he got a lot of attention from this role but it was a shame it had to be this role because I found Jipyeong increasingly frustrating as the episodes went by. Despite being charming as ever, I never felt anything special about his character, he was a typical tsundre male with a tragic background that I have seen (frustratingly) so many times before, which I have never liked and now frankly hate lol. As he became more and more absorbed in the unnecessary love triangle, he embodied so many characteristics I despise in men: big ego, talking over others, thinking he’s always right, full of braggadocio, putting others down, kindness towards only people he finds attractive, cowardice, etc. But I could never fully despise him because of Seonho, that was until the scrunchie scene which left a horrible taste in my mouth. He became increasingly insecure and kept being a coward, I didn't want to see his scenes as much anymore, especially because they were so closely tied to the tired love triangle (which should have ended at like ep 10 or something omg). Although we did see some growth, it was not until the love triangle ended around ep 15 that I began to like him again. It was when the original, more positive aspects of Jipyeong began to show again. Again, Seonho was charming but I really truly felt him shine during the emotional scenes with the grandmother rather than any scene he had with Dalmi. Anyway, I’m just glad this ended and Seonho can shed the image of Jipyeong and move on to his next role.

In comparison, I adored Dosan. People that argued that Dosan’s character isn’t complex, I believe missed a fundamental aspect of his characterization. Just because his backstory was not as convoluted as Dalmi’s and Jipyeong’s did not make him a weaker character; in fact that’s the reason I liked him the most. I personally felt I could relate much more with a burned out childhood genius struggling with the overbearing expectations of his parent’s than an orphan who randomly met an old lady that just happened to help him and convinced him to write insincere letters to a girl he didn’t meet until 15 years later. For me, an overly complex background does not make a compelling character; Dosan felt more grounded and realistic and I felt he managed to embody the essence of what this show was about: a coming of age story about youths learning and embracing themselves. It’s like arguing a movie like Lady Bird isn’t good because it deals with a mundane topic of growing up and regular problems; it’s supposed to do that. I think he may have joined the ranks of some of my favourite male leads, such as Jang Geurae, Nam Sehee, Moon Hawon, and Moon Gangtae.

I, to be frank, felt no empathy during either Dalmi or Jipyeong’s background stories in the first episodes, I honestly found many of the adults decisions and choices confusing. However, you can bet I shed tears when Dosan confronted his parents and stated heartbreakingly: “No matter what I do or how I hard I try, it never seems to be enough” because it echoed a conversation I had not long before. Dosan embodied insecurities I could see so closely in myself and his relationship with his father closely related mine own with my mother, making him an even dearer character in my heart. Nam Joohyuk, I frankly was not a fan of at all (his last project I saw was Bride of Haebaek so please dont blame me lol) but this project changed my mind. He really improved; I felt he really immersed himself to the simplicities of Dosan’s character (the bus scene where he felt overwhelmed just to hold Dalmi’s hand felt so real it made my heart flutter). In addition, the simple changes after the time skip such as walking straighter, maintaining eye contact, being relaxed around people he previously found overwhelming were subtle aspects that showed his growth. I’ll definitely try his project “The Light in Your Eyes” with Han Ji-min and Kim Hye-ja next, I heard excellent things about it and was hesitant but now I’ll definitely take a look!

I also started the show for Kang Hanna. She was incredible as Injae even with the limited (and lacking) screen time. I couldn’t understand her decisions in the beginning (as they mostly stemmed from the same aforementioned confusing decisions from the adults of the show) but she still quickly became my favourite along with Dosan as the episodes progressed. We saw her grow, albeit slowly and I’m still frustratingly annoyed the love triangle took up scenes when they could have gone to her instead. Her meeting with her grandmother was another scene besides Dosan's that absolutely made my heart wrench (and I would have preferred if we had spent longer time on it, but oh well). She was a character we rarely see in kdramas, and I was hoping we would see more of her. Another highlight was definitely Samsan tech trio, they were utterly adorable and hilarious (the CODA acceptance speech video and the knitting club flashbacks are both in my top 3 favourite scenes lol). The romance was cute, I think Dalmi and Dosan were adorable with the innocent puppy love. Again, I felt a little bad for Jipyeong in the beginning but I always found his interactions with Dalmi as more of a mentor/older brother relationship than a romantic one, and I never felt a connection through the letters because he had never truly been sincere writing them. And if he had, he would have probably tried to seek her out sometime in 15 years, or even had shown up and told her the truth right away; instead he forgot he even wrote the letters, even forgot Dalmi's name, and dragged an innocent bystander into the situation.

Back to the food analogy, it was a great set of cast with a promising premise, but the writing felt flat, the pacing was terrible (they focused too much on scenes that were not necessary and too less on those that were), and plot was all over the place. I am excited for the next project of the cast members, and hopefully they will be more promising. Startup definitely had its ups, I was not always upset while watching the show, but again, when it was all said and done, the only thing left on the tip of my tongue was the saltiness that couldn't seem to go away.

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I write this to appreciate Kim Seon Ho excellent acting

at first, I watched Start-up not because of Suzy or NJH. I watched this drama because of what's happening now. then the first episode told about relay start-up and back story about Dalmi and Jipyeong. the first episode was written so beautifully, the cinematography also took beautifully. the beautiful story only last until episode 10. episode 1 until 10 they mix the story about business, mentor, star-up, and love even though Dosan's character was annoying but still bearable. I really appreciate Jipyeong's character development, he was an orphanage, started to learn investment, and entered college. years passed he became a successful VC and people said he wasn't starting from zero? he is the real definition of start from zero, Dosan got support from his parents and family. Jipyeong's characters were different he is bold and giving the truth but it is what I expected when I decided to watch startup then the elementary love story came and made it cringe.

Dosan took letter words like he was the writer while Dalmi and Jipyeong never mention it. Jipyeong confessed his feeling to Dalmi even though he said he didn't expect her answer but at least she gave the answer why she has to wait until Dosan back (i.e after 3 years) and it was Jipyeong who started it and she only answers with OK? like just OK? and after episode 10 they never mention the letter or business.

and I think the writer wrote this script like the words that Dosan always used "sailing without a map" and Dosan said it was marvelous, very marvelous to teenagers I guess. the characters all of them were in their 30s why Dosan and Dalmi act like teenagers?

the signs, parallels, and theories were beautiful. but I don't know why the writer abandoned those beautiful theories and parallel as it didn't exist. when I read those theories I felt like I'm about to watch the avenger series

and CTO and CEO are married couples? is it okay for unicorn business? what happens when they divorce? and how can you plan business without a 'map'? you need plans from A to Z.

but standing applause for Kim Seon Ho acting just watched his eyes I was about to cry. His acting was so detailed and outstanding. I was so awed of him but then he is a theater actor so why doubt him. the story is messed up but the actor and actress were excellent especially Kim Seon Ho. if you want to see his acting it worth watching this show. If you watch this drama don't read the theories from Twitter, tumbler, or Reddit because it was beautiful beyond expectation and this drama cant reach it.

if they stay with the story line like a start-up, business, and letter it would hit big then this

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Kim Seon Ho hard carry

I can’t tell if it’s because I took a 2 week break from this show to study for finals, or because the writing quality dipped in the second half, but I lost interest around episode 10 (when the truth was revealed).

I was hooked on this show in the beginning. The writing felt fresh and nuanced, the characters were three-dimensional and character development seemed promising, the relationships were genuine; I felt less certain about these aspects of the show towards the end.

Han Ji Pyeong was introduced as a rather tragic character, isolated and orphaned, with Dal Mi’s grandma as his only source of support. Although I loved Kim Seon Ho’s acting, I can’t help but feel that his character was shortchanged in terms of development. All HJP did was pine over DM, even after 3 years??? Like tbh what was that time skip even for lmao.... what did it accomplish other than the characters hairstyles changing like??? What a waste of time. I feel like it would’ve been better writing had HJP and DM been given a chance to date and realise that they didn’t match each other well or something. At least then it would’ve made sense for the Dal Mi-Do San relationship.

And don’t even get me started on Do San and Dal Mi.... I feel like they were way too optimistic about everything, and everything seemed to go their way to the point that it seemed absurd and unrealistic.

Ok rant over. I don’t dislike the show, I just feel like they could have done sooo much more with the characters, but they didn’t.

I do feel like the acting was great though, and I’m glad Kim Seon Ho is getting the recognition he deserves!! (My mans got a male lead offer?? No choice but to stan). The relationship between HJP and grandma was also incredibly sweet and touching, shoutout to Kim Hae Sook for her acting as well! And I loved the bromance between our samsan bros too :)

All in all, I don’t regret watching this, just maybe the last 5 eps lol

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I had so high expectations for this drama but I am utterly disappointed with how it turned out. I think this is one of the worst dramas I've seen, in terms of the story progression towards the ending. The script is also terrible in the latter episodes. It was overhyped, and it did have a good start, but it was just not maintained.

I have to say though, the actors were great. The leads were amazing, including Nam Joo Hyuk. His role was just poorly written, but that wasn't his fault. Ji-pyeong and In-jae's character development also were not given justice. But again, those were not their fault.

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Good Enough

" Start Up " was a nice blend of business, youth, and romance. The drama starts with a slightly melo beginning, setting the foundation for a smooth start off the whole love story, the sisters war and the business creation.

Firstly, the romance was nice. The leads had chemistry and the love story bloomed smoothly. However, the love triangle was a bit off, mostly because the leading lady seemed to be indifferent towards the second lead, who was the only one pulling all the weight of their relationship.

Now, for the sibling relationship, the drama did a good job presenting their story and using their differences to propel the other storylines of the drama. The two also had chemistry, however the progress of their relationship was rushed sometimes and felt like somethings were skipped.

As for the business twist, the Start Up was a nice touch to add and it worked well, as the drama presented some of the difficulties start ups go through (of course under the umbrella of the Sand Box competition).

The side characters, moreover, were entertaining and added some comedy reliefs when it was needed.

Finally, the performances were great from everyone in the cast. The soundtrack was top notch too and quite enjoyable.

So, overall, eight out of ten.

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Welp

Like I said before, Suzy bae is one of my favourite actresses of all time along with Nam Joohyuk so you'd think this'll be a biased review but if im being totally honest, this was also one of those kdramas where it was just really a drag to get through. Suzys silly acting and humor along with Joohyuks is what made it a bit more bearable tbh. Seonho as well, I love him as an actor and he did so well as well. Both of the love interests made it hard for me to choose a lane because I honestly liked Suzy with both of them! Really overall well done but it was boring at times!

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Suzy Bae is one of my top favorite actresses and I love when she plays a strong character role but in this drama series, her character was weak. I guess not every drama script is for you. The storyline was cute but familiar with another drama. It seems the storylines of one drama to another drama are starting to be alike. The best part of this story was the halmeoni played by Kim Hae Sook. The other good thing about this drama was the actor Kim Seon, but I kind of felt sorry for the role he played. I feel Han Ji Pyung should have ended up with Dal Mi, he is the one that wrote the letters and the one that spent a significant time with Dal Mi. The focus was supposed to be on starting up a business but their passion was more about romanticism. I know life should have some type of romance in it. Let's be real, I don't blame any of the actors and actresses for the storyline, I have to blame the writer. I hope that Suzy Bae will pick a stronger role to suit her personality.

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Fine, but could have gone differently.

I generally enjoyed this series, but found that some of the story elements and character development took a path that dragged on for several episodes and ended up on a path that wasn't the most gratifying for me personally. The beginning was fun and had lots of dynamic elements with the different characters and story elements centering around the startup world, but as the series went on it slowly got sucked into a whirlpool that was the love triangle, to the point where it was predictable and I was just watching the last few episodes to complete the series. It went from being a series about startups with strong romance elements, to a series about a love triangle with a vague setting of "startups" as a backdrop.

I've watched many series where the main dramatic element was a love triangle (which is honestly super common) and thoroughly enjoyed them, but I find this one lost any excitement after the scheming ended, and it was mostly a pity party with lots of tears and denial of feelings, which didn't exactly match the poppy tone of the rest of the series, characters, and side story lines. The Seo family scenes, Ji Pyung and Mrs Choi's relationship, Dal Mi being inspired about business, the In Jae situation, or the SamSan staff scenes were generally much more interesting to me and were the highlights, and it was always a little dissapointing when it would dip back into a love triangle scene.

To confront my bias, I think that Nam Joo Hyuk did a great job acting as Do San, but he wasn't always a likeable character to me and his character arc didn't help the triangle situation. If the love story and characters had been less stagnant mid-to-late series and Ji Pyung had won out in the end, I'd likely would have been more personally satisfied. But in the end I had an attitude of "sure, okay." about the sudden wedding, and was more interested in Ji Pyung's acceptance of the situation and moving on to find more meaningful things to do, Sa Ha and Choel San's relationship, and other endings.

Overall a fine series, but this is the first one I thought flaked out enough to actually write an opinion on it.

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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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