Start-Up (2020)

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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The worst series ever

I thought GOT ended badly at the finale., but this one completely took over it....
being a huge fan of Kdrama, this show has been keeping the audience engaged by torturing them
to see a justice done for HJP., each and every episode people are hoping for it and the writer is taking advantage of that.,
there are many series with love triangles such as What's wrong with secretary Kim, My Shy boss It okay not to be okay, The Bride of Habaek, Because this is first life all these delivered an excelled performance...giving a warm finale., but this one Damn... THE WORST KDRAMA I HAVE WATCHED EVER!

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With every episode-" DOWN" went my rating for this drama

You will enter the drama seeing NamJooHyuk and Suzy but in the exit falling for KimSeonHo

Be it small or big all of us have dreams. Be it short-term or long-term all of us want to achieve them. But few are scared of starting and divert their path, few give up half way through , few remain stubborn and stick to them untill their dreams are realized. To convert thoughts into reality the actions taken towards it plays a significant role. So, our leads are also full of vigour to prove themselves by starting a "START-UP". Will they be stubborn and prosper or be swayed away by others opinions and lose , is what we should be looking forward to in this drama.
It is good to see that both the leads start from the same point in their careers its not like just any other drama where the Male lead is perfect and too good to be true. The characters are relatable "struggle,insecurities, self-conscious ,doubtful " are the problems of any person who wants to succeed. I really loved the way they reflected these emotions in one single drama.
This drama is a mix of genres it literally plays with emotions , it will tickle our funny bones at times, squeezes out all the tears with sentiments and makes our heart flutter with sweet moments there are few amazing dialogues that are inspiring as well.
HAHAHAHAHA these were my thoughts in the first half of the drama but "naive me ", now at the end i am left with empty feelings and i kept wondering about the genre of this drama.The comedy in this is only in the first half tbh. Initially i thought this would be about chasing dreams etc etc (one feel good life lesson drama) and did not show much interest in the love-triangle but towards the end startup was a side track and all the attention was forced towards how will male lead get the girl . And ya this has no elements about the struggle at all . My rating is only for the first half as i enjoyed watching them but for the rest half i would just give 2/10 because it made no sense to me (Maybe i had high expectations).
For those who like Nam joo hyuk and suzy's it would be a great drama for visuals

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Team Nam DO SAN!!!

Wasn't supposed to watch this since it seemed it was going to be too much "high technology" for me. But despite being about computers, advancements and etc., it is a joy watching this.

I love that it has so much heart... From the first episode alone, I was hooked.

This series has a unique story line which showcases different kinds of relationships. From families, friends, co-workers, to even two people who are not related by blood (Good Boy and Grand Ma), It is the latter's special relationship which started a domino effect and spilled through the lives of Dal Mi and Do San.

Nam Do San is not the typical lead. I love how his character exudes innocence making him one of the most lovable male leads ever. Jin Peong on the other hand is a strong second lead. Unlike in other dramas, his presence as a second lead makes such an impact to the story. He truly deserves to have his own drama in the future.

Currently waiting for ep 15 and 16..... While doing so, I am rewinding ep 13 because I love seeing Nam Do San in an all black attire. So dashing!!

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A boring, polarized mess of fun and frustration

Start Up was surely one of my anticipated dramas of recent times. The cast looked good and the story seemed quite promising. I was sold to the idea of independent youth with dreams, trying to make it big. But what I watched was somehow very different.

PLOT:
I am not sure if the drama was marketed the right away. They kept focusing on the FL wanting to be a young female CEO. I thought, "Great. Although it's Suzy, I'm willing to give it a try". Oh I did, okay? This drama started out wonderfully. The child actors were amazing at the beginning was probably the best thing in the drama.

Contrary to most people who were a fan of this writer, I've dropped all her dramas in the past. Somehow I didn't drop this one and kept watching it out of boredom. I don't think the writer did even a remotely acceptable job of the plot. Initial build ups failed, the main AND side characters were a snooze till they became MORE annoying and the romance fell flat before eventually drowning in an endless ditch. There were more pointless plotlines than I can count. The unnecessary ones were shoved down our throat and the ones with potential were all forgotten or abandoned by the writer midway.

This drama is more discouraging than encouraging but it depends on how one takes it. What they've shown in this drama was incredibly naive, unrealistic and seemed to have been written by someone who's never worked in a corporate or start-up company before. The issues were laughably bad and this is the biggest peeve for me with this drama. It had a sort of realistic take in the beginning but it was a laughable mess by the end.

The other peeve was the sudden melodramatic angle. I say again that it is discouraging, because it shows that only bad things happen to the good people. It's message is: good people are never meant to be happy and misery will follow them till the end. The plot with the Grandmother was incredibly sad. Nothing is right in her life. The other pitiful person was OF COURSE the second lead Han Ji Pyeong. He's also portrayed as an orphan who was born to be alone and no one would ever love him. I tell you, this drama looks spunky but it was incredibly depressing to me. It wasn't about finding your dreams, but about living in nightmares. I wouldn't have complained if they had marketed it as a dark melodrama because these characters were contradicting the supposed main plot.

CHARACTERS:
A shout out to Grandma and Dad. They were the only wholly nice and kind people in the drama.The FL had spark in the beginning which I loved. She kind of swayed because her journey was itself a mess. Also, she wasn't as empathetic as she was supposed to be because she is plainly cold to the SML. She is blind for the ML. The ML was kind of cute and naive in the beginning but comes off as selfish and scheming later. The SML is lonely, abandoned and no hope in his life. The sister In Jae had amazing potential as a tsundere character but they didn't even bother with giving the actress enough of a plot to be central to the plot. I'm not going to comment on the side characters because majority of the time they were in a competition for being the most annoying.

ACTING:
Not a fan of Suzy but I find her charming. I was very impressed with her in the first 10 episodes of the drama but her acting went back to mediocre in the later parts. Nam Joo Hyuk was okay at best, there wasn't much he could have done with his weird character. Kim Han Na did amazing as Won In Jae. Kim Seon Ho was great and he translated perfectly from the younger to older version of the character. He had incredible chemistry with everyone and I will be glad to see his future works.

OST:
The OST is golden. I love almost all the songs and highly recommend listening to it.

OVERALL:
A dumb, pointless drama. It's got some YAYYY fun moments, decent kisses and amazing lines. The problem is the plot fizzled out hopelessly and there was no saving it. The casting isn't as bad as they ended up being here. I think I will tread with caution for this writer's future dramas as my record has been BAD. I'm out with the memorable OST and won't ever bother to give this drama a second watch.

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Started off strong but story nose dived 3/4s of the way.

I wanted to like this show, i really do. Start up started off strong but nose dived 3/4s of the way. A lot of lazy writing. The writer set up a lot of conflicts ie the love triangle, the startup contest, sister conflict, family etc but most of these were haphazardly closed sometimes leaving it up to the viewers to assume conflicts were fixed in the backend (timeskip).

They failed to give the ML (NDS) a solid character foundation NDS making you NOT root for him in the love triangle. This is the reason why a lot of people was rooting for the second lead, HJP. His character was well developed, consistent, so much so he looked liked the ML if for all the promotional posters featuring NDS.

I’ll finish the show but i am giving it a bad rating just to emphasize how much a disappointment this show was. I really wanted to like it but unfortunately these past few episodes were really hard to finish, and not to mention cringe (Dodal scenes)

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So we’ve finally come to the end, what a journey!

——First, a little rant and head-ups for those considering watching this: please don’t listen to the haters. So many people are giving the series 1 or 2 stars and I can assure you SU deserves a lot more. Just because a ship didn’t ‘sail’ doesn’t mean the story itself is bad. From the very beginning the endgame couple was obvious, and the chemistry between the characters and the actors is off the charts, so yeah. Give it a try, I’m sure you’ll find many enjoyable things about Start Up!——

Personally, I’m really happy with how the story went. Some moments were a little dragging but overall I had a great time watching it and I really like the characters and their interactions. A feel-good kind of story.

Kudos to NJH and Suzy’s acting! Both of them have improved SO much in these last few years, I’m proud to see how far they’ve come.

The OST was incredible, some of the best I’ve listen to lately.

The cinematography is beautiful too, it looks like a big budget movie. I loved it!

It was definitely worth it, I’m happy I stuck until the end!


BIG SPOILER AHEAD:


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AHHHHH DS AND DM GOT MARRIED!!!!!! I’M SO HAPPY!!!!! I LOVE THIS KIND OF ENDING!

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Believe that you are worth it

After watching K dramas for the last two years, I've found that they all have charm, wit and good stories. Unfortunately, some don't have stamina that carries to the end of their shows. So far, Start-up is a delight! The premise is about whether or not we are happy with the choices we make. This begins with two sisters, but is pondered by each character as the story progresses. Many comical moments lighten the serious vibes and I feel they are balanced well. Some may be frustrated by the actions of some characters, but I have faith that it will end well. Star, Bae Susy hasn't let me down aftercwatching her in Vagabond and While you were sleeping, so please give Start-Up a chance!

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Beauty

What hurts is the false reviews from this platform. Months back I did rely on the reviews on each drama I wanted to watch.... when I see 5 or more discouraging reviews it makes me so sad that I don’t wanna even watch it so I skip but then again I realized that most dramas that being bashed on here were actually good but anyways it’s a review.
Start up is such a beautiful drama not only with the characters but the whole plot ... you don’t even wanna miss the turnings romance the songs played acting omg I could go on and on and on .... The only word which is not even near to this drama BEAUTY most especially MOTIVATIONAL!
(My first time writing a review)

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A show of missed opportunities

I went into this drama without knowing much about it aside from gifs I saw here and there, the episodes trending on twitter and at some point seeing people defend NDS' behaviour (can't remember why). Looking back, maybe that last one was actually a red flag. You can skip to the overall section of this review to get a summary of my opinion on Start Up without me ranting too much about what could have been.

Story & characters:
The story started well, I really enjoyed the first episode even though it was a bit surprising and it made me wonder if HJP was supposed to be the male lead. It certainly felt like it after watching the first episode and, unfortunately, it felt like this during the whole drama. Despite how weird it felt, I really tried to give NDS a chance, thinking "oh using his name in the letters mean that they were destined to meet, maybe they will have a connection", and HJP didn't seem interested in SDM anyway. Unfortunately, I never felt any connection and I just hated NDS more and more to the point that I ended up skipping most of his scenes during the last four episodes, at least. The main relationship had too much angst but for the wrong reasons and so many of their scenes felt like all those minutes could have been used to explore the other plots.

Maybe it's because I'm older, but I enjoyed the family/friends and work plots a lot more than the romantic ones. The first episode is mostly centered around complex family relationships (the sisters, HJP and the grandma) and friendship (HJP and SDM) that I feel like it's a shame that it didn't focus on that instead, without having NDS and the love triangle. It really felt like NDS was out of place during the whole drama and his tantrums distracted from the actual good plots we could have had.

This is getting longer than I thought it would be but this drama really frustrated me. For example, SDM was a really interesting character at first, but she's not given the opportunity to reach her full potential and to be more complex. WIJ on the other hand really grew on me and turned out to be one of my favourite characters on the show but even her character development was really rushed at the end. I think that the focus should have been more on them, their aspirations and how they try to mend their relationship (between them, but with their whole family in general). The father is also barely mentioned even though he started it all. As for HJP and the grandmother, the other main relationship from the pilot, I really enjoyed their scenes and it's a shame that we didn't get more of them. Instead, we got forced bonding scenes between her and NDS.

I did enjoy the SST team and I loved how their dynamic evolved (even though, once again, more time could have been given to them, especially to Saha and Dalmi) but it felt kinda ruined towards the end. Out of the main three of SST, Yongsan is the only one who actually showed growth and it's another character who should have been given more time, especially since his story is much more interesting than... you know who. The whole start up plot in general felt very secondary because so much focus was on the main couple and/or the love triangle, and the scenes we had felt so unrealistic, especially towards the end. They just don't fail enough after their big failure, I don't think anything goes wrong at all. There are things that go well but shouldn't, and I don't think it would be a bad thing if they did fail at the end, it would have just showed that they're still at the beginning of an (allegedly) exciting adventure and there are still many more things they will have to face together. Instead, it just feels like they don't have any problems anymore and won't have any ever again. All that thanks to NDS being some sort of coding god I guess!

Now, I haven't said much about HJP but he truly is my favourite character. Like I said, I didn't feel anything romantic between him and SDM so I wasn't invested in that side of their relationship, however it's a shame that we didn't get to see their friendship evolve once they meet up again as adults. I did enjoy their scenes, hence why I wanted more of these instead of... you know what. Many people have said it already but he deserved better. I think it was during WIJ's party, but I really thought something would happen between WIJ and HJP. Romantic or not, I would have loved to see these two together more and it would have given both of them a relationship that is new and not related to main characters. The writer somehow forces certain characters to stay alone.

Finally... why do I hate NDS? Well, like someone in the show once said, do I need a reason?? :) Seriously, there are many reasons but I also noticed that things I hate about him are things others think are endearing or something, so it's really just from my perspective. Personally, I think he's spoiled, immature, self-centered, reckless, a crybaby, manipulative, violent, impulsive, a liar... I also don't see any growth, aside from him not breaking things anymore. The fact that he lies even for the smallest things is honestly not cute at all, the only person he is protecting is himself and his fragile ego. He doesn't need a girl to obsess over, he needs therapy and a proper discussion with his father. And a proper discussion with the SST guys as well to be honest.

Acting:
If you're still reading, kudos. As for the acting, it was okay in general, but HJP's actor was really amazing, it was my first time seeing him so I'm curious now to see his other works. I get now why everyone loved him so much after watching Start Up, his scenes were always the best moments for me. The other two main actors though weren't very convincing. Not bad but not good either. I'm not very familiar with their acting, and I do think the script is the main reason why I don't feel any chemistry between their characters, but their acting lacked depth in my opinion.

Music:
I loved the music, I always enjoyed hearing them even though I believe that some lyrics were more about HJP than NDS so it was sometimes a bit weird.

Rewatch value:
I would rewatch a NDS free version of the show, it would feel like a sitcom and why not.

Overall:
5/10... the drama is saved by the second lead and the secondary plots/characters. SDM herself is quite enjoyable outside of her relationship with NDS. The story started by giving importance to certain characters and plots but all of these were quickly discarded and it ended up being 80% about a character I really couldn't stand with a storyline that wasn't that relevant to the rest since I could skip most of his scenes without it preventing me from understanding everything else. Weirdly, while there's so much focus on the main romance/love triangle, not any depth is given to it while being somehow so full of angst so it really feels like their scenes are a waste of time.

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If you are here for the plot, let met tell you something.

Disclaimer: my review solely based on my preference on the story-line.

You may have come to watch for Suzy, Nam Joohyuk, Kim Seonho, or Kang Hanna. Or even for the interesting premises that they've offered to us in the beginning. The story about Start-Up and how the four main leads are there to teach us how business was supposed to be doing. However, I must admit there are hints of why I come to dislike this.

From the start, we've been offered by a promising plot of friends, family, and business. The way how female lead, Seo Dalmi, being an independent woman whose life doesn't revolve around men. But then, the writer seems fond of a love triangle which was unnecessary and set aside the business aspect for quite too long. I almost dropped the show knowing that it'll keep going like that for more than 4 episodes but I wonder what's the twist of the show and how will the writer bring back the business aspect, so I continue.

But I'm afraid I couldn't bring up anything except how irritated I was for watching the love triangle arc that truly unnecessary. I was coming from the Start-Up theme and yet I've been offered with a hopeless romantic story that couldn't resonate with me. The way how reckless the team to decide without considering to consult on their mentor because some of them have problems with him is just doesn't sit right with me. I will accept if only they're still asking another mentor which I believe should've been there to help her, hence they were called Sandbox for a reason. And one thing that's so illogical is that until the last episode, there are no consequences of their wrongdoings. I thought there will be some tension about it and how they should deal with it and become a stronger individual and as a team.

Not enough disappointment, the writer still keeping the love triangle arc which I clearly don't understand why even until now when it's so crystal clear whom they favoured. There's no need to create a nonessential war between two men when on the pilot episodes, they seem to love each other as brother. And I can see how much would they come if it end up as bromance. How good it would become to see they help each other to grow. I would say it such a wasted potential of this drama could become.

I won't say much about the hopeless romantic things that going on which I believe some people may see it as an okay plot and some others were against it all. But to point out some flaws that led to a great fan war amongst the viewers is the inconsistency between the characters. Dalmi, Dosan, Jipyeong, Injae, and even SST had some inconsistencies that seem like a Disney movie that is utterly a candy floss. How could you not even considering to have a break for your heart after being lied for months and just brush it off like nothing happened as if it's okay to be lied to. I understand if the meaning of this is love could change throughout the years and ones that always first to come, will win. But something missing in Dosan and Dalmi relationship, which is tension and how the relationship builds up after the letters been revealed or after their break up. It could've been nicer if they fought while Dosan keeps giving Dalmi his endless love so Dalmi finally can see that his love is real. But it didn't happen.

It's not about who is made for a better choice, but how things normally happened after such a great lie threw to one individual. I wonder if there are people who'd be pleased to see people who lied to you. Hence I thought it'd be a moment where I can see Dalmi's growing to be a wonderful woman who doesn't need both men and keep doing her things to success, just like Injae. As a woman myself, I don't want to be a damsel in distress and how myself becoming someone else's dream or trophy. Even I would be ashamed of myself if I have a person as my dream. The main focus is the relationship has become lacklustre which nothing like this is normal in the real life. If only they add 'fantasy' or 'fairy tale' in their description, most people would understand.

Most people who come for good storytelling which close to reality that they can take the lesson to obviously would have rage upon how the drama had become. Inconsistency and boastful characterizations are clearly not a recommendation.

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