Start-Up (2020)

Could be amoral, depends how you spin it

Before I get into anything else, just let me highlight the strong points of this drama. It has a wonderful supporting cast that does not let up, the OST is powerful, and it is truly a cinematic masterpiece. Beware, long post.

The biggest flaw of this drama was the initial conflict; every good story needs a conflict in order for it to progress. In the case of Start-Up, its central conflict is lying. Almost all the main characters lie in order to drive the story, and at some point you may find yourself going crazy over it. The order of most honest main characters go as so: Dal-mi > In-jae > Ji-Pyeong = Do-san > Won-deok. Yes, the extremely wholesome grandmother that may make you cry and go soft in her scenes with Ji-Pyeong is at the bottom.

Although her intentions were good, she based her granddaughter's entire childhood off a lie. Not only did this bolster Dal-mi into bluffing to In-jae, but Ji-pyeong's letters later culminate into a high tension love triangle all at the expense of Dal-mi's feelings. When the truth is revealed to Dal-mi, it is supposed to highlight positive traits to her character. We do not see resentment towards her grandmother, only disdain targeted at Ji-pyeong and Do-san. Had I been Dal-mi, I would have felt incredibly mortified; as though I had been pitied by my grandmother.

Let's get to Do-san and Ji-pyeong.

I just have to say Nam Joo-hyuk knocked it out of the park. Those saying Do-san was dull and not a worthy ML are missing the point and have been blinded by the shining light that is Kim Seon-ho's acting ability. NJh did his job. He was supposed to portray to us an awkward, gawky, and passive programmer who had zero experience with women, someone who had never truly been driven by anything deeper than a fondness for coding, and finally for once in his life, he felt like he had a purpose. I for one related to Do-san at some points. He felt like he was in competition with Ji-pyeong the whole time but it was untrue. You can always envy another person who seems like they have it all and it will blind you into insecurity. Ji-pyeong said it best to him towards the end of the series, "Work on your self-esteem, look at Dal-mi once again, and then ask yourself who you think she truly likes." Do-san was always in competition with himself, it is an underdog story.

Kim Seon-ho's acting makes you fall in love with him. Time and time again, he has a knack for heart-melting expressions, it's that icy exterior but surprisingly wholesome interior that makes Ji-pyeong so bewitching — and KSh delivers it perfectly. After all, who doesn't love a rags to riches story with humble beginnings (backed by an affectionate relationship with a stubborn grandmother)? Again, just like Do-san is supposed to seem inferior, Ji-peyong is supposed to seem perfect. But he also lied in the end, not just to Dal-mi for Won-deok, but he lied to himself. Because he could not come to terms with his feelings fast enough, for that, he was dealt the ending he deserved. I'm sure there are others who will come to his defense, but as much as I rooted for him myself, Dal-mi also was not attracted to him. The writers teased us in the three year period where they became close, they almost made us think she might end up with him.

I was a little disappointed with In-jae's story involvement. While the rekindling of their relationship as sisters was subtle, it kind of went from cold to hot very quickly. I also didn't like that she ended up stealing her sister's story so she could make it into SandBox. Again, so much lying. Samsan gets acquired by 2STO and what? Dal-mi suddenly has her respect? We were also robbed of their budding partnership in that three year period. To add a little bit more onto that, I felt that her character had been stunted and she could have had more redeeming qualities other than "coming clean about the SandBox girl." People say they assume she ends up with Ji-pyeong, but I actually think this is wrong. I think it is implied in the last episode she and Yong-san have a little something there. That way, it kind of completes the whole "every Samsan guy gets a happy ending."

An honorable mention: Sa-ha and Chul-san. Truly the diamonds in the rough of this drama. Their side romance was honestly so enjoyable and really refreshing. By being honest and straightforward, the inexperienced nerd attains the love of a seemingly unattainable beauty who is, not only emotionally intelligent, but incredibly funny and witty. I wish we had gotten more of them in the last episode.

If you don't understand Korean and have not looked up a translation to the OST, Day & Night, by Jung Seung Hwan, I urge you to. Every time they played the song it almost brought me to tears; a very lovely meaning that very well captures how the male leads both feel.

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knows its strength, but failed to use it in the end

start up is one of 2020's most popular dramas. not only did it feature few of the most globally popular korean superstars, it also used its genre in the best way it can.

plot-wise, it was okay. not gonna lie, the first parts of the drama looked really promising. seo dalmi's backstory, her struggle to be a top entrepreneur, and how she practically worked her way up to success. but it kind of died down in the last six episodes. the romance angle of the story isn't the most different (and definitely not the best) that i've seen, but it has its own charms.

the soundtrack is good. oh good lord, if you still have not stanned red velvet, then what are you doing with your lives?! jk

but yeah, in case you're curious: i'm team do-san.

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Glad that i didn't follow others review

I finished Startup yesterday and so glad that I did. I was hesitant and wanted to give up when I saw other reviewers giving 1/10 for Story. I like the story and can totally relate to Nam Do-San character - a geek pursuing a dream who knows he is most familiar with coding language as compared to human language (I worked for IT startups for 10 years and I see traces of him in some of my colleagues). He cried a lot, was insecure and a tad bit of entitled but emerged as more mature, more assured and stronger towards the end of the drama. I don't quite get why there is a 2nd lead syndrome in this show. Like what HJP said, he waited for many years to contact Seo Dal Mi again but Do-San showed up the very day he read those letters. Nam Joo Hyuk is a fantastic actor - from Weightlifting Fairy, the Light in Your Eyes, Startup - i simply enjoy watching his shows :)

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Start-up let down by not focusing on its best character

I'm very conflicted about this show in that whilst it's generally very good, occasionally excellent, it suffers from a glaring kdrama problem that it just got pulled deeper and deeper into. 

The main issue for the show is that it had two highly interesting subplots created by two very different conflicts for the main character Dal-mi, embodied ultimately in two characters who happened to be more interesting than her - through no fault of her own. 

The first, and fundamental problem, is her sister In-jae. She is arguably the most interesting character in the show and yet is an afterthought for most part of the show, someone who appears sporadically in moments to unsettle and fluster Dal-mi before disappearing for the rest of the episode. 

She is the show's standout character for someone who exists on its periphery. Her conflicted relationship with her sister, her mother, her stepfather, even how she feels about her late father and grandmother could have really tugged at the heartstrings in displaying the similarities and differences between her and her sister. The story of a rich girl determined to make it alone and not off her dad's wealth - faced with the inner anguish of secretly wishing she had stayed with her sister - is far more interesting than a love triangle. This should have gotten far more screen-time. Start-up suffered in her absence and thrived when she was in the room.

The other problem, which sort of explains In-Jae's limited time, is Do-san. The nature of his role in this show necessitates him having such a large amount of screen-time. This is the problem of Start-Up. It has two very interesting plot conflicts that compete against each other for time, and suffer. Do-san's role in this story during the first half was defined by a burgeoning romance and a complicated love triangle forming that simply put, was not as interesting as Do-san's own inner conflicts. His need to prove himself to his family, to be the man he thought Dal-mi viewed him as, coupled with his own rising guilt of repressing the truth of a conspiracy he was dragged into, was more interesting than seeing a love triangle taking place. 
Do-san's character was portrayed really well, and he was easily far more likeable a character than Ji-pyeong - who often came across as nefariously scheming and mean-spirited- but the show really didn't know how to explore Do-san's betrayal without having a love triangle. This took away screen-time from the audience seeing more of who Do-san was and of simply giving us more moments with him and Dal-mi. 

The love triangle just didn't have to exist. This conflict could have been explored through Ji-pyeong viewing Dal-mi in a platonic way. Far more interesting than his feelings for her was his sense of debt and guilt towards her grandmother. I think had the show pursued this road instead, and given us more time to see In-jae, it would have been far better. 
Speaking of Ji-pyeong, there was a very strange introduction of a new setback for him involving one of the Samsan Tech's developers. When you watch it, you realise it's strange and feels as though it was lobbed in there simply for drama. It simply wasn't required and made the support cast even more underwhelming. Again, it's screen-time that the show should have given to fleshing In-jae out or showing Do-san's life of feeling like a disappointment. 

Aside from the characters, what I didn't like was the sheer lack of fallout from certain things. The big secret that Dal-mi eventually had to find out barely left an impact on her relationship with others. It's hard not to feel as though the opening half of the show, which was genuinely impressive, was let down badly by the episodes from the midpoint onwards. At that point, it felt like the show was in a state of managed decline where even though scenes and episodes still retained humour, emotional punch and good dialogue, I couldn't escape the disbelief of how quickly the very big gaping plot conflict of the show was handled. 

That's a lot of negatives for a show I generally really enjoyed! The positives are that all of the main characters are hugely likeable and depicted well. Dal-mi isn't the standout character in that she's a very conventional protagonist, but she does her part supremely well, and is engaging in how embattled she is, and how much she perseveres. The show explores her relationships to various characters well, and it also has some really touching moments, such as what fuels Do-san's vision for the company. 

I thought Dal-mi's grandmother was a fantastic piece of the show, and far more integral. I appreciated the sprinkles of memories of Dal-mi's father over the show, and how it virtually affected everyone. And whilst I wish that had received more attention, it was still written very well. I can't fault the dialogue either. Generally it was very grounded and realistic. 
There are some stellar episodes: 7 through to 9 were particularly fantastic, compensating for the show slightly stalling in the 5th and 6th with some forgettable episodes (featuring unnecessary secondary character drama). Its's worth noting that in those stellar moments, it's typically Do-san and In-jae who shine the brightest for me.

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My absolute Favourite!

This is my favourite drama ever! I don’t get how it’s not rated better.
I have already watched it twice and I know I‘ll watch it again.
I‘d recommend Start-up to absolutely anyone but especially to people who just want a feel good drama without unnecessary dramatics. Like with any drama, if you want to try it, you should watch at least the first two episodes.
But seriously. This is so good!!!
The cast, the acting, the storyline, the humor, the romance, the OST, everything is just top notch in my opinion. I never got bored while watching, not the first time and also not the second time.
And finally a drama where I actually liked who the girl ended up with :D

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Wasted potential

I watched this show with low expectations. I mean, I wasn't expecting a masterpiece or something like that; instead, I was expecting something that was entertaining so I could chill out and have a good night. Sadly, I got so frustrated by the wasted potential of this show.


You can tell from the first two episodes that the ideas weren't clear; the script was a collage of ideas that were put together, and the writers were figuring it out along the way. They only knew one thing: this show must have had a "happy ending." But if you don't work around in between, it's like you finish the first episode and then jump to the last one. I mean, what's the point of that?

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I actually like this drama. I enjoyed the 'start up' part, especially in the first half. i love it when i got to learn about other career and stuff and plus I'm kinda interested with business. The first half was fun, very exciting, I was looking forward to the next episodes and there were many funny scenes. The storylines builds up great. But the second half was kinda, meh? putting aside the romance part, the focus on 'start up' is slowly fading. since I was more interested in the business part, it wasn't as exciting anymore. probably because the first half sets the bar too high. another thing is, there was almost like no character development. I only could see it in the last episode. to show it, they have to said 'I've changed', and that is where this drama is lacking. anddd they turn one of the main character (in jae) as a cameo in the second half. like ??? as for the romance part, I was okay with any dalmi's choice, whether it's dosan or jipyeong, except for the fact that both of them are toxic and immature. lastly, the OSTs are amazingggg!!!

but I still enjoyed it and I do recommend you to watch it :)

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Good dramas are the worst, since there’s nothing much to say about them apart from the fact that they’re simply good. You know the feeling, I could rant for hours about dramas that were bad, I could talk for ages about the ones that were amazing. But the ones that are simply good, are the worst. You just enjoy watching them but at the end you don’t really miss them much. For Start-up all I really wanted is for it to have a second season. And not because I cannot live without it. It’s not that I’m constantly thinking about it. It just gave me so much joy to watch that I would gladly continue to do so. But you know what they say, good things don’t last forever.

To be honest, this drama wasn’t anywhere near top of my list when it comes to drama watching order. I’ve decided to watch it, mostly because of amount of memes that traveled though the internet and the fact that it was nominated to Baeksang Awards this year and I’ve decided to watch all nominated dramas that I’ve already had on my list for this year. So the adventure begun.
And I have to admit, it was a blast from the very first episode, about which I need to write a bit more, because the way it was made was simply awesome.

So the first episode haven’t really dove deep into the actual action of the drama. It was more of a prequel we could say. It was absolutely amazing at introducing the characters, without unnecessary flashbacks and voiceovers. After it we didn’t need any additional exposition, we were more or less introduced to the characters, but in a way that shows only a part of the story that’s later relevant, only Dal Mi’s and Ji Pyung’s journey was known till this moment. Nam Do San, was barely mentioned but at the same time played a very important role in the first episode. And this was a great trick, because the viewer could get to know him as the rest of the characters did. After watching first episode I’ve concluded that it was so good at this point it could actually almost be a stand alone movie.

And this episode shown, what was later on obvious, that it’s very easy to fall in love with those characters from the very beginning. They’re all very well written and it’s not hard to figure out their motivations pretty quickly. Like Han Ji Pyung, who’s badmouthing Nam Do San to the grandma, because he’s obviously jealous of Seo Dal Mi, who was his penpal in the most difficult moments of his life. Like, those kind of thing that are very discreet, not shown to the viewer openly, are what I really loved about the series. And I’m gonna defend Ji Pyung here because I’ve absolutely fell in love with this character. And I want to make myself clear, I fell in love with how this character is well written. For me he’s hands down the most fascinating character of this series. The world was his enemy so he curbed it using his biggest strength. Even though he succeeded in life, he finally earned a lot of money, he’s not happy. He doesn’t have friends, doesn’t really have anything that makes him happy, work and money is all he has. And honestly, he’s not really a nice person. He’s petty and harsh. He helps people only if he can gain something out of it. Dal Mi and her grandma are the first people who he cares about, since they gave him his missing element of his life, and I think that admitting to this bond wasn’t really easy for him. They gave him warmth that he never experienced before. Either through giving him shelter and corndogs or just kind words in the letters. And I’ve honestly cheered for him till the last episode hoping he can finally find his happiness.

But apart from this first episode and some amazing characters, I don’t really have much to say here. And it’s not bad, that just simply means that this drama is simply good. There’s not one thing that I didn’t like about it. I could also add that the plot is pretty solid, not much time to be bored here. I don’t recall any filler episode and the pacing was on point. All characters are interesting, even background characters are entertaining but we all know that grandma stole our hearts. And the thing is that characters are just authentic. They’re not perfect, but that’s what makes them so likeable.

This review is slowly turning into a rant. So maybe I’ll end at that. Even though I don’t find this drama exceptional, I think it’s pretty solid piece of entertainment, that’s why I gave it a pretty high score. And I’m really hoping for this second season, just for fun.

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kim seonho is a king

Move out of the way Bae Suzy and Nam Joo Hyuk fans, I am actually perhaps one of the few fans that started this because of Kim Seonho after seeing him on 1 Night 2 Days. So I started this while also knowing that he was going to be the second lead.
I do think that the story has a lot of potential. We have these two conflicting characters. One who is an orphan yet ultimately becomes successful due to stock / investment. The other who has a loving family and friends, but is unable to get his company to take off. Yet ultimately what happened is the writer wanted to bring this latter character -- the ML -- up to the standards of the FL. He's actually really smart, being able to win coding competitions, and really nice, which is actually his biggest folly as this is why he lacks drive. They try to make his character appealing by making him perhaps an ideal man, yet trying to make him complex by adding different faults. However, ultimately this just feels fake and forced, an obvious ploy. Especially when acted by a handsome man, he's essentially too perfect. It's only dampened by this annoying naivety and immaturity. He's unable to take responsibility for his actions, and this aspect never changes.
There's this hilarious moment (and by hilarious I mean not very hilarious at all) where Dosan and Jipyoung are verbally fighting and Dosan says 'you have everything while I have nothing'. We see Jipyoung's bafflement which I felt mirrored my own. Dosan is the one with two living parents and friends. Jipyoung on the other side lives by himself and lives by himself, ostracizing any possible relationships and keeping to himself. Dosan has what Jipyoung will never have.
The writers seems to fall in what many other Kdramas have fallen into, focusing too much on the romance rather than the character development. I do actually enjoy love triangles, yet will say that I believed there to be too much focus on this. It led Injae basically being cast off. Jipyoung also follows suit as his screentime is lowered to try and raise appeal of Dosan. Cheolsan and Yongsan also seem to have potential but are sidelined without any regards. Yet even Dalmi suffers as her focus is more on her relationship with Dosan and her characterization becomes 'wants to be successful' rather than any of the nuance that comes with her dad dying after trying to found his own company.
The time skip was predictable, yet still awful. The only highlight was being able to see Jipyoung and Dalmi's close relationship, yet that is ignored after thirty minutes. Besides that, it's just the characters becoming successful in life, as if that's the only way to be desirable in a relationship.

Many of the technical aspects were painfully inaccurate. I think for plot purposes it was fine, since too technical would've made it confusing so it focused on the plot related terms. But like, there should be no way that a lawyer reads the contract 2STO gives them and misinterprets it. Even I thought of it while watching, just figured that the contract must be good if no one was talking about it. The competition between Samsan Tech and the twins was also really eh because in reality it's not that simple and both teams can still get investors. It was a slight turn off for me but ultimately I understood why it was the way it was.

Overall, Kim Seonho <3

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Rubbish Romance Drama

I had high hopes for this drama because of the first few episodes but everything went downhill mid show after the real author of the letters was revealed.

The story left a lot of plot holes and ML/FL characters actually regressed. The male lead who was supposedly called a “buddha” punched his own mentor, lied, cheated his way through life, ungrateful to his parents/friends but managed to become very successful and get the girl of his dreams anyway. In a way, this is actually quite realistic. So fair play to that, I guess.

The FL who started off as an independent and strong woman was written out of character for the rest of the show. I did enjoy watching her during the start especially when they just began their journey in Sandbox. However, I didn’t like the fact that was she was also ungrateful and demanding to her mentor during those times.

The only characters that had a lot of character development is the SML. The SFL also did have some character development but it came in too late. It would’ve been enjoyable to watch that progression. Oh well.

I thoroughly enjoyed KSH’s performance throughout. I will definitely be watching his future shows. I can’t say the same for the writer’s future projects. I hope that she puts together an amazing drama in the future which would change my opinion of her.

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a scam and very overrated

The show was initially showcased as a "youth coding romance that offers to give lessons to the youth" while giving heavy emphasis on the business plot which seemed very promising because it was a new and fresh idea coming from the world of KDramas. I'm not going to lie, it initially started out very good however as we venture towards the middle to the end of the story, everything got ridiculous. There were just so many questions unanswered and they abruptly deviated from the plot as they focused on the love triangle which pushed aside an alleged major character. The pacing and visual cues were also totally off because of how contradictory they are with what is happening which I cannot help but blame the director and the writer for just simply bad execution and bad storytelling which pales in comparison to their previous works. The story also does not shed much light on start-ups which they promised the viewers during the initial interviews hence amplifying my disappointment. Overall, the story is actually not as promising as it sounds and does not contain many life lessons as there is not much character growth (or perhaps there were but done inconspicuously), except to "follow your dreams" albeit rather thoughtlessly (or perhaps rather contradictory to the character's own beliefs). The only actual good thing on this show though were the actors themselves, who carried out the characters so well thus causing the uproar in various social media platforms, as well as the OSTs which are either heartbreaking or uplifting depending on which scene pans out.

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