Start-Up (2020)

THIS DRAMA IS GOLD

Startup is an amazing drama which will give you a rollercoaster feeling every episode.
It showcases mixed of emotions about life, love, friendship, business, and dreams.

Kudos to Suzy and Nam Joohyuk for brilliantly portraying their roles as Dalmi and Dosan respectively. They shared a relatable picture of young people's struggles and challenges in pursuing their dreams in this modern, and sometimes, cruel world of business.

Topping Netflix charts in different countries just proves how it is well-loved by many people worldwide.
Congratulations for the whole Team Startup for making the best drama of 2020.

Despite all the difficulties we have been facing, this drama is such a breather and it has also inspired many people to take action and go follow those dreams. No matter what it takes.

Enjoy watching!!

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This review may contain a spoilers.

At the first the story went well, everything is good, the acting from actress/actors, the cinematography, the music, the story line but it turns to be messy on the half of full episode.

Lets talk about the love story first;
It doesn't matter the female lead who will end up with (first or second lead), its just about there're so many unrealistic things in their relationship, the writer made the female lead as a strong and optimistic woman, but she's changed since meet the first lead, its only takes several month but she's already fall in love with him that deep, but at the same time forgot about her first love for 15 years. She's live on a fairy tale, meet a random guy for several month but she cant move on 3 year, where is the strong woman from the first episode goes? The writer should make their relationship (female & male first lead) a bit longer, it doesn't make sense to fall in love that quick in their age, they're not a teenager anymore.

Lets talk about the character development side:
the writer want make the first male lead looks realistic but at the same time make the second lead unrealistic.
Is it just me who find the first lead have no character development at all? after the 3 years jump time i thought he would change, but no, he's still unmature guy who cant make a straight line between bussiness and personal thing. I cant get his point of view at all.
and the second lead, the writer made him unrealistic because he is too good to be true, his flaw is only his harsh words. Till the end the writer make him as an emotional punching bag for the whole episode and give nothing.
the samsan tech's team is much better after the 3 years time jump, they learn to be wiser, and solve the problem they had before.
and, startup has 2 female leads but the one is just a cameo, her screen time is so rare, she's will be an impactful character if the writer focus on her too.

Many people complaining about this drama's because shows us more about the love side not the bussiness side, and yes i agree, that was a wasted potential. The writer should end the love triangle earlier if she wouldn't do some plot twist, at the end the female lead will choose the first lead, right? so dont make it waste. If only she end the love triangle earlier, and focusing on the bussiness side i think it would be more interesting than seeing the episode is mostly talk about a love triangle till the end.

But i want to respected all actors/actresess, their acting are amazing, they deliver the emotions very well. The cinematography too, i love the color grading they use. and last the osts are beautiful! especially day & night and one day, it just suits with the cinematography mood.

I edited this after startup ends.
In twitter a lot of people missunderstanding about "sailing without the map is marvelous", they said its okay to do that in business things because in the end many of poeple still get the goals (as you can see on the ending), this drama's romanticizing it so much, but in real life it is 1 out of 10000000 people who can suffer with that sailing without the map, there's will no business consultant/analyst if sailing without the map is good enough.

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Very predictable. Drama can be done in 10 episodes but it keeps going in circle

The first few episodes kept me going. But as you keep watching, it’s as though the writer ran out of ideas. Predictable who the female lead will end up with but for the sake of dragging the drama to 16 episodes, they break up, get confused and when the other party wants to patch up, it’s another party’s turn to get confused. Very typical and predictable. What kept me watching was Han Ji Pyeong’s character. He would be an amazing lead, but sad to see that he’s always the one cleaning up shit made by the other two. The relationship between him and grandmother is very heartwarming and their scenes are my favourite.

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Chemistry between Bae Suzy and Nam Joo hyuk is just amazing

One of the best Kdrama in 2020. Just finished watching this Kdrama and I've really loved this series from the start to the end. Not only for its cast members but the simple story itself. I don't know why others are bashing this series but I believe that Start-Up is a must see drama. And who says that NJH & BS have no chemistry as Nam Do San & Seo Dal-mi? You can see their emotions in their eyes. Both are good actor and actress. All characters have contributed and certainly clarifies the significance of each to one another. Congratulations to all the Cast of Start-up, you deserve the high ratings. Hope to have more kdrama like this soon.. Amazing job done by Nam Joo Hyuk Suzy and all actors.

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Likely won't be my favorite drama, but has aspects that I like

I feel like I am a bit in the minority here, but I am decently enjoying Start-Up. Let me list all the things I dislike first to get them out of the way, before I explain why I actually enjoy and look forward to watching this drama every week.

Yes, I think that the love triangle has been dragged on too long. There are other character that have so much potential to be explored, instead of the love triangle being the focus. (For example, I see Won Injae's story having much potential to be explored, as well as character development for Seo Dalmi's mom since it's gotten slightly annoying that she is always being presented as helpless, constantly sorry, and lowkey useless.) Yes, I also think that it is a bit unreasonable and unrealistic that Dalmi could forgive Nam Dosan (and Han Jipyeong) so easily when the letters were such a significant part of her life. At the end of the day, though, this is a kdrama after all so it's still within the bounds of an Unrealistic Kdrama World for me lol.

BUT, here is what I do like about the drama. While I can see why some people would call Dosan childish or annoying, I actually relate to him on many aspects. I relate to how Dosan tried so hard in the beginning and kept failing because sometimes, people won't make it no matter how passionate they are about something. It seemed to me that he was feeling something like imposter syndrome due to his glamorous achievements (being the youngest math olympiad winner and going to college so early). I totally understand what imposter syndrome feels like, so I don't think he was being whiny. I also both relate to and admire Dalmi. Dalmi was portrayed as someone who wasn't very competent in the beginning as she didn't have a long list of achievements nor a high rank in a large company. However, her determination and fire to succeed is clear from the beginning, which I feel is admirable so I like how strong her character is being portrayed. Lastly, I think that Dosan and Dalmi make a cute couple (although maybe I am biased since I liked Suzy and Nam Joohyuk before this drama haha).

Regarding the casting, it was unexpectedly good in my opinion. Honestly, I was not a huge fan of Suzy's acting (although I am a fan of her, as a person) before this, but I think she did an amazing job. I can't imagine Seo Dalmi as someone else other than Suzy. I liked Nam Joohyuk before I watched this drama since I've watched a few of his better dramas before (though he was far from being my favorite actor), but the quality of his acting here was also better than I expected. Kim Seonho was the only one who I had never watched a drama of before, although I have seen him in 1N2D before. I completely understand why people are falling for him haha.

The line-up for the OSTs were impressive. I was surprised at every name, since they are all big names in their own way and I was/am anticipating every release. I think that the OSTs were also well suited to the drama, like how Gaho's OST makes me want to go and start my own start-up (despite the fact that I am science student) or how Kim Feel's OST has me reflecting on old memories.

Final note regarding some other aspects of the drama: I think that it was shot beautifully as there were many scenes with pretty backgrounds and nice shot composition. There have also been moments that I laughed at and found funny, so it's enjoyable to watch. Suzy, Nam Joohyuk, and Kim Seonho also look good in every scene (even when they're crying), which is unsurprising but impressive :")

Overall, I can understand some of the criticisms towards the plot and the characters, but personally I think it had enough redeeming factors for me to rate it an 8 out of 10 (as of ep 13, at least). I started watching this drama because I was looking to relieve stress by watching something rather light hearted and romantic, which I think I've found in Start-Up, so I am decently satisfied.

Edit: I just finished the last episode and overall, Start Up was a drama I enjoyed! Less unnecessary romantic conflict and more sweet Seo Dalmi and Nam Dosan scenes would've been nice and there were some cliche scenes in the last few episodes that I wasn't the biggest fan of. However, all the story lines were wrapped up nicely and it was clear to me how each character grew so much, which was nice to see. The ending was honestly quite motivating, seeing how far Samsan Tech and Dalmi got. Some of my friends felt that the business/start up aspect was basically a subplot and wished there was more on those aspects. But as someone has no knowledge (nor deep interest :")) on businesses/start ups, I felt that the plot was quite sufficient in conveying the goals and passions of the characters, along with the various challenges they had to go through. Anyways, to finish up this overly long review, I'm glad I watched this drama as it ended up being quite sweet and motivating, and was something that got me through most of my semester at school haha

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your writing can KILL everyone

Y'all need to remember

everyone has their own type, hopefully all the bad reviews you write are not just carried away by the visuals of the characters, even though the visuals are actually your main attraction.
but for us viewers who have really been in their position in terms of storytelling, this drama is very meaningful to us, and I strongly disagree with your review which gives a value of 1.0 point,
remember if you have been carried away with this story and drama, means that the author has got 5-7 points for them.
I really understand where the story is going, episode by episode, the meaning of the meaning, the good message about the meaning of a truth family in this drama.

Besides the love affairs of the 3 people, other values ​​matter more, not just the love story of the 3 main players.

Please show your respect, and stop making the chances of someone getting killed. learn to be mature.

do not mess up other people's work, but start to tidy up ourselves, take the good and make the lessons that are not according to your expectations.

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Not as bad as they say! DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM

I'm actually very dumbfounded by the amount of low reviews on here. Though the show had its faults, i don't think the show warranted any 1/10 reviews. I would describe it as a perfect escapist drama, with no complicated storylines or characters- not much thought is required to watch this, something i personally appreciated. With loveable characters (HAN JI PYEONG), amazing cinematography and good storyline, you cannot go wrong. I would definitely recommend this.

However, there were times i was actually very much frustrated. With one entire episode dedicated to HAN JI PYEONG i was resolute that he'd be the main lead. He's charming, charismatic, smart, and self-less (i could go on), so imagine my dismay when he ends up as the second lead and given the short end of the stick - he certainly deserved better.

I know MANY viewers (including myself) wanted him to get the girl at end- and this is was probably what justified their 1* reviews, but after watching the finale, i've come to a realisation that HJP didn't truly love her. As you probably recall, he mentioned how he never searched for SDM in the 15 years of sending letters to each other, so after finally reuniting with her and granny, he was no longer alone. HJP was a somewhat hero to SDM, running to her aid anytime anything went wrong, he was finally wanted and needed and ¿maybe? latched onto that and confused it with love? In the finale, he understood that SDM can fight her own battles and he wasn't needed as a hero. And though he may not have gotten the girl at the end, he got a new family and friends, which is what he TRULY deserved.

If you're thinking of watching this drama, GO FOR IT. Don't let the bad reviews sway you. WATCH IT.

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I have a lot of things to say.

First of all, I did check some other reviews and I was not.. satisfied. So I'm here to give my somewhat unpopular thoughts. Please read until the end. I have two major points:

1. Some of y'all 'bout to be real mad at me but it must be said... HAN JI-PYEONG WASN'T THAT AMAZING, GUYS.
Don't cancel me, listen out. I'm not saying he was bad or anything, to me, he was just average. I never wanted him to end up with Dal-mi because there was no chemistry between them. I'm sorry, but letters written by teenagers aren't any proof of love. Leaving that aside, I never liked his attitude. This is just a personal preference, though. He developed in that aspect a little by the final episodes, but just a little. I don't feel anything for characters that treat everyone super poorly and then complain that no one actually cares deeply for them. Yes, he was being a good boss, I know. Still, no one has an obligation to ''love'' him when he doesn't show any emotion.
PS: This trope in dramas of waiting for your first love for years blah blah isn't doing it anymore. Ji-pyeong should have tried banging someone else instead of simping over the girl that has been in love with another guy FOR LIKE THREE YEARS. Lmao. This brings me to my next point:

2. DAL-MI DESERVED BETTER. Her character was overshadowed by this terrible ''love triangle''. It's not her fault that she doesn't like Ji-pyeong. She shouldn't be guilt-tripped into dating someone she's not interested in.
Her as an individual was ignored by most watchers just because they were angry that Ji-pyeong was not getting the girl. Dal-mi is a great character (leaving romance aside), her perseverance and ambition yet humbleness was amazing, everything she did was to help her grandmother live a better life [NoonGil] and to prevent others of going through what her father went through [Tarzan]. Even though at the beginning of the show she said that all she wanted was to be better than her sister, we know she changed her mind and actually tried to amend her relationship with the family members that basically abandoned her when she was a child. That is character development, period, no arguments against this.
I just wish people paid more attention to her character and not the relationships she pursued.

So those were my two biggest thoughts. Other things that I can say include..:

a) Do-san was cute. I loved/hated his character half of the show; but I knew him and Dal-mi would be perfect together, I'm glad to see they even got married and are now living their lives next to each other.
IT'S JUST COUPLE GOALS, Mr. and Ms. empowered CEOs.

b) Chul-san and Sa-ha are mad cute as well! Also, I love the fact that even though Sa-ha speaks English a couple times throughout the show, they didn't revolve her character around that. I've seen Stephanie Lee (the actress portraying Sa-ha) in other dramas and they always put her as the Korean-American girl that says cool quotes in English 24/7, it's just so weird lol.

c) What happened to the revenge plotline of Yong-san, tho.. maybe I didn't pay attention to this arc being resolved.

Overall, and enjoyable show that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
8.5/10

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IGNORE THE BASHERS, START-UP IS A GOOD ONE

I truly don't agree to those saying Start-Up is a bad kdrama. (Yes it may not be that perfect but that doesn't necessarily mean that it is a bad one either) From the fact that it is very inspiring and has realistic story, much to learn esp. for the Youth. Plus their fresh concept about Start up/Sandbox. Find it unfair that they are disliking start up just because they ship didn't sail (dalmi&jipyeong) gosh how bias so sad. When you rate a drama, you must be as objective as possible, you musn't rate it for the fact that your favorite actor is there alone. Though im not discrediting any of the characters, im just saying that sadly they failed to notice the message of start up just because they are too focused with the love triangle only sad.

Nevertheless, aside from its romance i think this kdrama is about dreams turning it into reality, from being a nobody into someone who is successful, lots of struggles making start up business/what their family/society is saying about them in the pursuit towards to their dreams, making mistakes and learning from it and technology in the world of todays/pros and cons of it in the society.

And one thing I really love in this drama is there's so much to learn not just about in career but also about in life. Truly one can apply those lines/lessons in life to be a better version of oneself, salute! As well the fact that Dalmi's cute family is so heartwarming!! Love their ost too!!

Suzy and Nam Joo Hyuk chemistry is overflowing! As for Jipyeong and Nam Dosan, i think they both have justifiable characters which makes more this drama loveable/confusing on who to ship with. But then, in earlier eps of start up i already thought/saw the hints why nam do san is the main lead/deserve for dalmi's love. Thus thanks to start up for finally taking different route in the Kdrama tropes (your childhood/1st love will be your last) because lots of kdrama had already done it so im tired with that trope. Again, thank you to all the casts and crew for making this kdrama inspire us in each and every possible way ❤❤❤

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Fuck them love triangles!

StartUp was supposedly my very first K-drama and not gonna lie I went in with very low expectations if none at all, so when I started tearing up within five minutes of the very first episode, not exaggerating, I was taken aback by acute surprise. The thing felt more like a tragic film rather than an opening for a series. Needless to say, I was hooked for more of this emotional depth the plot was trying to deliver. Be it the depressing family arc of the FL or the saddening, lonely, orphaned life of the ML.
Also the entire concept of Sandbox and incorporation of AI into the drama felt almost like cherry on the top. Everything was going perfect except for the fact that the ML (at least I assumed him to be so) wasn't exactly the ML but a SL? I was then informed that quite often in K-dramas the absolutely flawless, charming guys (for no fault of their own) end up only as pining, one sided lovers and nothing else. I hoped that this show won't befall this tragedy on my beloved Han Ji Pyeong (wasn't his life tragic enough already?!)
Turns out there's a terminology for it, so here I am petitioning for second lead syndrome to be included as a real psychological disorder cause boy, does that shit hurts!

While the series lost its grip on me after the tenth episode with its unnecessarily stretched love triangle, unwanted time leaps, unjustified fast paced character development of the "ML" and exploitation of supporting characters for the mere benefit of the leads, it was the hope of a happy ending for Han Ji Pyeong that kept me from dropping this drama altogether.

In conclusion, watch this one for Kim Seon Ho and his gorgeously heartbreaking chemistry with everyone on this show and well, that's about it.

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A refresing and beautiful story to watch

If you are looking for a heartwarming beautiful story About youth spirit, family, and friendship then this drama should be in your list to watch.

This drama absolutely wins for the cinematography and soundtrack. Almost all the scenes were shot beautifully. The writer really did a good research before making the storyline, every episode tells you about the terms in start-up business and reflects it implicitly in the story.

The casts surely serve you with good visual and great acting skills. They potrayed every character so well.
You should mature and objective enough to understand the value of the story and the story that every character try to deliver. Don't let fanwar ruin your experience of watching it.

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