start up

probably this is the latest korean drama hype at the end of 2020. among other dramas that aired around the same time, this is the one that people talked about mostly. no wonder because this drama paired nam joo hyuk and bae suzy. both were well loved by korean drama lover, so no wonder many people excited about their drama together. i'm not the kind of person that watch on going drama, so i waited until it was about to finish before starting watching it. and by that time, people were already talking about the second lead in this drama, that outshined nam joo hyuk. so let's see about it. 

title: start up

cast: nam joo hyuk, bae suzy, kang han na, kim seon ho

genre: youth life drama, romantic

it started with seo family. daddy seo/ seo cheung myong (kim joo hun) was an mere employee most of his life, and he decided it was time for him to start his own business. back then, starting up a company was not easy. he didn't have any money, he didn't have any connection, so he went here and there to start up his business. and mommy seo/ cha a hyun (song seon mi) didn't approve of his plan as she thought they would be starving without steady income. so she filed for divorce. leaving both seo sister to choose, whom they want to live with, their father or their mother. seo in jae (later changed into won in jae) chose to live with their mother, thus leading an easy life as their mother remarried with successful businessman and they got to live in the US for 10 years. while seo dal mi, the younger one, decided to stay with their father. 

unfortunately, when daddy seo managed to secure an investment, he got into accident and later passed away without having the chance to tell her daughters about his achievement. before dad managed to secure the investment, dal mi became lonely since her sister moved to the US and she got no friend. that makes grandma seo/choi won deok (kim hae sook) wanted to give dal mi a friend to cheer her. at that time, grandma just helped young han ji pyeong (kim seon ho), an orphan that has nowhere to stay, and only had a small amount of money. he couldn't open a bank account because he was still a minor, but he was considered a young adult so he couldn't stay in the orphanage anymore. grandma seo opened her store for ji pyeong to stay at night, so he could keep going to school. so, grandma seo asked ji pyeong to write a letter for dal mi, and soon enough, it did cheer dal mi up, and both ended up writing back and forth for awhile. but ji pyeong wrote the letter as nam do san, whose name he found in the newspaper, not as himself. ji pyeong also helped grandma seo opened up a bank account, but without telling her, he used grandma seo's account to buy stocks and since he's an investment genius, he doubled his money in short amount of time.

at that time, daddy seo was short in money, so grandma seo took out her money from the bank, emptied the account. while ji pyeong tried to rent an apartment but shocked when he found out that the bank account was empty. he thought grandma had taken his money to give to daddy seo and stormed out. he moved out to seoul for college, but luckily, grandma could tell him the truth and gave him back his money so he could pay for his college. that leaves ji pyeong heartbroken because he thought that grandma has taken his money. even grandma gave him new shoes before he left.

15 years later, everyone has grown up. in jae was back in korea, managing one of his stepfather's company, morning nature. dal mi is still struggling financially. she didn't go to college, so she struggled to get a steady job. ji pyeong has managed to finish college and joined an investment company, with flying colors in his resume. reality hit in jae as his stepfather kicked her out of her company and handed it out to her stepbrother. she decided to join sandbox. dal mi, also left her job because she was going to be hired as contract worker forever because of her education background, so decided to start her own business, dreaming she could be the next steve jobs. while do san (dal mi was looking for do san, so grandma asked ji pyeong to find him and ji pyeong managed to find the real do san just in time to meet dal mi) was a genius in computer engineering but he failed in business managing, so he decided to get investment by joining sandbox. but joining sandbox means he met dal mi and dal mi found out he wasn't a hot shot CEO, but just a mere nerd with the same dream as dal mi. ji pyeong, realized that he has feeling for dal mi, couldn't help but helping dal mi and do san's team in hackathon.

both dal mi and her sister managed to secure places in sandbox. but after winning demo day, dal mi and do san has to be separated because their company was disbanded by the investor due to achiring. ji pyeong couldn't help them in time. do san left for US while dal mi joined her sister's company and both grew their business. ji pyeong still popped here and there to help dal mi but he realized that dal mi has feeling for do san. after 3 years, do san and friends got back in korea, and managed to save dal mi just in time. but he was puzzled about dal mi feeling. would dal mi chose do san? or would she chose ji pyeong, the former do san in the letters that she adore? 

what i like:

- good background story about starting up a business and investment. as someone who has no background in business world, watching this series open up my eyes about what needs to be prepared if you're going to open a business. you need more than just money and ideas to launch your start up.

- solid actors. though i have to say that it's a shame that nam joo hyuk being outshined by his second lead, kim seo hun. husband says that the writer intentionally gives the second lead more powerful character while giving nerdy but still adorable character to nam do san/ nam joo hyuk. this leads to entire nation separated into two sides, #teamjipyeong or #teamdosan. 

- family story. though ji pyeong and grandma is not family by blood, but their relationship is adorable. how ji pyeong would go high and low for grandma and how grandma consoled him at the end. and how dal mi and in jae's mom finally realize about being a family. we also see growth in do san's family as well.

- professional business attire but nerdy stuff for the geeks. however, some people were baffling that as someone who didn't have steady job like dal mi, how could she bring dior handbag to in jae's events? but she's their brand ambassador, so it would be weirder if she didn't promote dior.

what i don't like:

- how at the end the writer decided to focus more on dal mi and do san's love story and didn't write more about business side, especially with in jae and ji pyeong being super excellent in their work. i think it's more interesting than watching dal mi and do san finally finding their love each other. i guess everyone could guess whom dal mi would choose at the end. 

- people in power keep doing things that they can do as they like. like in jae's stepfather who kicked her out after in jae successfully bring morning nature into success. and then threatened do san. and also in jae's step-brother tried to sabotage dal mi's self driving project. and not to mention alex from 2STO who disbanded samsan tech.

- why no happy ending for ji pyeong and grandma? the fact that they have to make grandma's blind at the end is so sad. but if grandma wasn't blind, then there won't be noon gil. oh well.. 

rating: 8/10

binge worthy: yes

recommended for: people who like light story about family, a bit about start up business life as well. people who are fans of bae suzy and nam joo hyuk. people who don't mind watching the second lead shines brighter than the main cast.