Start-Up

Synopsis:

Seo Dal-Mi was very close to her family but when she lost her family and her grandmother, Choi Won-Deok, was the only one left, she was quite devastated. Her grandmother loved her so much that she contracted Han Ji-Pyeong to write her letters and pretend to be a secret admirer. Han Ji-Pyeong is an orphan and a lost boy but a very smart one given shelter by Choi Won-Deok. Out of his affection for Choi Won-Deok, he agreed to do so and used the name of the boy he saw on TV and newspaper who won an award from Mathematics, Nam Do-San. Seo Dal-Mi formed a bond with the letters she received from Han Ji-Pyeong until it stop coming when Han Ji-Pyeong left to pursue his dream. Seo Dal-Mi never forgot her 1st love and several years later out of twist of fate, Han Ji-Pyeong met again Choi Won-Deok and out of gratitude to all she has done for him, he agreed to find Nam Do-San for Seo Dal-Mi which he did. He was forced to hire Nam Do-San to be with Seo Dal-Mi for one crucial night that’s important for Seo Dal-Mi to have a supposedly successful Nam Do-San with her pretending to be her beau. Nam Do-San refused but finally did do it when he saw Seo Dal-Mi. With that crucial evening, their lives have changed especially when everything about who they truly are got discovered when they participated in joining the search of Sandbox, a successful and innovative Tech Company and investor, to find viable start-up companies.

Characters:

Bae Suzy as Seo Dal Mi
Nam Joo Hyuk as Nam Do San
Kim Sun Ho as Han Ji-Pyeong
Kang Han Na as Won In Jae
Heo Jung Eun as Younger Dal Mi
Kim Kang Hoon as Younger Do San
Nam Da Reum as Younge Ji Pyung
Lee Re as Younger In Jae
Kim Hae Sook as Choi Won Duk
Kim Joo Hun as Seo Chung Myung
Kim Hee Jung as Park Geum Jung
Kim Won Hae as Nam Sung Hwan
Jung Se Hyun as Nam Chun Ho
Hong Boo Hyang as Chun Ho’s Mother
Yoo Seung Il as Chun Ho’s Father
Kim Do Wan as Kim Yong San
Yoo Soo Bin as Lee Chul San
Seo Yi Sook as Yoon Sun Hak
Kim Min Suk as Park Dong Chun
Song Sun Mi as Cha Ah Hyun
Uhm Hyo Sup as Won Doo Jung
Moon Dong Hyuk as Won Sang Soo
Lee Min Ryung as Yi Soo
Song Ho Soo as Lee Dae Myung
Stephanie Lee as Jung Sa Ha
Jasper Cho as Alex Kwon
Yeo Jin Goo as AI Jang Young Shil
Joo Bo Young as Shin Jung
Kang Yoo Suk as Shin Hyun
Park Choong Sun as Il Cheung Construction & Trading Manager on Episode 1
Park Young Soo as Real Estate Agent on Episode 1
Yoo Mi Ran as Real Estate Agent on Episode 1
Ahn Soo Bin as Lee Min Ji on Episode 1
Ji Sung Geun as Bus Passenger on Episode 1
Yoon Sul as Hotel Waitress on Episode 2
Kim Ji In as Seo Hyun on Episode 2-3
Jo Ah Ra as Assistant Manager Jungon Episode 2-3
Yoon Seo Hyun as Human Resources Manager on Episode 2-3
Bae Bo Ram as Barista on Episode 2
Jung Ji Hyun as Barista on Episode 2
Kwon Ki Joo as Deliveryman on Episode 3
Ko Seung Joon as Won In Jae’s Developer on Episode 4
Ko Han Min as Ko Eun Hyun on Episode 4
Kwon Ban Suk as Investor on Episode 4
Kim Jin Ah as Hackathon CEO on Episode 5
Jang Young Hyun as Hackathon CEO on Episode 5
Im Sung Mi as Blind Woman on Episode 8
Koo Bon Jin as Police Detective on Episode 8
Moon Se Yoon as Security Guard on Episode 7
Bae Hae Sun as Lee Hye Won on Episode 8
Park Chan Ho as Himself on Episode 8
Lee Bo Young as Pseudo-Religion Missionary on Episode 10

My Review:

I was kinda hesitant to watch this K-Drama because although I like Nam Joo-Hyuk as a Korean drama actor, the last K-Drama I watched him perform, “The Bride of Habaek” was such a disaster that I prefer not to repeat wasting my time to another K-Drama like that again. Moreover, I was worried that it’s going to be another Corporate and work office K-Drama that generally hit or miss if it’s going to be good. However, Bae Suzy is also on this, so, I decided to try and watch the 1st episode and told myself that if it sucks like Jin Chang-Wook’s Backstreet Rookie who even have Kim You-Jung as the lead actress, then, I can just move on. To my great surprise this K-Drama is not only that great but it was also very educational especially as I am on the same boat doing a start-up business.

So, What do I Like About this K-Drama?

(1) I simply love both the two leading men here, Nam Joo-Hyun as Nam Do-San and Kim Sun-Ho as Han Ji-Pyeong. How I wish I’m truly Seo Dal-Mi and have 2 great men loving me that way. Not only that the actors look so yummy and easy on the eyes to look at but they can act as well. I also love the characters they play and suited well for them to play those roles. It is the first time I had a hard time choosing which men that I’ll be happy for the leading woman should end up with. Although, it is predictable who it will be but Kim Sun-Ho as Han Ji-Pyeong is such a catch as well. Both characters are such good men even with their flaws and weaknesses. It was such a delight to watch them both on the small screen for all the 16 episodes.

(2) Bae Suzy is becoming a great actress. Every K-Drama I watched her on it, she becomes better and better. It is not anymore about her looking beautiful and to be swoon over but more of her delivering her roles and be believable. I love the way she portrayed the role of Seo Dal-Mi, expressing both her quiet strength and her vulnerability at the same time. Kudos to her, she has done excellent acting on this K-Drama.

(3) What I love about K-Drama production is that it learns how to evolve and become better. Before you can hardly see peck on the cheek let alone a kiss, so, it is very surprising when I saw the passionate kiss between Bae Suzy and Nam Joo-Hyun and even taken in a close tight shot. The girl in me just swoon in glee of how beautiful that scene was and the exchange of dialogue between the 2 characters leading to that kiss. It reminded me of Tom Cruise saying “You complete me” to Renée Zellweger in Jerry Maguire, it was simply perfect.

(4) I love that I get to learn nugget of lessons about start-up business on this K-Drama especially since I’m starting up one. Although, I’m not a total novice in business, this is the first time I’m doing it totally on my own without a crutch to lean on and during difficult time no less. Thus, the titles of the episodes and the advices given by Han Ji-Pyeong to Seo Dal-Mi about start-up business including some scenes from other characters were such a valuable take away fro me from this K-Drama.

(5) The casts are so great but the one that stood out for me is Kim Hae-Sook as Choi Won-Deok. I wish I have that kind of grandmother in my life or I could be like her as a person. Her capacity to love and the generosity of her spirit is something very hard to find now in people.

What I do Not Like About this K-Drama?

I honestly love this K-Drama and can’t find any fault in it from start to finish. This is the first K-Drama since Descendants of the Sun that I finally got the quality of why I love romcoms. It gives me such guilty pleasure to escape from my own reality and waste 16 hours of my life watching it.

Would I recommend this K-Drama? Yes, definitely.

My Rating to this Drama
( See My Rating System: ) 5/5

OST:

01. Future – Red Velvet

02. Day & Night – Jung Seung Hwan
03. One Day – Kim Feel
04. I Know – Seunghee, Jiho, Binnie of Oh My Girl
05. Running – Gaho
06. Where Is Dream – 10cm
07. My Love – Davichi
08. Even For A Moment – CHEEZE
09. Blue Bird – Ailee
10. Lonesome Diary – San Deul
11. Two Words – Wendy
12. Love Letter – Bolbbalgan4
13. Dream – JAMIE
14. My Dear Love – Bae Suzy
15. Love Me Like You Used To – Kassy

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