The Tech focused Kdrama, Start-Up, features Bae Suzy (While You Were Sleeping) as Seo Dal-mi, a young woman who hopes to follow in her late-father’s footsteps and become an entrepreneur. To do this, she applies to Sandbox, a place where fledging start-ups are given a chance to realize their dreams. Dal-mi’s estranged sister, Won In-jae (Kang Han-na), is a top executive in her stepfather’s company. She has her own reasons for wanting a chance to prove herself at Sandbox.
When Dal-mi and In-jae meet after years apart, Dal-mi boasts that she is in business with her boyfriend Nam Do-san. In reality, she has never met Do-san, a boy she exchanged letters with as a young girl. To save face in front of In-jae, she needs to find the real Do-san, her first love, and convince him to pose as her successful boyfriend. What Dal-mi doesn’t realize is that pen-pal Nam Do-san is a fiction. Wanting to help Dal-mi cope with her father’s death, her grandmother Won-deok (Kim Hae-sook) enlisted young financial wiz, Han Ji-pyeong, a boy newly released from an orphanage, to write the letters. The two chose the name, Nam Do-san, from a newspaper article about a boy who won a math competition.
Years later, when Dal-mi is desperately searching for Nam Do-san, Won-doek asks Ji-pyeon (Hometown Cha Cha Cha’s Kim Seon-ho), now a crack investor, to help find the boy from the paper. In the meantime, the real Nam Do-san (Nam Joo-hyuk of Vigilante), a math and computer genius, is trying to get his fledging tech company off the ground when Ji-pyeong finds him. Do-san has a dream of his own – to get into Sandbox.
- Series Title: Start-Up (Korean: 스타트업)
- Starring: Bae Suzy, Nam Joo-hyuk, Kim Seon-ho and Kang Han-na
- Written by: Park Hye-ryun
- Directed by: Oh Chung-hwan
- Network: tvN
- Where to watch in the US: Netflix
- Premier Date: October 17, 2020
- # of episodes: 16
- KafeNook Rating: 4.7 sips
Start-up — !! Spoilers Ahead!!
I was excited to write my review on Start-Up, thinking that I would geek out and talk about the cool technology portrayed in the drama. Given my software engineering background, I planned out headings related to software terms and tried to fit what I wanted to say in those headings. When I finished the review, I hated it. It took me a little while to figure out why.
Start-Up definitely provides a fascinating look into the world of start-up companies where entrepreneurs grow their innovated products and services while competing for investors. But that is not why I like the show. I like it because of the relationships portrayed in the drama. The world of Start-Up is the framework for these relationships.
There is one software term that conveys my thoughts about Start-Up. It’s the concept of threads. From a computer perspective, threads allow processes to share resources and allow for easier scheduling for an operation system. The analogy is borrowed from textile industry where a single thread comes together with other threads to form thicker, stronger fabric. Start-Up is filled with threads, each with its own purpose, that come together to create something stronger.
Threads of the Seo Sisters
Like threads in fabric, Dal-mi and In-jae’s lives connect and intertwine throughout the drama. Dal-mi’s choice to live with their father after her parent’s divorce sets her on a different path from sister, In-jae, who moved to America with their mother and wealthy new stepfather. This choice defines the sister’s relationship for years to come.
With the tragic death of Dal-mi’s father (I saw it coming but – wow – so hard to watch), Dal-mi’s life is changed forever. It’s the letters she shares with her pen pal, Do-san, that keep her going during that difficult time. When she sees In-jae again after years apart, Dal-mi has quit her contract job and is ready to strike out on her own. She hates the thought that her sister is more successful than she is. To her, this means she made the wrong decision to stay with their father, rather than go live with their mother. Dal-mi sees getting into Sandbox as her way of honoring her father’s vision and spirit.
In-jae, having led a life of privilege, wants to prove she can be successful without the help of her stepfather. But she is not above getting into Sandbox by stealing Dal-mi’s “sand under the swing” story – the very story that triggered the creation of Sandbox. From the moment the two sisters are designated as CEOs in Sandbox they compete for everything – developers for their teams, investors, contracts, and the top prize. Interestingly, the competition makes them each stronger.
It’s Dal-mi who first realizes that her best chance of living out her dream is to join In-jae’s company. In-jae, meanwhile, recognizes Dal-mi could be just the person her company needs. Unlike the choice they made as children that drove them apart, this choice gives them the opportunity to support and trust each other. By the end of the drama, they are true Seo sisters once again. Their father would be proud.
A Tangled Love Triangle
The threads of love in Start-Up become complicated quickly. Given that Ji-pyeong is the one who wrote the letters to Dal-mi, I believed he would be Dal-mi’s main love interest. After all, if Kdramas were computer programs, a lot of them would call Subroutine Love Triangle. In Subroutine Love Triangle, the childhood friend is the one who gets the girl. Start-Up calls the variant of Subroutine Love Triangle, called Subroutine Mess with Your Head.
Ji-pyeong starts out in the lead, jumping into action to help Dal-mi. (Go team Good Boy!) He arrives like a knight in white armor (or a white suit) to save Dal-mi in front of her sister, only to have dark horse Do-san (looking like he stepped out of a GQ spread) swoop in instead. Ji-pyeong doesn’t want anything to do with Samsan tech, a company he sees as a bad investment that could ruin his perfect record of choosing successful start-ups. But when Dal-mi becomes part of Samsan Tech, he jumps in to help her.
Sadly, it takes Ji-pyeong some time to realize his feelings for Dal-mi. When he does, even I realize it’s too late. He had his chances with Dal-mi. He is the one who tells her he had 15 years to look for her and didn’t act while Do-san read her letters and looked for her the next day. Ji-pyeong and Dal-mi’s “love” is based on the letters to each other in their youth. Dal-mi never sees the man she knows as Ji-pyeong as a love interest – only as a mentor. Ji-pyeong had plenty of opportunities to get close to Dal-mi including the three years while Do-san is in America. Even the second male-lead, Han Seo-jun in True Beauty, gave it a shot at getting close female lead, Lim Ju-kyung, while Lee Su-ho was in America!
Thread of Love Between Dal-mi and Do-san
This brings me to Do-san. It took a while, but he definitely grew on me. The big hurtle to Dal-mi and Do-san’s relationship is that she idealizes pen-pal Do-san. When Dal-mi meets the real Do-san, she automatically places those expectations on him. But Do-san wants Dal-mi to like him for who he is – not as the Do-san she knew from her letters. The fact that penpal Do-san is Ji-pyeong, the man Do-san both hates and admires, makes things worse. Do-san thinks of the lie like a bug in a computer program, one that will be uncovered and cause bad things to happen.
Dal-mi and Do-san grow closer, putting their trust in each other, until everything comes crashing down the moment Dal-mi discovers it wasn’t Do-san but Ji-pyeong who wrote the letters. Heartbreak abounds (including mine) as Dal-mi confronts both Ji-pyeong and Do-san about their deception. While Ji-pyeong is clearly upset, and Dal-mi is confused and embarrassed, it’s Do-san who is truly devasted. He believes he has lost Dal-mi forever.
At this point, I realize how much Do-san loves Dal-mi and it’s only a matter of time before he will win Dal-mi’s heart. It doesn’t take long to play out. Dal-mi breaks up with Do-san so that he can follow his dream to go to Silicon Valley. Having realized that she loves him, she doesn’t want to be the one to hold him back. Heartbroken Do-san, believes he has lost the women he loves forever. I would probably cry more here if I weren’t convinced they will end up together. Fortunately, the ransomware attack provides Do-san a chance to show Dal-mi that she can count on him and gives them the opportunity to reconnect their individual threads.
Bond of Good Boy and Grandma Seo
Where does all this leave Ji-pyeong? Grandma Choi Won-deok calls Ji-pyeong, “Good Boy” for a reason. He has nowhere to go when she offers him shelter and food after he left the orphanage. Won-deok sees the good in him from the beginning, even if he doesn’t see it in himself and showers him with unconditional love. Like a moth drawn to a flame, he basks in that love even as he chafes against it.
Because of his gratitude toward her, Ji-pyeong reluctantly agrees to write letters to Won-deok’s granddaughter, Dal-mi. It may also be because he feels guilty of taking advantage of Won-deok by putting his money into the bank account he helped her open. When his money disappears, he accuses Won-deok of taking it. He’s shocked when she hands it all to him, saying she would never take his money. Before he leaves, she tells him to only contact her in the future if he is in trouble or not doing well.
When Dal-mi decides to find Do-san, Won-deok reluctantly asks her “Good Boy” Ji-pyeong for help. Ji-pyeong is eager to do so, even though, deep down, he recognizes he can never truly pay her back for her kindness. Heartbreak and heartache fill their conversations. Ji-pyeong confesses he has feelings for Dal-mi, only for Won-deok to tell him not to act on those feelings. Upset at her words, he leaves in the rain, but she stops him and gives him an umbrella. Later, when Ji-pyeong learns of Won-deok’s failing eyesight, he tearfully asks what he can do for her. She consoles him instead.
After Ji-pyeong lets go of his feelings for Dal-mi, he meets with Won-deok who goes back on what she told him when he was younger. She doesn’t want him to only contact her when things are difficult. She wants to hear from him when he is happy too. Ji-pyeon still wants to pay her back but she tells him the best way to do that is to pay it forward. Sigh. Love them!
Random Things I Liked
The journey made by mother, Ah-hyun (Song Seon-mi). She leaves the life provided by her successful husband and finds her way back to the Seo home. There she overcomes her Won-doek’s reservations to become the companion that her former mother-in-law needs as her eyesight fails.
The way Start-Up is filled with creative applications and challenges – stuff like the handwriting recognition challenge pitting Samsan Tech’s forgery spotting software against the handwriting-based font developed by In-jae’s team. Or the app for the visually impaired that Do-san dreams up when he learns that Dal-mi’s grandmother is losing her sight. It’s also fun to see Samsan Tech win the overall competition when their visual recognition app successfully runs on a single board computer. Knowing what I do about modern-day software, that is quite a feat!
The unwavering friendship and loyalty between Nam Do-san, Lee Chul-san (Yoo Su-bin) and Kim Yong-san (Kim Do-wan) – or the three “sans”. They have a great dynamic throughout the drama where scene after scene they show how much they care for and trust each other. It takes little prompting by Do-san to recruit his friends into saving Dal-mi’s company from the ransomware attack**. Then, the three of them unanimously decide to stay in Korea while at the same time, they separately conclude their best option for the future is to join Dal-mi’s new company. How many people can say they have friends like that?
**A sidenote about the ransomware attack. The Kdrama lover in me appreciates the suspense created by the attack. It shows Dal-mi that Do-san is still there for her even after she rejected him three years earlier. The software engineer in me had to suspend my belief. Given that multiple developers are working on the app at the same time, it would be under version control. And -every version control tool I’m familiar with is backed up. Maybe those twin developers weren’t just untrustworthy but also incompetent. Fortunately, Do-san says later that they have put the software under version control. Phew!
Start-Up Ending
Things end well in Start-Up. Sisters Dal-mi and In-jae enjoy a repaired relationship and are successfully working together. Do-san and his friends from Samsan tech join Dal-mi’s company and together bid on an autonomous driving project. Do-san says if they win it, he will propose. Ji-pyeon decides to support a charitable start-up, one that pairs older orphans with adult mentors. It’s a perfect fit for him and a great way to pay Won-deok’s kindness forward. Ji-pyeon confesses to Do-san that he actually wants to invest in their company now. Do-san surprisingly agrees because, this time – Ji-pyeon’s support doesn’t seem like charity. The final scenes show married Do-san and Dal-mi working together at her company with In-jae and Ji-pyeon as key shareholders. They all seem happy.
But I still wonder about Ji-pyeong. Now that he is over Dal-mi, is there someone for him? There is that moment in the last episode where In-Jae and Ji-pyeong are talking about the reporter visiting Dal-mi’s company and In-jae looks at Ji-pyeong with interest. Could there be a future for the two of them? As joint shareholders, they will see each other a lot. Maybe In-jae is the Seo sister for him – someone who can challenge him in a way Dal-mi never could. Bonus- he would become part of Won-deok’s family in truth! I’ll pretend that’s what happens in the future. Or – I can go re-watch Hometown Cha Cha Cha to see Kim Seon-ho’s happy ending in that show.
Start-Up Soundtrack
The Start-Up original soundtrack is outstanding and can join the ranks of other stellar soundtracks such as Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, Crash Landing on You, and It’s Okay to not be Okay. It contains catchy toons, love ballads, traveling songs, and quiet melodies. My favorites include the main theme song Running sung by Gaho and Ailee’s magical Blue Bird. I also like Kim Feel singing One Day, My Love by Davichi, Jung Seung-hwan’s ballad Day & Night, and Love Me Like You Used to sung by Kassy. Not to mention My Dear Love with vocals by Bae Suzy.
