Start-Up (2020)

start up ended as messed up due to an unwanted forced love triangle...

i wasn't interested in watching this drama when the trailer or the initial episodes came up but gave it a try just to know what is this obsession with the second male lead and why this drama has such a proactive comment section in MDL... this were literally the only reason for me to watch this drama...
from the first episode i got my answer on why everyone is getting obsessed with han ji pyeong... from his background story, his onscreen charm to the acting of both young and adult HJP were spot on... the drama had a really good start and the first 4-5 episodes were well made but then it all went scrambling down... the show couldnt even hold on the first half of the drama...
this was supposed to be a youth motivational drama but we have a male lead who made the female lead his DREAM... wow what a motivation for the youth...
the drama has a lot of loopholes and the female lead's characterization suffers a lot due to an unwanted forced love triangle...
dosan as a character was quite adorable at the beginning but then he literally had no quality that made me root for him after the first 4-5 episodes.... dalmi started off as a very energetic go-getter kind of character but after a while as a viewer you dont get what she likes, who she likes, why she likes, what she wants... the acting of suzy didnt help either... dalmi is just there so that 2 guys can fight over her just because she is the FL...
this drama without a doubt has one of the lousiest written main leads in kdrama history and one of the most well written and well-acted second lead in the kdrama history...
on the business side of the storyline... there isnt much to talk about either but its set in a fantasy world where if the female lead wants to make a flying elephant, the male lead will make a flying elephant...

like i forgot to mention the second female lead the makers also forgot to show her onscreen... she is like an extended cameo... had great potential... she seems like she belongs to the search www drama but sailed without a map and landed up in the world of fluffy startup where business is seen in a rose-tinted glasses... she was supposed to be the younger sister of bae taemi but god messed up and she became the older sister of seo dalmi... poor girl...

what i liked about the drama
1. KIM SEON HO as HAN JI PYEONG... he is such an amazing actor... audience can understand his feelings and emotions even without him uttering a single dialogue... his every single expression was on point and didnt overdo a single scene
2. GRANDMA AND HJP - they share one of the warmest relationships in kdrama world... prepare a box of tisues every time these two share the screen
3. the first 4-5 episodes

what i dont like
1. EVERYTHING ELSE... normally kdramas only have 1 or 2 irritating characters and rest of them will be nice but in startup you will only find 2 or 3 characters that you want to root for and the rest irritating af...


now coming to acting i already talked about how amazing kim seon ho is... kim hana didnt had enough screentime for me to talk about her acting... from whatever she got she did a good job...
nam joo hyuk as dosan was really good in the first 4-5 episodes but after that he acting suffered due to bad writing... its not his fault... the last i saw of him was in the bride of habaek and compared to that he improved drastically but he still dont have great screen presence and can easily get overshadowed by a better actor....
suzy, as dalmi was only good at scenes, where she has to convey her emotions through dialogues... she literally has a blank expression when she has to convey emotions through subtle expressions... she was pretty decent in screens where she has to cry and express her feelings through dialogues... dalmi could have been played by literally any female actor in her late 20s... like dosan, dalmi is also a victim of lousy writing...

the lead couple lacked depth in their love story and we dont even know when,how and why dalmi started liking the real dosan over the dosan from the letters... their chemistry is also flat... i guess if the actors atleast had strong chemistry i would have rooted for them forgetting all the flaws in their characterization...


overall i dont regret watching startup simply because it made me love kim seon ho... it had potential like almost all other kdramas but got ruined by a forceful love traingle and a forcful love story...

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What’s the message?

2. My review after watching it again with my husband

I feel the need to write another review because of new things I have learnt about this drama after countless discussion with my husband who is not as experienced in Korean dramas as I am. Why do I have to emphasize this? Because with my 20 years of experience, I certainly have knowledge and expectations of How a story should go. However, knowledge can be your enemy and the emotions coming from desperate expectations while watching online may have clouded my judgement. I am in no doubt going back on my previous review. It was written for How I felt at that certain moment. I want to clarify new things about Do San and DM characters and relationship.

First, despite my disappoitment with the ending and story development, I never stop to question myself why an experienced writer must do ”dirty” to her main leads up to the point that majority of people did not support them when the drama was on air. I refuse to believe that the main story is that poor after two years of writing. So my husband with his novice experience helped me quite a lot.

His opinion on the drama is that it is not so bad and inspiring in some ways. All the characters are pitiful in their own ways. Dosan as a mainlead in the part before the timeskip is very real. This character If you notice you will meet a lot in your life. Dosan is most of the time struggling internally with his low self-esteem. Because he had suffered it so much before meeting DM, it becomes chronic and somehow hard to treat at the present. If things go well, He’s fine. But If things go wrong, his low self-esteem hits him badly that he loses himself in his violent acts.

He’s always in conflicts, thinking himself as a living buddhda while he is not and having nothing while he has everything. The fact that you feel having nothing while having everything is really pitiful. When he met DM, she was the first one who praised him for who he is. So she becomes everything to him: his trophy, his pride, his love. This explains why in the end the writer must let her to get married to him. Just like the big polls show about 70-80% supported HJP for DM, in real life, this percentage also applies. It is really hard for DS to find someone like DM in his life, someone who does not regret her decision to put love on him. Other girls after seeing his red flags may just leave.

Just like KSH said it would be good if HJP is with DM in the end, But it is better for DS and DM to be together. That is because HJP can live his life well without DM. He can always find someone he loves and loves him. But for a person with low self-esteem like DS, DM is his only chance. Why do I think so? Because we talk about some love stories of our families and friends that we have never understood why. We have a amazing friend who is excellent in everything she does. But her only weakness is in love life. She always chose the bad guy. Her first two loves went bad, But her husband now seems really strange. He may be kind to her, But he has low self-esteem that he is not likable at all. He talks like he knows everything. He went to another country to start a business But failed. He was divorced and didn’t have a house before getting married to her. But because she’s so good, now they can buy a big house together, still he shows his low self-esteem when others around him make him feel threatened. It’S very strange. The last time we met her, she looked tired and trapped in the big house far away from the city. This selfish guy had failed the driving test 4 times. But he forced her to buy a house no where near a bus station. I remember some other stories as well but time is limited.

DS is nicer because he has real talent and he does everything for DM. That is why he could be with her and we should not be feeling sad for JP anymore. All the symbolisms and parallelism may be true. They show DM and JP actually could be together, But the timing was not right. For a girl like DM, she would go with DS until the end, even though we can keep our doubt about whether their marriage will be happy or not. Living with a low self-esteem person may be a challenge.

While the writer gave DS everything in the end despite his questionale behavior? I think after all he is a nice guy. His low self-esteem had not been treated for so long, so he turned out like that. DM came to his life as a medicine and I guess the writer tried to direct our attention to this problem in our society. What if we notice and What if these people are given an opportunity to grow and love?

Of course, her choice for his repeated lying behavior and taking chance of the letter will not sit well with many viewers, even with me after writing this long long review, I sympathized with her choice though. This love story is boring and not fluttering for me. My husband also felt the kiss was too fast and he didn’t feel much, so I guess the feeling we experienced while watching is totally realistic. We may not see it like DS and DM feel.

After all, we believe that the writer must meet this Dosan in real life and she did not try to sugarcoat him at all. In drama, DS is successful and got married to DM, But in real life he may not be successful, given his persistent low self-esteem. Maybe as long as he has DM, she is his dream and esteem. We just need to accept this kind of relationship that totally happens in real life. We may not like it in a drama as it is not exciting, but thinking about everything this way has helped me to get over this drama after one month. Yes, I feel sorry for HJP, But I believe he will be happy after all.

My husband gave this drama 7. He didn’t have issues with DM DS relationship, But he was upset with the writer’s lazy writing when it comes to the technology part of the drama. It was poorly written that he felt insulted as an IT developer at some scenes. How come DS and other developers used Python for everything? The samsan tech guys in the boat, boasting about How successful they have become are so bad in his view. The writer didn’t let them to become respectable people, But guys getting rich by luck and showing off their possessions. She sent very wrong messages to the youth.

For him, DM and DS appeared to be pitiful, But IJ and JP were really pitiful characters. Everyone had to do something for DM and DS. That is why these two did not receive much love from viewers. The writer didn’t let DM to build up her all success but relied on the two men and her sister. Also the timeskip was too unrealistic. It was 2016. She just told DS to go to SF, and she can go there by herself. She had the money and a passport. Why did she have to say goodbye to him? Very poor writing.

1. My review after watching this drama on air

I first would like to thank the writer and director for creating a beautiful character like HJP. I think KSH did a great job portraying this character. I had never watched Suzy and NJH before, but I think they did a fine job, despite their being tired towards the end. The drama was shot beautifully and the music is soothing, but ambiguous.

The story started out great. Everyone seemed to have only good things to say about the first episode. The first four episodes were heartwarming and beautiful. All characters seem to be nice and funny. I thought we would have nice bromance and relationships.

However, things started to get worse, after DS realized that DM still liked the DS in the letters too much and JP told him he could never be a good CEO. DS since then turned into someone else, being obsessed with DM and JP. He started to lie more in order to stop JP and DM. His background medal story made his actions further questionable. More than anyone else, he understood how cheating took a toll on him, but he did another big cheating with the girl. His relationship with DM was too fast and she initiated many actions. One could say he was a victim here, but I am disappointed because he didn’t come out clean early by himself and compete with JP fairly.

I have several issues with this drama:

- DS thought he had nothing, but he in fact had so many things. The drama didn’t allow him to realize this in the end.

- the story should have focused on DM rather than the love triangle and how two men tried to help her. In this journey, when DM was with JP, she learnt facts and reality and developed well as a CEO. When she’s with DS, she’s just totally dependent on him, which is not healthy. We want a strong woman in lead and here we couldn’t get one in the end. That’s why I prefer DM and JP for a healthy and loving relationship. When she’s with DS, she always looked weak.

- DS as a male lead is very weak. I have watched Kdrama for 20 years and I have never seen anyone as lucky as DS. Other male leads faced constant challenges, but here the universe worked for him, since grandma’s eye problem, his dad’s job to Saha telling him about the ransom attack. In the meanwhile, JP was the one who got all the punches like a normal male lead, but in the end got nothing. All DS actions for DM were for her to recognize, but many ended up hurting her (lying about letters, making deal with Alex). In this sense, JP should be the one because he rather hurts himself than DM, like princes in fairy tales if you notice.

- The writer rewarded DS’ violent behavior with a kiss and a trip to Silicon Valley. DS was never sorry for his bad behaviors. He didn’t show any sympathy towards JP’s sad upbringing. It’s the same with DM.

- DM is strange girl. She took microphone from another person, wanted to fake being successful, always triggered her sister, and easily forgot everything after meeting DS. She’s not a role model if you look for one. She is just a lucky girl, who happened to have two geniuses helping her on the way.

- Saling without a map is a dangerous message. We need a context for this. And the smart city project is too unrealistic to apply this message. If you would like to learn about startup, maybe Strongest delivery man offers much better lessons.

- the family issues were not well addressed. Everything around DM seems superficial. Not good writing.

- SST boys and Saha are fun at some points, but they should not have taken screentimes from JP and IJ.

- True entrepreneurs: Grandma, JP, IJ and her dad.

Why am I upset about this drama?

JP has become one of my most beloved characters in the Kdrama land for his selflessness and fairness. Despite being in a desperate situation of getting DM a real DS, he refused his request to join Sandbox. This character has integrity, while DS doesn’t.

The most annoying thing is the writer refused to address the letters carefully and give JP a fair chance with DM. We read the letters, we knew they are beautiful and they connected two poor souls in the past. Even when we live in 2020, we still love handwriting love letters. We believe that the two soulmates would find each other in the end. Good boy will find his love and justice to his sacrifice. But here the writer didn’t let us to have that beautiful ending and force us a happy ending which we couldn’t relate to.

I couldn’t get myself to see the wedding photos and many scenes of ep 15 and ep 16, while seeing JP was the only one crying in the last episode. And people with questionable actions ended up having everything in the end. Luck is important but shouldn’t be everything like in this drama. The writer didn’t treat DS’ imposter syndrome before he got married. That’s why I am worried for DM.

In sum, I feel pity for such a strong start and what could have been one of the most beautiful stories ever. I really question at what point the writer agreed to give us such a problematic male lead and couple like in this drama and at the same time created a wonderful character like JP, whom many of us will love for a long time.

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THE WORST MALE LEAD IN KDRAMA HISTORY

This drama had an amazing start filled with huge uncertainty and potential. Then it totally went downhill in the episodes to come. The MAIN ISSUE IS WITH THE MALE LEAD. The male lead's character is an overemotional selfish character who acts pitiful to gain sympathy while the 2nd MALE LEAD is one of the most caring selfless person who not only cares about the female lead but the grandma who took care of him when he was homeless. The writer probably knew that the 2nd lead was the better option but the backlash from NAM JOO HYUK's team and fans would be too much too handle since he was promised the first lead role.

With no character growth at all, 99% of the viewers watching this will agree that the main lead was a forced love story that only happened because they were the "MAIN LEADS" . 2nd Lead definitely carried this drama and was the reason why some viewers stuck around. The viewers who support the male lead probably supported Nam Joo Hyuk and not the character that he played because best believe in real life they wouldn't even be friends yet lovers with the character.

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Good start but horrible plot development

This is one of the most disappointing dramas of 2020, it started with one of the best first episode I've seen in kdramas but I don't know what happened but it became so tedious. I don't know if I would see it again.
I have a love-hate relationship with this drama, it's one that I will miss (or maybe just the comment section) but I can't say I liked it, it had several plot holes and I don't think I can give it a high rating.
What I really loved about this drama was the ost, all the songs are beautiful. Let's not forget that they focused too much on the love triangle that business took a back seat.
I'll start to describe what I liked and didn't like about each character.
• Dosan: I think it is the worst ML I have seen in kdramas, he's selfish, immature and I will give reasons why I did not like the character.
1. He started a relationship with Dalmi by pretending to be the Dosan from the letters
2. Left Dalmi alone in the park while drunk.
3. When Dalmi asked you for space, what did he do? He followed her and faked chance encounters with her, and they made it look "romantic" when it's NOT.
4. I have listened to their private conversations.
5. He hit the HJP when he said nothing but the truth and then asked him for a favor using his weakness which is the grandma.
6. He didn't want to return the letters to HJP when they belong to him.
I can give many more reasons but this would be longer.
• Dalmi: I think it's the worst FL I've seen, at first her character was very good but as the episodes went by she had a setback it almost seemed like she always needed a man to help her when at first it was the opposite. A main part of the plot was the letters but it seems that she forgot about that and never asked HJP what happened or why he did it, instead he started dating Dosan and was indifferent to HJP.
• Han Jipyeong: I can say that he was the best character that the series had, he is a tough person at the beginning but he was almost the only character that really changed in the 3 years and he showed to be a very sweet person.
• Injae: I liked her character even though she didn't have much screen time she really changed and I really liked the ending she had. Her character gave for more.
• Yongsan and Cheolsan: Immature.
• Saha: His character contributed almost nothing and was not very memorable.
Now I will talk about couples:
• Dosan and Dalmi: I didn't feel they had chemistry and I don't see a future for their relationship, they started dating because Dosan pretended to be someone else, she's one of the worst couples I saw in dramas.
• Cheolsan and Saha: It was such a forced couple, they had no chemistry at all and Cheolsan being jealous when they had been dating for like 1 day (? Cringe
I want to add that Yongsan's brother's plot was VERY unnecessary.
The guys from Samsantech claim to be close friends but why didn't anyone know Dosan entered college early or about Yongsan's brother?
The reason I can't put a bad rating is because I loved HJP's character and Seonho's acting.
-English is not my first language so I apologize if I have any mistakes.

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Bait and switch pilot episode Very disappointing

The first episode was one of the best I have seen. It grabbed me right away. I was all set for a romance between the writer of the letters and Seo. Then I watched the series go down the drain. The story looked as it would it revolve around the letters and the actual author of the letters. Instead, they have some emotional coding genius steal her away with lies and manipulation. Very frustrating watching all those episodes with the girl falling in love with a despicable man. I found no joy in this. I have watched countless K dramas and this ranks as my most despised one.

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A drama with so much great potential with the worst unsatisfying ending

Thank you start up for teaching me that theres no point in constantly putting others first because others will learn to put you last. I fell in love with this drama in episode one, so beautifully written and touched my heart . I think just like most I had a very high expectations on what this drama could've been, it had so much potential until episode 10. Keeping up with symbolisms, music score and overall theory was really fun and I thought for once we'll get a new fresh breath genre of kdrama but watching episode 16 made me realize that this show wasn't anything but cliche. Not only that the morals the production is putting out there is generally bad and outright problematic . I don't have to list it all everyone know what I'm talking about . They also lost the viewers because they can't find any reason to redeem the fl and ml character . I've never hated a fictional lead couple so bad

But on the good side the actors and actress did such a good job portraying their character, suzy, nam jo hyuk and Kang hanna did such a good job and I'm so happy that seon ho finally getting the recognition he deserves. Njh and KSH NAILED every crying scene. The only good thing abt this drama are the actress and actors!! And ost !!

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HONEST REVIEW: This is a good drama! A lot of the ratings/reviews here are too harsh and biased!

I just finished watching the drama on Netflix and had to write this because the reviews and ratings on here are way too harsh! This drama is very heartwarming and inspiring, and the chemistry between the whole cast is amazing! I will admit, the storyline became a little draggy mid-way because of the love triangle, but the last episode was satisfying and gave us well-deserved closure (raise your hand if you teared up more than once!).

The Good:
1. Kim Seon Ho as jipyeong-ah~!! This was definitely a breakout role for Kim Seon Ho, I've been following his work for a while and he has grown so popular now, I don't want to share him (loll)!
2. The chemistry between Suzy and Nam Joo Hyuk: Dalmi and Dosan are a whole power couple, and I have to say, the acting of Suzy and NJH has improved and dude--stunning visuals!! Also, the BTS and Soop interviews tho!!!
3. The supporting cast--let's just say: SQUAD GOALS!! and FAMILY GOALS!!
4. Filming and OST: The cinematography and music in this drama are top-notch and high quality.

The Bad:
1. Kim Seon Ho, Kang Hana, and their characters deserved better!!! When I saw interviews and promos before the drama started, I thought Ji Pyeong and In Jae would have more prominent storylines, but by the end, I felt pity for Ji Pyeong's unrequited love and unsatisfied with In Jae's character arc. I think people with second lead syndrome are upset that Ji Pyeong doesn't get the girl, so they're being harsh towards the drama and the main leads but I think that the Dalmi-Dosan pairing was always meant to be from the start. Ji Pyeong acted as an unintentional cupid and sadly, developed a one-sided love for Dalmi. I wish they didn't define Ji Pyeong's character with the cliche first love trope and a dragged-out love triangle. Instead, the writers should've given Ji Pyeong his own little story that isn't centered around Dalmi and Dosan. That would've been a lot more realistic and satisfying to watch. I also just hated seeing him so lonely!

2. Overall, if it weren't for the cast, music, and quality of production, I think the storyline was lacking. The plot was a tad-bit unrealistic at points, and it was absolutely unnecessary to make the love triangle such a central part of the story. While the romance was wonderful, I would've enjoyed a more unconventional take on the theme of start-ups.

If you are a fan of the cast and enjoy easy-breezy dramas with emotional, romantic, and comedic themes, then this is perfect for you! I've recommended it to all my friends for the past three months, and every one of them has enjoyed it! I will miss you, Start-Up!!

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Friendship and Family!

People that gave less than 7 to this kdrama were watching it for the wrong reasons.
Yes this story has romance, but also has so much more than that. Has business, friendship, personal growth... and most importantly is also about family. I think people have to remind themselves that we are in kdramaland, this is not going to be your business focused kdrama, or with the perfect friendship, romance or family story. It's as always, a combination. And in this case a really well executed one. Changing the love partner for the other lead character wouldn't suddenly make this story go from 1 to 10 lol if a story is ever being a 1 for me, in a scale of 10, i will just drop it. I won't wait for a finale to give it 1. There's a lot of kdramas to watch in a lifetime. Please watch smt else then!

With all of this being said, the only thing i would change in this kdrama would be indeed the second male lead romance... But not like everyone else. His character would be PERFECT to fit under a big bro role. Think about it... he was orphan, and his only family became the grandmother. Their story was so beautiful. Wouldnt it be incredibly beautiful if he was helping Dalmi without explaining his intentions but later just ending up being for the grandmother that was more than a mother to him? Well... i know. We are in kdramaland so ofc if a REALLY GOOD second male lead shows up it's either super evil and wants to destroy everything or has to be involved in the romance. No place for brotherly and cute friendships in kdramas.

But that would be it. I agree that love at first sight is used way too often (and i don't even believe it's real) but also being in love with the same person you were when u were 12, also ain't it for me. Puppy and cute first love in comparison with adult love is way too different for me, personaly. I absolutely hate the "meant to be" troop based on past events, so i am glad of how things turned up.

This kdrama has for the first time second leads that i adore as much as the main leads, and i am super happy about that! I am sick and tired of weak and "lets pretend i ever got a chance in this love triangle" male characters that also have no other depth to themseves... they exist to annoy you - only!!! I always end up rolling my eyes at their failed atempts to do anything. But what this writer did by hiring Kim Seon Ho and giving him such a role, is making me super curious about him now. I kinda want to watch a kdrama where he IS the main lead. And for me that is some good work right here.

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analysis on show and characters

This drama made my head hurt lol
Seo Dal Mi- Ah, where do I start. Seo Dal Mi is seen as this person who is hardworking and independent with
everything she does. She is shown to be selfless as well in the show, which is what I loved about her, emphasis on the “loved”. I entirely blame the writers of this show for ruining what could’ve been such a great character. The independent qualities suddenly went out the door once Nam do San and Han Ji Pyeong showed up, the male leads. Honestly, I have nothing more to say about her which is sad since she is the lead of this show :(. I didn’t understand the choices she made within the show, they were irrational and I just genuinely can’t wrap my head around them. There is also no character development whatsoever even though we had a time skip.

Nam Do San- Ugh. Literally my whole opinion on him could be summed up with the word “ugh”. He has to be one of my least favorite characters in the dramas I’ve watched so far, and this is coming from someone who was a firm “dodal” shipper (I honestly think i was just blinded by Nam Joo Hyuk’s visuals lol). Another character I can’t even fully understand, not because they have so much depth to them but because they have little to none at all! He also barely has any character development, but at least there’s some? I don’t know, he was very immature, acted out of anger as well, which somehow would benefit him later? Lol only in the drama world. I wouldn’t go as far as to say he was manipulative but I would say he isn’t a very understanding character, but I guess those traits of him were canon to the show and why Han Ji Pyeong didn’t agree to Do San wanting to become a ceo lol. This is just a very personal opinion but I guess him always crying and acting like a victim could make others deem him as manipulative, I never got that vibe from him but I could see how others have.

Han Ji Pyeong- TRULY AND HONESTLY DESERVED BETTER. DESERVED LEAD IDCIDCIDC. Sure he had the cliche qualities of a main male lead in a kdrama, but those qualities happened to be canon to this kdrama and would only make sense for him to end up with the girl. He’s a CEO, has literal bank, has a backstory with the female lead, how could he not get the girl? I felt like the writers of this show really wanted to switch things up and turn away from your average kdrama,which isn’t a bad idea, but was executed poorly. The plot holes, oh the plot holes surrounding his character were horrendous. WHY WERE THE LETTERS NOT TALKED ABOUT ENOUGH BETWEEN JI PYEONG AND DAL MI????? Why was there zero romantic interactions between Ji Pyeong and Dal Mi within the 3 year time skip where Do San was in California? I’m also assuming there were none because the writers lazily wrote the time skip and didn’t explain anything that happened within it. I just don’t understand why Dal mi and Ji Pyeong’s relationship was hardly developed even though he was her first love :/. I’m literally so upset with how the writers went about his character. He was the sweetest, him and Grandma saved this show.

Won In Jae- A character who had so much potential but was sadly created just for the sake of the main character (Seo Dal Mi). With that being said, I don’t have much to say about her sadly, but I surely would’ve enjoyed her character if the writers weren’t so lazy and if this drama was actually thought out well. I still have many questions regarding her, like why did she start disliking her sister so much, maybe an in-depth story about how her home life was with her step-dad and mom, maybe even her step-brother as well! Nothing was even briefly shown within the 3 year time skip on how her and Dal Mi’s relationship was even fixed. Us, the audience, are just left with our imagination. Which is often a good thing within a well written show but it just doesn’t make sense with this situation. The plot holes, my god.

SUMMARY- Probably one of the worst k-dramas I’ve watched (will most likely change in the future lol). With sixteen, over an hour long, episodes it still felt like we were going nowhere. With barely to no development within the characters, that’s exactly what it felt like. I will say there were some enjoyable moments in the show to spark a bit of positivity within this review lol but for the most part, I really didn’t like this show

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The author focused too much in the romance and forgot to develop the initial plot.

This drama was a complete disappointment for me. The first 3 episodes were incredible and the story was being developed very well, however the author started to focus a lot on the love triangle and the romance of this drama and ended up forgetting to develop the initial plot, which besides being original had great potential, but unfortunately in many episodes the main focus of the story was the novel and the problems surrounding it, allocation of being in the development of the startup and the growth of the characters in that branch.

The worst thing is that the author, in addition to forgetting the initial focus of the drama, also developed the romance very poorly. I find it ridiculous the fact that she gave so much focus to the letters that Ji Pyeong wrote a Dal Mi, and it was not final to Dal Mi nor did he care about the true author of these letters and the feelings they gave them both. These letters literally helped Dal Mi to overcome a grief and also served as comfort and companionship for Ji Pyeong, that since the beginning was a very lonely person. And the situation of the letters got even worse when now, in this last episode, the author made Ji Pyeong say that he was never the `` Nam Doosan`` of the letters.

Another problem in this drama was the lack of scenes and development for In Jae, this character started the drama with an antagonistic air, but little by little, with the little screen time that she had, I created a certain affection for her and I wanted to see a lot more of this character that for me was more interesting than the protagonist. In Jae was one of the main characters, but she appeared less than the secondary characters in the story.

The passage of time in the story was very problematic, it seems that the author used the resource of jumping in time to advance the story, since the drama was almost over and the story wasn't moving, however, I was left with the impression that many things within the known story are poorly explained, such as the fact that Ji Pyeong stayed with Dal Mi for 3 years and didn’t take any action, it just doesn’t match his personality and I thought it was quite flawed, and also Dal Mi’s relationship with his mother and sister was developed during this time and we viewers couldn't see that.

Summing up:
Negative points of the story: Lack of development of many characters and the startup theme, too much focus on romance and love triangle, Ji Pyeong extremely wronged.

Positive Points: I got to know the actor Kim Seon Ho and I will definitely follow his next works. Another positive point was Ji Pyeong relationship with Dal Mi's grandmother, I cried in many scenes of the two of them and I think it was the most developed and coolest relationship in this drama.

That final scene of the four walking together was very forced.

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Waste of potential

I’ll keep this short as I’m sure many users have said the same thing, but this was a show with a HUGE setup and such low delivery. The plot thinned, characters acted irrationally and never developed, and the only person with any ethical value (jipyeong I love you) was used as an emotional punching bag until the very end. The writer set out to subvert traditional k drama tropes for only shock value, not realizing that those tropes are revered because they allow for character growth, which was completely absent in this show. Love, in this show, is based on appearances and passion alone, rather than empathy, understanding and mutual support. In sum, it’s trash.

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