I Want to shine some light in these reviews as most people in this review section are quite negative and I want to talk about the positives. I'll be totally honest I nearly gave this a skip right before I started watching this due to the abundance of bad reviews but I thought let's just do it and am I glad I went with my gut to just watch it. I personally really enjoyed the concept they went with, basically, life as an entrepreneur with the romance mixed in as the main plot with also the budding relationships of friends and family.

I first heard of this Start-Up literally 10 months ago when it got announced since I am a vivid follower of Suzy so I watch all her drama's and keep up to date with her work so to say I nearly skipped this due to bad reviews after waiting 10 months would've been a disservice to myself.

First, of, I want to talk about Suzy's character, Seo Dal Mi. I actually really liked her character as she wasn't just so weak character who relied on the main male lead but she was actually in the limelight and the biggest reason why the company she was a CEO for was a success. I loved how hardworking she was and was trudging through life after basically being ditched by her mother and sister and stayed with her father and grandmother which in my opinion is a better choice than In Jae's in which she does eventually go back. Jea's choice consisted of being riched and having money with no real happy relationships while Dal Mi's choice was being poor but having strong relationships with the people around her especially her Grandmother. If there's any character I would like to be like in this drama it would be Dal Mi but I'm more like Do San which I'll talk about later. She really deserved the success she gained in the end which showed through her hard work. When she decided to let go of Do San by intentionally being harsh to her it was mature because she wanted him to succeed and not be held back but just like Do San I would've rather stayed behind and continue my relationships with the people around me already.

Nam Joo Hyuk portrayed Do Sans character really when and we know he played upbeat characters really well so Do San was a perfect match for him in my opinion. Nam Do San's character really hit home to me as I related to him quite a lot in his personality aspect. I can be loud and confident with the people I feel comfortable with but I can seem weak around people I feel inferior to and can sometimes have low self-esteem. Do San as a character was really fun to watch as they make you want to root for him. In the first episode, I thought he wasn't the main male lead as they didn't even show him but it was actually quite a smart move as we were interested who is this Nam Do San character that got mentioned and teases throughout the episode but they gave us the impression he was a big shot who was rich but that was far from the truth, he was a guy in his 20s trying to push his company forward and become successful. His journey throughout the show is an interesting one because he instantly has to let go of his pride by giving away the CEO position to Dal Mi and he faced multiple knockdowns which affected his self-esteem which was really sad to see since he always compared himself to Han Ji Pyung but eventually became confident in himself after going to LA and coming back but even after that he needs validation from Dal Mi so I wished from an outside view that he was more confident with himself but it did do the story well and added to his character development in the end.

The romance between Dal Mi and Do San was actually fun to watch as visually they were amazing and chemistry wise it was also amazing. There was something that confuses me but I don't quite understand when their 'day 1' was because in kdramas you can kinda see when it started, but in they literally held hands in episode 4 but they weren't dating but ill guess it was when they kissed onto of the roof when Do San smashed the CEO plaque of In Jae's father.

Han Ji Pyung character was actually well written after putting some thought into it. I swear drama screenwriters all have this idea that they will make the 3rd person in the love triangle which is usually a male gracefully give up on the main female which makes us respect and like the character. But to be honest I only ever disliked him in two events of this drama and for the rest, he was a really good character even though he was helping SamSan Tech just because Dal Mi was there but I do have a thought that an inkling inside really believed in the company rather than just wanting Dal Mi wanting to do good. You could say he had an unrequited love which was obvious to everyone but Dal Mi. He was a very critical character who always spoke the harsh truth without really thinking of the consequences but we know he just wanted to help and see the best for them. He made a good point to Dal Mi at the end of the show in which makes me think 'why didn't I think of that', but he said when he read the letters it took him 15 years to find him but when Do San read them it took him literally a day after to find her in which it might sound like an excuse to Dal Mi but it was a very true point which only shows his gracefulness in the end.

Seo In Jae character was also a character which was interesting because they make us dislike her but you also could not say she was wrong with any of the points he made as they were all true. I really like her development as she went from someone who didn't really care about Dal Mi and boasted her choice and became someone likeable to Dal Mi and us the viewer as we saw her become independent from her step-father and eventually took her Seo family name back.

The supporting cast in Start-Up was really good as it had a good set of characters. First off the SamSan Tech team were all a pleasure to watch and we saw a budding relationship between Sa Ha and Cheol San which we did not expect as they jokingly had Cheol San hit on her but she eventually like him. Seol Mi's grandmother was also a gem to watch as you could tell that she really cared for her grand-daughter.

The OST in Start-Up was actually really good. I love how when Suzy does dramas she always adds her own voice to the OST tracklist which just makes her more multi-talented even though she was a singer first. I loved the OST cast which concluded of; Red Velvet, Suzy, OhMyGirl, Cheeze, BOL4, Gaho and 10cm etc.

Overall I really enjoyed this drama and I would highly recommend you to watch this despite the bad review and make your own opinions rather than joining bandwagons. Also if you want to watch a drama about entrepreneurs and life with romance as well then I really recommend this drama as it also has a stellar cast that made this drama what it is.