We all have been sucked into the Korean drama wave this quarantine. I think I can speak for many of us when I say that it’s given us much needed reprieve from the many difficulties happening around the world right now.
The recently concluded tvN drama “Start-Up,” staring Suzy Bae, Nam Joo-hyuk, Kim Seon-ho, and Kang Ha-na made multiple headlines over the past few months, even stirring heated debates among fans about the love triangle plot of the story.
In those debates, many have sworn to no longer support the show or have even called the show “trash” or a “waste of time” and as a member of Team Good Boy, myself, I’m here to remind all those that were disappointed of the show’s ending with all the reasons why we loved “Start-Up” in the first place.
It reawakened the dreams we may have long forgotten
At the heart of it all, what really got people hooked on this K-drama was its premise. The fictional world of Sandbox created the perfect backdrop for the storyline wherein it brought together people from different walks of life experiencing the same hardships and starting point.
It also gave perspective on how people in Asia hustle to make their dreams happen – finding the path that will eventually lead them to what made them actually happy.
Characters as complex as the plot
Of course, Sandbox wouldn’t be anything without the people in it. In that, we all saw a little bit of ourselves among the different characters, or something that we all wanted to achieve for ourselves. Whether it was Seo Dal-mi’s go-getter attitude, Won In-jae’s quick wit and resourcefulness, Nam Do-san’s battle with Imposter Syndrome, or Han Ji-pyeong’s struggle to be in touch with his emotions, they were all very relatable to both local and international audiences.
The story is relatable AF
“Start-Up” was one of the dramas that actually got everyone tuning in at the end of every week. It even got casual fans and non K-drama fans to tune in!
At a time when binge-watching is considered common practice, it’s rare to find a K-drama that’s able to sustain your attention and interest in between weekly air times. More than just a form of entertainment, it brought a lot of people together even when we are physically distant.
It opened our eyes to many things about the world of start-up businesses – including why one would choose to join one (or start one even) after a long-standing stable career, the difficulties we may not see among start-up teams, and the importance of how even those outside of the business play a role in the start-ups success, as everyone’s support system.
As much as it was about their businesses, it was also about the people.
They broke K-drama stereotypes
Looking at our four main characters alone, you can already see how the writers played a different card with their individual character arcs. An example of this was how they did not follow the usual K-drama formula of 운명 (Unmyeong), meaning fate or destiny, wherein childhood friends and sweethearts would end up together by the end of the drama.
They also formed Do-san and Ji-pyeong’s characters: Do-san was not the strong, well-established character as a male lead, and Ji-pyeong was not the quirky, funny sidekick who was meant to act as a foil character as the second lead.
We as an audience gravitated towards the stronger characters like Han Ji-pyeong or Won In-jae, because they showed us the aspirational positions everyone had in Sandbox. But throughout the multiple arguments and conversations I’ve seen, what I’ve realized is that you cannot compare each one’s journey with the other.
Just like people outside of the fictional world of Sandbox, everyone comes from different upbringings and makes different choices to end up where they are – more than finding fault in the characters and how it contributed to the final storyline, what this drama did was give audiences a wider perspective on people.
Featured business solutions that actually solved societal problems
As part of the advertising-PR world, I remember saying to a friend how refreshing it was to see them feature businesses that were driven by purpose. From developing Yong-sil, the AI solutions platform for those with worsening eyesight, to Tarzan the self-driving car, it gave me hope that these ideas would also inspire others (in real life) to bet on businesses like these and help create a world that’s inclusive for all types of people.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was still great
There were plenty of ways this story could have gone, coming from the initial storyline – and that was honestly one of the reasons why I held onto how the story developed every weekend.
Granted that there were some disappointments to the story’s ending, I still see this drama as one of the best to have come out this year – at a time when so many people needed a bit of inspiration and courage to reignite their old passions and start on new ventures.
Beyond the disappointments, there are still plenty of reasons why this drama was a good watch, and I hope that’s something we remember as fans.
If you haven’t watched it yet, I would definitely recommend for you to give it a shot!
✺ Words by Alex Castillo
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ALEX CASTILLO IS A TWENTY-SOMETHING PROFESSIONAL STORYTELLER, CURRENTLY PRACTICING AS A STRATEGIC COMMUNICATOR IN PUBLIC RELATIONS AND ADVERTISING. SHE’S ALSO AN ENFP, A KDRAMA ADVOCATE, A LOVER OF ALL THINGS DISNEY, AND A HUGE FAN OF PIZZA AND SUSHI. WANT MORE OF HER REAL TALK? FOLLOW HER ON @IM_ALEXCASTILLO.
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