#ji pyeong

͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏𖥻 i  ִֶָ: start-up icons

͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏⌕ soulmoontae on twitter

This was the first k-drama where I legit thought that the 2nd male lead was actually the first male lead until half-way through the show. While I do really like Nam Do-San’s character, I think  Han Ji-Pyeong made me feel WAY more. Especially in terms of the romantic chemistry. 

In the beginning, I was so satisfied with the show. But then I think somewhere around the 12th or 13th episode I started to get bored and disappointed. I think that’s mainly because halmeoni suddenly became a side side character and even Ji-Pyeong didn’t have as much screen time. I also feel like there were some sub-plots that were highly unnecessary because they weren’t fleshed out well and felt disconnected like the friend’s brother who died and he wanted revenge, the whole Alex California 3 year time-jump thing. Like that really slowed down the show and made me go ???  The finale however redeemed the show for me!

There were solid side characters in this k-drama, something I generally appreciate about k-dramas as a whole. The character development was also solid and sweet. I think the one that most touched me was Seo/Won In-Jae’s character development. 

I found more depth in her character than even Seo Dal Mi’s. I loved how she changed her name and then visited her grandmother because she just couldn’t do that before it. I get it. I really do. I think we all take our time to do the things we should/want to and that’s completely okay.

Which brings me to the point that Seo Dal Mi, especially towards the second half, felt like a very basic character. I think she was perhaps the only one who didn’t have much development. I honestly didn’t even find her and Nam Do San’s romance to be great or swoon-worthy. 

The most touching connection for me in this kdrama was  Han Ji-Pyeong and halmeoni’s. Like OH MY GOD. Whether it was when he was a child or even as an adult, their scenes made me cry.

 It was the most wholesome, sincere relationship in the entire show! Whether it was her taking him in and thinking he would rob her money in the shop or him thinking that she gave away his investment profits to her son - and both of them being wrong. The scene at the bus station where she gives him a new pair of shoes and tells him only to contact him when he is upset/alone/ill. 

The fact that she calls him good boy. Ahhhhhh. EVERY bit of it. Like even in the finale when she goes to his house and breaks down when she recognises he is sad + lonely I couldn’t stop my tears!!!!! It’s like he can be his true self with halmeoni.

And can I just ramble on about Ji-Pyeong? Firstly his dimples. I can’t deal. 

Secondly his acting. Thirdly his dialogue and his character arc. The way he was so smart in investing and work. The way he could give real feedback and the way he could be honest with Nam Do-San at the end. Aso the fact that he asked him to stop feeling inferior - ahhhhh. Someone really needed to tell Do-San to feel confident and enough and the fact that Ji-Pyeong did that meanth EVERYTHING. Everything about Ji-Pyeong had my heart! His conversations with Yeong-Shila and his drunk moments. And everything in between. I am really heartbroken that he ended up alone. To be honest, by the end of it I really wanted him to end up with In-Jae. I think they as a couple would surprise all of us. 

I know this may be a controversial opinion but both In-Jae and Ji-Pyeong were such strong characters and I feel like they would have easily overpowered the actual first leads (individually and together) if some more attention was paid to them. Which is probably why it wasn’t? But I feel like had the writers of the show leaned more into these two characters. They were smart, mature, emotionally more complex and that’s probably one of my major disappointments with Start-Up. 

But anyhooo, I really appreciated that the last scene was Nam Do-San and Seo Dal-Mi walking to their investor meeting and not their wedding scene. Because yaaaas power couple! I also love how her being the CEO didn’t make Do-San feel inferior or have some sexist ego complex. 

Talking about other side characters I really appreciated Seo Dal Mi’s mom’s redemption. It warmed my heart. I loved how Nam DO San’s father at the end put up the Samsan Tech sign board in the living room and said that the next time he thinks his son is doing something he doesn’t approve of he will look at it 3 times and wait it out/support him? Jung Sa-Ha and Lee Chul-San’s romance appealed to me a lot more than the leads’ romance - no kidding. 

Some of my FAVOURITE scenes were between Nam Do-San and Ji-Pyeong. Like in one of the first few episodes when they are at that conference/party where Nam Do-San shows up as a hot-shot entrepreneur for Dal-Mi and then the two guys move aside to show that they are talking and know each other and Do-San is like what do we talk about? ANd Ji-Pyeong is like let’s just recite the national anthem! I DIED. And then at the end when he invests in Cheonymyeong and they shake hands, how initially Ji-Pyeong only shakes with his two fingers. They both individually and together were beautiful. 

Also can I just say how cool I found the founder and CEO of sandbox just struck me as the COOLEST woman? She’s the kind of person I’d want as my mentor and friend if I was starting a business. And Dal Mi-s father’s backstory is just so very s ad with him finally getting an investment but also like dying the very same day. Sandbox really feels in some way his legacy? 

And I also low-key found the relation between Ji-Pyeong and park Dong-Chun endearing. Like ho Dong-Chun aways recommends all these lovely start ups that aren’t really profitable but he just cannot resist it! And how Ji-Pyeong finally personally invests in the start up for kids who leave orphanages at 18 in the end :’) I was waiting for him to finally personally invest in something like this because he’s rich and he can and I loved it. More than the investing, his meeting with the CEO of that start up was funny and how he wasn’t harsh towards him and how also said he wants a few kids that he can mentor! My heart!

Nam Do-San. I love how he had SO many insecurities because I have always associated that with the female leads whether in kdramas or just generally in the world of fiction. And the fact that he didn’t have any toxic or abusive outlets for his issues is what made me adore him. The friendship between him and his two developer friends was also very heartwarming.

I did really like the business and entrepreneurship aspect of the show like how thye tried to include concepts like the J curve and why you should be a majority shareholder in your own business and what investors look for and stuff. Ofc I would have LOVED it to be more heavy on that aspect but I get that for the general viewership that probably wouldn’t have worked. 

One of the most striking things about Start Up was the relationship between the two sisters. I can’t tell you how much I was digging the fact that neither of them, especially Won In-Jae (at the time) tried to backstab or fuck things up for the other. Even though they had been away for a decade and clearly had made opposite choices in picking their parents and hence a lot of their life, they didn’t once sabotage the other. In fact, they were always concerned about the other when it really came down to it. And them reuniting and working together was a highlight for me. 

Second-male lead syndrome hits especially hard with Ji-Pyeong because of the cinematography of the scenes featuring the love triangle, the majority are shot through his perspective.

Examples:

- The string in Dal-Mi’s hair: the camera angles and focus suggest that the viewer was meant to want Ji-Pyeong to be the one to move it. The shots feel his hesitation and then heartbreak when Do-San reaches for her hair. We watch that moment over Ji-Pyeong’s shoulder.

- The conversation after the networking party: that whole scene features, a very comical, tiny Ji-Pyeong noticeably in the background. Many of the angles are from his point-of-view or have him somewhere in the frame. The viewer is meant to feel his exclusion and desperation to get Do-San out of there. The moment never really feels personal and private because Ji-Pyeong’s presence is almost always known by the camera.

- The DoDal hug when they’re accepted into Sandbox: until he leaves, that moment focuses mainly on Ji-Pyeong’s perspective and, once again, the viewer feels his wish for his and Do-San’s places to be swapped.

- The dinner at their house when Dal-Mi gives them different sizes of meat: the camera doesn’t pay special attention to Dal-Mi serving Do-San. It stays with Ji-Pyeong when he realizes what’s happened. The camera wants the viewer to feel the initial elation of Dal-Mi serving him first, then the instant hurt of finding out she gave Do-San a bigger piece. Honestly that whole sequence from the moment they reach the house through the entire night and morning, Do-San’s desperation to have time alone with Dal-Mi and her grandmother is played off in a comical and whiny way while Ji-Pyeong’s instance to stay, still also comical, is played off more understandably, like the viewer should agree that yes, he should stay. Neither is more deserving, but the viewer is meant to want both of them there. (Gah, while writing this, is so obvious that whoever you shipped by then was who’s side you’re on through these scenes. Oof what a mess. That’s not how that should be.)

- The aftermath of the fist-fight: the first person Dal-Mi runs into is Ji-Pyeong, so just on that and potentially the fact that makeup gave him more bruising, he is seen as the victim in Dal-Mi’s eyes and Do-San as the attacker when she later connects the dots that they fought each other. It’s the principle of little kids fighting and whoever makes it to the parents/authority first is seen as the defensive side. I’m not really sure the psychology behind that, I’ve just noticed that pattern.

I have more examples, but I don’t want to scare people away with a long text post. The big takeaway, which has been obvious since the first scene when he was the first character to be introduced, is that no one should be surprised that the viewers have put so much love and focus on JI-Pyeong because the direction did that first. Intentionally or not, that’s what happened. Sure, it was mostly for plot-twist purposes that Do-San’s story has taken more time to unravel, but the initial viewer sympathy, if you came into the show unbiased, was put on Ji-Pyeong and Dal-Mi and their connection. Initial reasoning for the letters aside, it was obvious he started to care about her. The grandmother didn’t dictate every letter, just the first.

TL:DR: Start-Up’s character dynamics have been unfairly balanced since the beginning and no matter who you root for, the ending isn’t likely to feel earned because of the mess they’ve made throughout the arc of the plot. The strong attraction by the viewers toward Ji-Pyeong can be traced back to who’s perspective starts a scene and his has been featured heavily. 

So I’m just going to believe that he’s truly happy at the end and that he got everything that he wanted (love, family and friends) in the 2020 timeline even if they didn’t show it to us.