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[Drama 2020] Startup (Sandbox), 스타트업


wildcherry

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I wonder if these new SeonHo fans will be loyal to him or are just passing through and drop him at their next "oppa".

 

At the start of the drama, SeonHo fans weren't so disrespectful but then afterwards they started to be horribly arrogant and disrespectful towards both main leads, to the point where it became unbearable.

 

These new fans are even toxic to SeonHo himself by doing this and not helping him at all. There are people who started to like SeonHo but then gave up when they saw all the toxic fans that he has.

 

But then there aren't just SeonHo fans now, but all of the “original” haters of Suzy & NJH who took this opportunity to blindly send more of hate towards them.

 

It has become a hate bandwagon at this point. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who haven't even watched Start-Up but who are throwing themselves into the hate bandwagon.

 

Suzy & NJH clearly don't deserve all this hate they get, especially when they both did a really good job in this drama. And they really worked hard for it. Suzy even promotes this drama better than anyone on her IG but these new toxic SeonHo fans aren't grateful.

 

These toxic fans just ruined the drama for me. Without these toxic fans, I would have enjoyed the drama better.

 

I think I'll watch Start-Up for a second time when all this mess is over and I'm sure I'll enjoy it more with a peaceful mind.

 

However, PHR has focused far too much on the unnecessary love triangle. Without this love triangle, the drama would have been much better. If the drama was more focus on the buissness part and the family relationships (especially Seo sisters relationship) instead of the love triangle, that would have been great for me.

 

Anyway, one thing that I'm really happy and proud of is the fact that both Suzy and NJH have received so much praise for their good acting in this drama. Even more than usual. And they can be proud of themselves for that because they really deserve the praise. And they also seem to have become close friends in real life. It's good to see.:heart:

 

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I debated for almost a day whether I should post this. In the end, I figured as we are already at this point of the drama, filming also already finished, nothing can change anyone’s opinion anymore so this post is only me sharing my personal thoughts. 

 

https://m.entertain.naver.com/poll/result?id=158&serviceId=2

 

Above is the Naver poll as at the end of November, going into the finale, “if you were DM who would you choose”. In case you don’t already know, Naver is the Google of Korea. So this poll is far from just another random one on Twitter or FB. You could have guessed easily the winner, but JP having 81% and DS 18%, well, frankly speaking, I am very sad. MOST of the comments are horrendous, that “wow I’m surprised the result is not 99% vs 1%”, or “if Jidal endgame is not on the table the finale ratings will be 1%”, “the crew better make use of this result and switch up the ML and give Kim Seon Ho all the remaining airtime of the last 2 episodes” etc etc. 

 

The point is, as I already said earlier, the viewers need not like an unconventional ML, but by the finale and yet his character development, his pain and sorrow are still not touching them somehow, then there is a big problem as a character’s success is measured by the connection to the audience it can establish and maintain/ grow. I also won’t repeat myself on the plot holes and deteriorating writing anymore. It saddens me that DS’s kindness, compelling passion, efforts and growth journey, everything is negated.

 

I started off watching this show for the memory of our own startup days, and also for Joo Hyuk. I am too old to be called his fan, but I definitely identify myself as his avid supporter, from his beginning days in the entertainment industry. By chance I came across a number of his interviews right after his debut at the 2014 Seoul Fashion Week and was really impressed by this boy for his mature responses, his competitive spirit and determination to succeed. This spirit only ever strengthens day after day. He did not let his early fame hinder his journey, instead always keeps his head down and focus on the next achievements. In his earlier acting days, he always honestly admitted that “I’m awkward and I’m lacking”, but he proved through his works that he is serious about his crafts, and that he is continuously improving. Startup is no different, he has been working so hard for it. I applaud his awesome performance which really has brought DS to life. But this hard work is negated just like every good thing DS ever did. The hate on the character is to the ridiculous point where Joo Hyuk’s acting is groundlessly ridiculed, his personal life maliciously discussed. One word, disgusting. Joo Hyuk told Kang Han Na on her radio show that these days he just doesn’t even go on the internet anymore. It has come to the point where it is just Unfair for both DS and him. 

 

I’m not confident DS will turn the situation around and come closer to the heart of the audience in the finale. Again, it looks to me that the writer will make JP even more noble as he concedes, which will just add more rage in haters.

 

I thank the Soompi community for the opportunity to share insights and conversations with likeminded friends. Sorry to those that really enjoy this show that I can’t stay hopeful till the end. I started out liking it so much but by this point, despite all the good things, overall it just left me with a bitter taste

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While some SeonHo/Jipyeong stans are screaming everywhere that "he's carrying the WHOLE drama" or "he MADE the drama famous" or "the drama is MAINLY or ONLY famous because of him", but then Bae Suzy is the one who is always topping each week, each GOOD DATA (buzzworthy/most talked & most searched) and RACOI (most talked/hot people) rank, followed by Nam Joo Hyuk. :tongue::D

 

Fact #1: Start-Up made SeonHo famous (or more like "rising"), not the opposite.

 

Fact #2: They ALL carry this drama, not just SeonHo/Jipyeong, not just one person but all of them.

 

Fact #3: The drama is famous because all of them and their hard work. And to be honest, if not for Suzy & NJH (or for scriptwriter PHR), a lot of people wouldn't even watch this drama.

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12 hours ago, inBinJinitrust said:

I debated for almost a day whether I should post this. In the end, I figured as we are already at this point of the drama, filming also already finished, nothing can change anyone’s opinion anymore so this post is only me sharing my personal thoughts.

 

What you say about Joo Hyuk reminds me a lot of Suzy. And they seem to have a lot in common, career wise.

Suzy's interviews are also mature & wise, and she also often said “I'm lacking” even in her award "best actress" speechs, she always said she doesn't deserve these awards and that she is ashamed to win these awards against her sunbaes because "I'm still lacking" and that she will work even harder for her next projects. And so she keeps on working harder with great determination and is getting better and better.

 

I think the two are now in a very good acting agency. Management Soop is a good agency for them and I'm sure their acting career will get better and better with this agency.

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@didi31 oh yes Soop is among the best actor agencies (the other one being BH ent. in my opinion). I am a veteran fan of GY (13+ years) who is of course with Soop from their day 1, they also have many  highly acclaimed actresses. I think both Suzy and Joo Hyuk made great decisions to leave JYP and YG respectively to join Soop. They are same age and have gotten much closer after Startup which is nice as they can look out for and support each other.

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I found this 1% chance theory is quite entertaining, I put on the spoiler box so you don’t need to see it if you don’t interested 


 

Spoiler


You don’t need to laugh or bully me because I put this kind of theory and probably giving false hope..I just feel something doesn’t add up with the story, and there’s a lot of symbolism sign with paralel scene especially with the plant jipyeong vs baseball dosan..

 

But always remember, in kdrama the female lead feeling is the most important, so far we know that dalmi chooses dosan before breaking up but after 3 years is it possible the feeling changes? Probably something has change just like jipyeong and dalmi said in ep 14..but the chances of that thing to happen is slim since in kdrama once the female lead change heart once, it rarely change again..

so don’t get your hope high and prepared to be broken heart if this theory is just delusional writing..but if this right, can you imagine how the people will react? It might be feels like reply 88 all over again :D and please someone buy me tokpoki ;) 

anyway, what we want is simple right, jipyeong happiness, with or without dalmi..besides one thing for sure, jipyeong will have the family that he always want, regardless whoever dalmi’s chooses 

 

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Well regarding the love triangle i am team JP, although i am not a fan of love triangles especially when the guy is really nice.

But i dont think DM is good for him. It would be nice if he could get the girl but maybe DM will choose no one in the end. 

 

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@inBinJinitrust Hi chingu! Similarly to you, this drama brought back a lot of nostalgic moments from our earlier startup days too. As a 9-5 employee most of my life, I've started out late, so the startup rookie mistakes were truly bruised and learned. Seeing these young actors put in so much efforts to carry out the roles really got me sympathized and appreciated. This drama has many more components to it than just the love triangle (what a Kdrama without a love triangle, right?), and the unconventional ML is a bonus for me. Regardless of NJH's popularity, I've never seen his work prior to this drama, and definitely didn't know who KSH was. I started watching because of Suzy, I am her avid supporter, and just like you, I am too old to be anyone's fan (except for HB & SYJ lol). The entire cast in this drama are all good looking and in my opinion, they have perfected their roles within their best ability despite the dynamics of the storyline. The strong hate and love over the viewers' favorite characters have gone too far this time, and it really got me worried. Back in the early 2000s, I really adored the actress Lee Eun-Ju, but because of the strong critics from one of her films, it drove her to depression and inevitably to her death. It still saddens me until this day. I really hope the K-Ent fans can be civil and give these actors their deserving respect and privacy. 

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6 hours ago, inBinJinitrust said:

You could have guessed easily the winner, but JP having 81% and DS 18%, well, frankly speaking, I am very sad. MOST of the comments are horrendous, that “wow I’m surprised the result is not 99% vs 1%”, or “if Jidal endgame is not on the table the finale ratings will be 1%”, “the crew better make use of this result and switch up the ML and give Kim Seon Ho all the remaining airtime of the last 2 episodes” etc etc.

Just wanna share my thoughts with you guys so hopefully we can go into the last couple eps fully enjoying the drama, as how it should be!

I come across the same article yesterday. At first, I was sad! However, I stopped myself soon after because I thought about the reasons why am sad. Am I sad for DS and DM who are wonderful, kind-hearted, in love people to be bashed because they are less than perfect? Yes, but I told myself that their world and mine are different. In PHR world, they are hard-working young adults, getting closer and closer to success and love! Their lives are full of exciting challenges lying ahead! Therefore, we don't need to be sad for them!
Am I sad because NJH and Suzy's beautiful work get ignored? Yes! But at the same time, like DS, I think these 2 young actors and actresses know the path they are on. It's their dream they are working on to be better actors and actresses. I believe they are strong people and quite frankly in the terrible showbiz world, has learned to navigate it better than us normal human! It does not excuse the toxic behavior, they should never happen! But I believe NJH, like NDS will grow through this drama! and Suzy has never given up her acting career despite all the negativity since the start! At the end of the day, if I let myself get affected by the comments and enjoy the drama less, I think that's more of a disservice to myself and the casts!
Someone in this thread said earlier, rant when you are hurt! and I think people who support JP feel more hurt than DS supporters as things are nearing the end and they are more afraid of him being unhappy and heartbroken! I adore JP too and hope he realizes that he already has what he wanted most... family love- grandma, DM and even the Samsan boys will be there for him just like how he was there for them!
I think it's safe to say, let's enjoy the last few eps in your own way. Some days I feel like if I have watched this drama by itself without going online and read all these negative comments, I would enjoy it much more. A couple of times I feel like I have to explain myself and the characters. But what for? Personal preference is PERSONAL! Love the casts and the characters like how you love them. Don't let ourselves get bogged down by strangers' opinions! 

Edited by Kabi
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3 hours ago, minibunny said:

I found this 1% chance theory is quite entertaining, I put on the spoiler box so you don’t need to see it if you don’t interested 

  Reveal hidden contents


You don’t need to laugh or bully me because I put this kind of theory and probably giving false hope..I just feel something doesn’t add up with the story, and there’s a lot of symbolism sign with paralel scene especially with the plant jipyeong vs baseball dosan..

 

But always remember, in kdrama the female lead feeling is the most important, so far we know that dalmi chooses dosan before breaking up but after 3 years is it possible the feeling changes? Probably something has change just like jipyeong and dalmi said in ep 14..but the chances of that thing to happen is slim since in kdrama once the female lead change heart once, it rarely change again..

so don’t get your hope high and prepared to be broken heart if this theory is just delusional writing..but if this right, can you imagine how the people will react? It might be feels like reply 88 all over again :D and please someone buy me tokpoki ;) 

anyway, what we want is simple right, jipyeong happiness, with or without dalmi..besides one thing for sure, jipyeong will have the family that he always want, regardless whoever dalmi’s chooses 

 

 

I've seen this too on twitter. I had different opinion tho. Until ep 14 my perspective regarding JP is still consistent since the very beginning. The role of JP's character in the whole story (IMHO) was suited the most to the title of ep 2: "angel". They also (i think intentionally) dressed him in white suit (white is usually associated with angel) during the networking party, watching his two humans from afar. This angel/guardian role was further emphasized by his job as a venture capitalist and DS referred to him as a sherpa. Frankly speaking, originally he was supposed to be a matchmaker. The role of angel/guardian were not only for him tho, we have another one in the story. It is halmeoni.

 

Anyway the story become more complex when the angel/guardian later on fell for the human (welcome to the triangle love mess as we know now).

 

Speaking about the ending, i had two scenarios in mind: DoDal or open ending. Tbh i didnt really see how JP would be in the picture (despite the theory above), although the opportunity for drastic plot twist will always be there.

 

Why DoDal?

First, because the flower petal in the first episode made its way to JP but instead of landing it was brought further by the wind to samsan tech HQ and finally landed on DS head, lol.

Second, because i saw PHR gave them a solid ground for their relationship to develop, even tho it begun because of a white lie and short in duration. PHR intentionally sending them to a 'war zone' (building a start up), where they needed to fight to survive together, hence automatically creating a strong, long-lasting bond as comrades and also lovers. With such an intense real-life experience, their bond could logically compete with DM's 15 years of first love. Not too mention personality-wise they were similar and obviously admired each other. Assuming that DS quality didn't meet DM's expectation from their first meeting, i doubt that DM would want to continue to see him and even ended up fell in love with him, even tho he was known to DM as DS from letters. 

PHR gave them enough space to know each other to the extent of their most vulnerable state, both best and worst moment together.

 

This, regretfully i didnt see it with JP. Sure PHR gave JP and DM some sweet moments here and there but only barely. During each i didnt see DM led him on as many toxic stans had claimed. DM respected him and cared for him as part of halmeoni and her (more family-like). JP-DM had three years with DS absence but i didn't see any significant development with their relationship other than JP become more active to approach her. If DM slightly swayed to JP even a tiny bit, she would act on it without any hesitation, as DM always become the first person to initiate holding hands with DS, also hugged and kissed him.

 

That's my take. Like i said, there's always a possibility for major plot twist no one sees coming. So i would just manage my expectation accordingly.

Edited by Jillia
Please do not quote pics! Thanks!
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I think hardcore JiDal fans would always find reasons/hints to believe that they will end up together whether it was 1% or 99%, in the same way DoDal fans would. It's all a matter of perspective. 

 

I feel bad that some fans are not able to dissociate the character from the actor. However, I guess it means NJH's acting is effective, right? I've followed him since Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo. I also watched The School Nurse Files recently, and his acting has definitely improved since Idle Mermaid and The Bride of Habaek. It's probably best that he avoids the internet for now, and I hope he's getting a lot of support from the people around him because Knetz, or netizens in general can be unbelievably harsh (I know he is also good friends with Jo In Sung and company, among his many other close pals). 

 

Anyway back to the drama, @inbetween0and1 I had forgotten about the flower petal! Thank you for pointing this out and I will definitely look for that when I rewatch this series. I dunno but for some reason it has always been clear to me that DS and DM are meant to be together for reasons a lot of you have already pointed out. What's done is done when they were children (grandma's lie with the letters). However, JP never tried to seek out grandma even when he became successful and only knew about DM when grandma asked him for a favor to look for the real NDS. DM, on the other hand, found the real NDS all by herself (when NDS put up the ad for the signed baseball). They were always meant to meet even without JP's intercession (I was so frustrated when he stopped an innocent NDS from approaching DM). 

 

Also, DM never showed any sign that she was romantically attracted to JP. I feel that she will always respect, admire, and feel grateful towards him but I don't see them ending up together unless the writer pulls up a last minute plot twist. We should remember though that the drama has finished shooting since a few weeks ago so the ending is already determined.

 

Can't wait for Saturday!

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4 hours ago, minibunny said:

I found this 1% chance theory is quite entertaining, I put on the spoiler box so you don’t need to see it if you don’t interested 


 

  Reveal hidden contents
You don’t need to laugh or bully me because I put this kind of theory and probably giving false hope..I just feel something doesn’t add up with the story, and there’s a lot of symbolism sign with paralel scene especially with the plant jipyeong vs baseball dosa

 

But always remember, in kdrama the female lead feeling is the most important, so far we know that dalmi chooses dosan before breaking up but after 3 years is it possible the feeling changes? Probably something has change just like jipyeong and dalmi said in ep 14..but the chances of that thing to happen is slim since in kdrama once the female lead change heart once, it rarely change again..

so don’t get your hope high and prepared to be broken heart if this theory is just delusional writing..but if this right, can you imagine how the people will react? It might be feels like reply 88 all over again :D and please someone buy me tokpoki ;) 

anyway, what we want is simple right, jipyeong happiness, with or without dalmi..besides one thing for sure, jipyeong will have the family that he always want, regardless whoever dalmi’s chooses 

 

Of course Dalmi and Dosan will be together because thats what the writer wants.

 

Im glad that as a viewers I can clowning himself until the end of the drama. :Dclown-face_1f921.png

 

:cutekitty:

EoJulX0WEAE3Yg5?format=jpg&name=medium

TvN

 

Edited by Jillia
Please do not quote pics! Thanks!
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About who's being end the game couple, It's obvious it would be dodal, simply because DM loves DS. Even after 3 years without DS, nothing happen between DM and JP, she is still waiting for DS, it would be weird AF If in the upcoming 2 last eps, suddenly DM in love with JP then they become a couple???? That would be a joke tbh sorry. Also everyone needs to remember the male lead is NJH, he already get a lot of hate for nothing, and if he would get shifted too. .no kidding NJH should sue PHR if thats really happen (DM-JP)

 

The triangle love is being dragged because there's nothing much to fill the eps, you can clearly see their scene get repeated a lot, it is common in kdrama (thats why I WISH kdrama wouldn't always be 16 eps, every drama have different story/plot/writer but somehow they are all ended at eps 16. That's why they have a lot of repetitive scenes and a lot of filler story / eps) 

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1 hour ago, szne09 said:

They were always meant to meet even without JP's intercession (I was so frustrated when he stopped an innocent NDS from approaching DM).

Well, if they had met Dalmi would know he's not the person who wrote letters and obviously he wasn't the type she would like to go to party with. So I'm quite sure it would be the end. Even more, if JP wouldn't approach them and support DS's lie about him being successful businessman it would be the end too. DM's heart was wide open to a man named Dosan by default, and JiPyeong's cover at first and then working together gave the time for feelings to deeper, so by the time truth was revealed it was too late. JP missed his opportunity, it's sad but it's life (and drama= in RL why bother searching for real Dosan, just hire anyone for one evening act :D)

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1 hour ago, naun81 said:

Well, if they had met Dalmi would know he's not the person who wrote letters and obviously he wasn't the type she would like to go to party with. So I'm quite sure it would be the end. Even more, if JP wouldn't approach them and support DS's lie about him being successful businessman it would be the end too. DM's heart was wide open to a man named Dosan by default, and JiPyeong's cover at first and then working together gave the time for feelings to deeper, so by the time truth was revealed it was too late. JP missed his opportunity, it's sad but it's life (and drama= in RL why bother searching for real Dosan, just hire anyone for one evening act :D)

 

I understand what you're saying but what I meant was DM and DS would have met anyway if JP did not intercept DS. And although he isn't the "NDS" who wrote the letters and someone successful as she had hoped, there's a huge chance they would have still connected (not to mention grandma's lie would have already been revealed so DM would move on more easily from that). The circumstances would have been different but we saw that they are both physically attracted and emotionally in sync with each other. Who knows maybe DM would still have become the CEO of SamSan Tech.

 

Of course these are all speculative and part of the "what ifs" had the story been written differently.  But here we are, haha.

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11 hours ago, didi31 said:

 

 

But then there aren't just SeonHo fans now, but all of the “original” haters of Suzy & NJH who took this opportunity to blindly send more of hate towards them.

 

It has become a hate bandwagon at this point. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who haven't even watched Start-Up but who are throwing themselves into the hate bandwagon.

 

Suzy & NJH clearly don't deserve all this hate they get, especially when they both did a really good job in this drama. And they really worked hard for it. Suzy even promotes this drama better than anyone on her IG but these new toxic SeonHo fans aren't grateful.

 

These toxic fans just ruined the drama for me. Without these toxic fans, I would have enjoyed the drama better.

 

It's really a whole freaking mess.  I was totally flabbergasted and disgusted on how far the fans can go. It's a shame and at the same time shouldn't be tolerated.   I salute Suzy for being brave though, she just doesn't give a damn and taylor-swift-ed the haters ('shake it off' lmao).  She just appreciates the work of everyone involved, the heck with the naysayers.  I fully understand why NJH won't update his IG as much, with the amount of hatred he gets in the comments, and I assume some go as far as dm'ng him, and they are even rabid fans who kept creating dummy accounts just for the sole purpose of attacking him in the social media.  Freaking crazy bananas, I tell you.  I hope they know amidst the hate, there are more people who'll support and love them.  When it was announced that they are going to lead a drama together, I was excited because I find each of them really captivating individually (WFKBJ and UF were on my fav drama list) and it only took a slice of that fandom to ruin it all for me. I would love for them to work again in a film or drama (nope, not a photoshoot lol although I'll take what I can get lol) with a more decent screenplay.  

 

8 hours ago, Valhad said:

Can we spare a thought (which is more than the writer has done throughout the whole drama) for KHN/IJ?

I was thinking about this after watching epi 14.  She went to see her grandma, you can tell she misses her but she left without even giving any hints that she's Injae.  Why is everyone hesitating or procrastinating in this show? lol omg it's driving me crazy.  Speaking what's in your heart I guess is for the finale. Btw, you see how similar she is with JP? It's another missed opportunity. If they went for them to be the 2nd pairing, that could have been so golden that none of this mess would have happened.  As the others have said, we are down to 2 episodes and there is no turning back. Maybe the twist was JP would finally found a family not in Halmeoni's family but in Dosan's? and he notices Injae? lol  Kidding aside, I wished they didn't sidelined her, there is so much in her that I want to know.  She wasn't given all that chance to show her acting prowess. 

 

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