K-Drama ‘Start-Up’ Offers Its Characters A Chance To Start Over

Start-Up, starring Suzy Bae and Nam Joo-Hyuk, might be primarily about business start-ups, but it’s also about the start you get in life—and sometimes the need to start over. In this new tvN drama, Bae plays Seo Dal-mi, one of two sisters. Dal-mi did not get the advantageous start in life that her sister did and she has not forgiven her sister for starting a new life without her. 

When their parents divorced, Dal-mi chose to stay with her father, a man with no cash reserves, but a great idea for a business. The older sister, Won In-Jae, played by Kang Han-na, chose to stay with their mother, who married again, this time to a rich man.

At the start of the drama Dal-mi is determined and enterprising, but also broke. In-Jae is a successful businesswoman, whose business was financed by her stepfather. In-jae is speaking at a conference when Dal-mi confronts her about the choice she made. Sitting next to In-jae on stage is Han Ji-pyeong, a self-made businessman, who realizes he knows Dal-mi.

When Ji-pyeong, played by Kim Sun-ho, was a homeless orphan he found shelter with the girls’ grandmother and in exchange became Dal-mi’s secret pen pal. Their grandmother thought the letters would cheer Dal-mi, who was separated from her mother and sister. The letters did brighten her life. When writing to her, Ji-pyeong did not want to use his real name so he borrowed the name of a math genius named Nam Do-san. That’s who Dal-mi thinks was her real pen pal. 

When Dal-mi and In-Jae meet again, it’s not a friendly meeting. In-Jae may have enjoyed financial advantages, but her comfortable life has not done much for her personality or her relationship with her sister.

Dal-mi brags that she has a great business idea that she is developing with her friend Do-san, whom she has never actually met. Challenged to introduce him to In-Jae, Dal-mi realizes that she must find her secret pen pal.

Meanwhile the real Do-san, played by Nam Joo-hyuk, has started Samsan Tech, a company with an innovative idea but not much practical success. When Ji-pyeong realizes that Dal-mi will try to find Do-san, he visits Do-san at his start-up, setting events in motion that could start a business or a romance.

Bae recently appeared in the disaster film Ashfall and co-starred in the adventure series Vagabond with Lee Seung-gi. Nam was last seen in the dramas The School Nurse Files and The Light In Your Eyes. Kim stars in the 2020 drama Find Me In Your Memory, while Kang appeared in Designated Survivor: 60 Days. Start-up is directed by Oh Choong-wan and written by Park Hye-run.