The songs featured during the recap: “To Me” by Jeong Eun Ji, “Care About You” by K.Will, and “Bright Future” by Park Se Jun and Kim Min Ji.
Joanna’s New York trip, her Korean barbecue dinner with Ernabel at The Kunjip in Koreatown, and why the restaurant is worth visiting.
Why this finale feels satisfying: the reconciliation of the sisters, the healing of the Seo family, and the sense that nearly every major relationship comes full circle.
What “scale up” and “R&D” mean in the start-up world, and why Cheongmyeong Company’s future depends on both investment and risk-taking.
How Nam Do-san traces the ransomware attack to the developer twins, and why their Apollo and Artemis usernames become the key clue.
The show’s critique of power, revenge, and media manipulation through Morning AI, the corrupt reporter, and Won Du Jeong’s treatment of In-jae.
The emotional power of the grandmother’s storyline, especially her reunion with Han Ji Pyeong and her reminder that he does not have to face life alone.
Why Han Ji Pyeong’s ending may actually be a happy one: he gains family, purpose, meaningful work, and a way to pay forward the love he received.
The Ko Gil Dong foundation, why its mission matters so deeply to Han Ji Pyeong, and how his investment shows his growth from self-protection to generosity.
The rooftop conversation between Seo Dal-mi and Han Ji Pyeong, where he finally releases her from any guilt and preserves both his dignity and her respect.
A deeper discussion of Second Lead Syndrome, why so many viewers thought Han Ji Pyeong was the real lead, and why Start-Up sparked such fierce debate.
The repaired relationship between Seo Dal-mi and Seo In-jae, including the return to their father’s name, the meaning of the music box, and the 10,000 won bet.
The reconciliation between Nam Do-san and Han Ji Pyeong, culminating in honesty, a handshake, a hug, and an investment deal that signals true mutual respect.
The final scenes at Cheongmyeong Company, the symbolism of the wish wall and the elevator, plus the real-life filming location: Hankook Technoplex in Pangyo, designed by Foster + Partners.
At the end, we also share what we’re watching now, preview our upcoming single-episode reviews of No Other Choice and Dynamite Kiss, and reveal the show that we will recap and analyze in Season 14 of K Drama Chat – you’ll have to listen to find out!
References
Apollo & Artemis: Divine Twins With Opposing Aims (Greek Myth) | TheCollector
The Rise of Succulents in Korea: How Korea Became the Succulent Capital of the World
Team #HanJiPyeong: 5 reasons why most 'Start-Up' fans wanted Dal Mi to choose Ji Pyeong | allkpop
The Power of Nunchi: The Korean Secret to Happiness and Success
K Drama Chat is a weekly podcast where we take one Korean (K) Drama each season and and recap and analyze each episode. K Drama Chat is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pandora.
At my house we currently have Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV, HBO, Disney and Hulu, but no Viki. If K-Drama Chat ever did a show that was only on Viki, we would probably subscribe for a month and binge.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this comment! Very good to know!
DeleteI really enjoyed the podcast, and I agree with most of what Sung-hee said.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I had some good time watching the series. It was a decent one, and it had its moments. But, I can’t really say that I liked it that much.
I am afraid I am not fan of the screenwriter, or the director. I dropped all their other works, be it together (While You Were Sleeping and Castaway Diva), or individually (My Love from the Stars, Hotel Del Luna, and I hear Your Voice).
I just wasn’t impressed by the writing. Despite having 21 hours, the majority of characters are poorly developed. I think this combo should watch some Anime. In 20 mins, they give you backstory, develop characters and move you to tears. These people had 80mins per episode and still undercooked.
But, the series had some great moments thanks to the Grandmother & HJP (characters and actors). That scene in the last episode was best thing in the episode. These two were by far the best thing in the series. And I wish this was our story.
I like NDS actor.
Bae Suzy is beautiful (especially in her Pyjamas, lol), but I am not touching another series where she is the lead if I can help it. She is not bad, but aggressively mediocre.
The series also offered us an interesting contrast between the 2 male leads that led to interesting, and lively debates. But, like Sung-Hee, I never liked the framing of it as NDS vs. HJP.
I won’t rehash what I already said. Beside, Sung-Hee said most of it.
(Just for the record. I wanted the series to end when NDS went to USA not out of desire to see SDM & HJP end up together. But, I thought that was a good point in the story because all characters were on the cusp of something new)
Despite all criticism, I still think it is a decent series 3/5 stars (5.5-6/10), and on the whole it is worth a watch but patience and FF button are required :). I won’t recommend it.
Watching one episode per week along with the podcast was a throwback to the old days. The experience had its pros and cons.
Now, on the wide issues that was touched on such as AI, and so called “free press”. Did you know that almost the entire media is owned by only 6 companies?
I really have a LOT to say, but I am afraid that will lead to a heavy political discussion, and I am not sure this blog is the best forum for it, nor I have the will to engage in one.
Finally, I am really happy with your choice for next season.
P.S: Did anyone else think about the fact that NDS couldn’t really be a stand in for HJP, because that meant he wrote those letters while being only 11 or so? Not sure how comes that a math genius couldn’t figure out a simple arithmetic matter?
Seven Seas, I agree that the show could have finished with everyone heading in different directions, but I liked the ending as it stands, too.
DeleteIf anyone is looking for a cute short film with hardly any dialogue, search for 'A Tiny Romcom in an Elevator'.
Highlights from each episode of The Village Barber are also free online.
Seven Seas, thank you as always for your thoughtful comments and for sticking it out with us in spite of the show's shortcomings.
DeleteI have to say that I laughed out loud that Bae Suzy is "aggressively mediocre." I'm laughing again as I type this.
I'm glad to hear your vote of confidence for our choice for Season 14 of Kdrama Chat!
Seven Seas, we shared some identical frustrations with this show, but it sounds like ultimately I enjoyed it a bit more than you.
DeleteOne more slight disagreement -- the actor ranking of the "Big Four" characters goes as follows: Grandmother > HJP > Bae Suzy > NDS
Yes, he had some good moments, but I'm afraid NDS finished at the bottom "hands down!" LOL
p.s. I absolutely LOVED Castaway Diva -- it was my entry into k-drama, and so much WEIRDER than I would have ever guessed (a plus for me), and it burst whatever preconceptions of "k-drama" I carried.
I second Castaway Diva. It wasn’t my absolute favorite, but I quite enjoyed it and even thought it be good for the podcast. As for the actors, I feel like the actor who played NDS is being underrated. He played the character perfectly IMHO. My biggest criticism may be for the writers. For one, the episodes were longer than they needed to be. Second, just factually, a lot of stuff did not check out - five people creating a self driving car company?! And finally, I agree with Joanna and Sung hee that if the writers wanted to really push the limits of the love triangle and make it truly unpredictable, they could have had HJP interact more with SDM while NDS was away. At the end of the day, HJP had zero game when it came to SDM. Maybe he should have taken notes from PowerPoint Girl! She offered next to nothing to those companies, but she had game! Maybe you just can’t teach game…. At least that’s what my friends tell me! 🤣
DeleteMalcolm, and Jeff
DeleteI agree with Malcolm regarding Nam Joo-hyuk (NDS). I think he is good with the role given to him. He has also great "crying face/eyes" lol. I enjoy watching him. I must admit though that my opinion could be influenced by 25-21, because I LOVED that series. It is one of my absolute top favourite Kdramas.
As for Castaway Diva. Well, I didn't dislike it. It was "soft drop". I thought the first episode was very good. Maybe even great! The teen actors were so good (incidently, the girl is the older sister as teen), but as the series progressed, it started to build a "mystery" that I thought it was blindly obvious, and form one of those useless, and pointless triangles. So, after the 4th, or 5th episode I just didn't find it in me to watch again, and as the time passed, and I still didn't feel any desire to watch, I offically pulled the plug, and dropped it. I was looking for a series that examines the difficulties of re-integrations, but it was clearly shaping to be something else.
I think I might write a post stating my reasons why I dislike love triangles so much. And the more Kdramas I watch the more I dislike them.
Fantastic comments from all of you! Just a few comments.
DeleteSeveral Seas, I think in the drama, Seo Dal Mi *thought* that the Nam Do San writing to her was her age. Han Ji Pyeong is older and Nam Do San ID her age, so when she met him, it didn't seem weird that they were the same age.
As for the acting, I like the ensemble. I thought the acting and chemistry between the five characters was terrific.
And of course, I'll always be Team NDS! But you already knew that!
Sung Hee, carrying over the conversation about culture and Team HJP, this is interesting to me because I come from a cultural background which is famously supportive of the underdog, even if they lose. That may have influenced my unwavering desire to see NDS achieve his dreams and be happy, who knows.
ReplyDeleteHJP is the very model of the 'self-made man', so even though he is handicapped by his tough start in life, by the time the 'competition' kicks off, he is waaay above NDS in status. And proud to the point of arrogance.
I don't think I would empathise so much with NDS's character if it wasn't well-written or well-acted, but I agree that HJP was the more challenging role of the two, and that it was executed exceptionally well.
I agree a lot with Doremi.
DeleteWhile cultural differences are certainly (very) important in how we perceive characters, I think the case here is simpler.
I think people just felt sorry for HJP. Or, to be more precise for Kim Seon Ho. If the character was played by unknown, or unattractive actor, he wouldn't have gotten as much sympathy.
I think this was Kim Seon Ho's breakout role, so he wasn't super famous beforehand.
DeleteAh! Ok! I stand to be corrected then.
DeleteSeven Seas, I am with you here. If the Han Ji Pyeong character was unattractive, we would have hated him. He would have been the arrogant venture capitalist. I still don't understand how people overlooked his arrogant nature, how he treated his analyst Park Dong Cheon, and how mean he was when angry or stressed. He was sympathetic and flaws and played exceptionally well by Kim Seon Ho.
DeleteWow! I can't remember getting choked up with any podcast episode before but the last 20 minutes of episode 13.16 just felt so final to me. I had so many thoughts but couldn't put them into words and in comes Sung- Hee saying it perfectly. It reminded me of the K-pop Demon Hunters song What It Sounds Like when they say "the song we couldn't write, this is what it sounds like" the comment I couldn't write, Sung- Hee said it beautifully. I also agree with Seven Seas on the overall take on the series. I can sadly say this has been my least favorite K-drama and if it wasn't for the podcast I probably would have dropped it. The Romance between SDM and NDS was kind of boring and the only characters with a good story/ character development/ keeping the show above water were The Grandmother an my beloved HJP. As others have said, I never really saw him romantically with SDM but I was team HJP all the way character wise although I did end up liking NDS a bit and understanding his personality on episode 13. Thank you Joanna and Sung- Hee for another great season. As always, I learned so much about sooo many things. I am excited to discuss No Other Choice next week and I am about to subscribe to Viki so I can watch The Village Barber before diving into Our Unwritten Seoul.
ReplyDeleteMarcela, thank you for watching along with us! It means to much to us when people say they watched a show so they could follow the podcast along. Wow!
DeleteI agree with you that the ending of Start-Up was emotional. Han Ji Pyeong with the grandmother, and then Nam Do San and Seo Dal Mi expressing their feelings, and then the photo collage that showed the passage of time. All of it was wonderful!
And yes, the grandmother was the masterpiece in this show!
Please tell me what you think of The Village Barber. It's just a sweet show. Nothing dramatic, no kidnappings, no romance, no torture, no dark elements.
Hello Marcella, thank you for sharing your feelings about the episode. It is an enormous compliment that you enjoyed the podcast, even when the show itself was not your favorite. I also feel that the most moving part of the story was the relationship between Han Ji Pyeong and the grandmother. Romance in the story line is often the star of the show, but I thought what they had was an example of true love.
DeletePS Boyfriend on Demand came up in the podcast, I think Joanna recommended it? So I watched!
ReplyDeleteThis is a more up-to-date take on interactive AI/VR i.e. 'frictionless-but-fake' vs real human relationships. It's not deep, but it's fun, and there is a bit of useful commentary woven in, especially via one minor character (played by the actor who was a prince in Under the Queen's Umbrella).
Doremi, yes, I talked about Boyfriend on Demand. It was candy, right?
DeleteBUT, it also made me wonder how many women and men will retreat into VR when the virtual boyfriends and girlfriends become ever more real. Isn't it already happening? For me, THAT was the thoughtful and potentially dark element of the show. In the end, I oved it, it was light, it was sweet, it was candy.
Yes, it's already happening to some degree, Joanna. Not just the simulated experience of a 'long distance relationship' with an LLM which is constantly supportive and will never initiate a break up, but much darker/more dangerous options as well.
DeleteAt least the show explored the downsides and complexities to some degree. I appreciated that aspect amid the fluff.
I loved this season of the podcast so much. And I feel that all of the major characters wound up winning in the end. I do disagree with seven seas that the writing was not strong. To me it was great. And I agree with others that the relationship between HJP and the Grandma was the real emotional heart of the show. Whatever other quibbles you could have with the writing, those scenes with two great actors, playing their well written parts with such heart and empathy were superb. Even with great actors, you can’t get that depth if the writing isn’t there in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI think one way to tell a good performance versus a great one is if you can’t imagine anyone else playing the part. This was so true with extraordinary attorney Woo, she alone could do what she did with that. And in this one, though I thought everyone was good, those two stood out.
I’m really excited about the new season with our unwritten seoul! I haven’t watched it yet myself so I’ll have a pleasure listening every week to the podcast after I watched the next episode. So many of you have recommended it. It must be pretty good.
as usual, I’m watching two shows at the same time. They are boyfriend on demand and Phantom lawyer. I’m only on the first episode of each, will start episode two of each tonight. Sorry for the dictation typing, it’s really all I can do for now, but that will change in the next few weeks and I’ll be back in good form.
Ellen,
DeleteFirst of all I hope you are well, and getting better.
I think The Grandma & HJP were best thing by miles. But, their scenes together made up a very small portion of the series.
Anyway, I am afraid we just have to agree to disagree about this screenwriter, and the series as a whole :). It is part of the fun though :)
Ellen, three early cheers for Phantom Lawyer! For those who haven't seen it -- remember everyone's favorite brooding samurai Goo Dong-mae from Mr. Sunshine? OK, imagine him in a COMPLETELY different, comedic lead role, as a lawyer who can see dead clients! It's goofy, it's funny, it's occasionally touching. I'm on the third episode and really enjoying it.
DeleteThanks, Joanna and Sung-hee for another well researched and entertaining season of your show. I’m looking forward to your episode on Dynamite Kiss which I loved. Since we’re all between shows, here are some thoughts for those of you wondering what to watch.
ReplyDeleteOlder shows–The Tale of Lady Ok (Kocowa via Amazon Prime in the U.S.).
I signed up for Kocowa which was the only way to view this show in the U.S. If you liked My Dearest, Under the Queen’s Umbrella or Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung, you’ll enjoy this one. I think it would have made many people’s top three list for 2025 if it were more widely available. The show has great acting, a plot that moves along, gorgeous cinematography and costumes. Lim Ji-yeon (the villainess in The Glory) is strong and likeable as the female lead. She plays a slave who escapes and takes on the identity of a wealthy noble. There is a sweet romance with the male lead, Choo Young Woo (Trauma Code) who won the Baeksang Best New Actor for his role. I learned a lot about the treatment of slaves in Korea and also about the legal system (Lady Ok is a legal advocate).
Recently finished–Undercover Miss Hong:
This is one of the few K-Dramas I’ve seen lately that features a strong, central female cast. The show has little romance and instead focuses on four female roommates solving crimes and supporting each other. Park Shin-hye is wonderful as the intrepid undercover agent who poses as a 20 year old intern despite being in her mid-thirties. Ha Yoon-kyung (whom we loved as the kind lawyer in Extraordinary Attorney Woo and the sister in See You In My 19th Life) is wickedly funny as the “Queen Bee” of their apartment. The show is funny and lightweight; great if you need something to cheer you up.
Quick takes on shows still dropping –In Your Radiant Season, Still Shining and Practical Guide to Love:
I’ve watched a few episodes of each of these shows. They are all entertaining although none are outstanding so far. In Your Radiant Season has likeable main characters but suffers a bit from the plot device of deliberately withholding background information on the characters to add tension to the plot. Still Shining is slow and sad, but Jin-Young (whom we’ll see a lot of in next season’s podcast) is likeable and shows more emotional range than I’ve seen in his previous roles. Practical Guide to Love is appealing mainly due to the reliable Han Ji-Min and a surprisingly endearing performance from Park Sung-hoon who must have decided to take a break from being the creepy male villain (The Glory and Queen of Tears). Nothing amazing with the writing, but the plot moves along and is thankfully free of the usual miscommunications and secrets.
Looking for input–Six Flying Dragons:
Viki now has all 50 episodes of Six Flying Dragons. I’ve seen great ratings for this show. Has anyone out there seen it?
TripAndCatch, I'll add my vote for Undercover Miss Hong, which I've only just begun watching. It's nice to see so many interesting female leads in a non-romance, and setting it in the business world of the 1990s is a great touch. Also wonderful seeing Attorney Woo's best buddy and workplace ally, actress Ha Yoon-kyung!
DeleteTrip and Catch, thank you! We're so glad that you enjoyed Season 13 and Start-Up! Thank you for the show recommendations. I'm enjoying Phantom Lawyer and will go back to The Art of Sarah soon. It's a hard watch but I love Shin Hye Sun! The Tale of Lady Ok sounds wonderful; thank you for recommending it!
Delete