12 Life Lessons I Learned From The K-Drama ‘Start-Up’.
Start-Up is one of the shows that has really well connected plots, be it in terms of an emotional story or to deliver the inside life of a start-up in making. I was amazed with how they portrayed the important life lessons along with the technical jaggrons of the startup world effortlessly.
The story revolves around an enthusiastic-optimistic female Seo Dal-Mi, who aspires to start her own business and asks his pen-pal from 15 years ago to join her build it. The show talks about what it takes to start a business, the plan, steps, determination and methods plus, side-by-side it covers the emotional ride of every single person engaged on this journey. The show stars Bae Suzy, Kang Han Na, Nam Joo-Hyuk and Kim Seon-Ho as main star cast.
So, I decided to cross off this show from my watch-list with my father who too was interested in the show’s plot as he is also start-up founder (hence, the interest!). While watching the show I realised that other than just a story of how one started their own company and run it the show’s got a lot more to offer. I figured out around 12 points or lessons that we all can learn from these characters and their situations whether or not we aim to start a company! Let’s get started…
1. Anger Management
“Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” — Ambrose Bierce
In the show we see a scene where Seo Dal-Mi and Nam Do-San are on their way to the Morning AI’s office with their business proposal and were asked to do some lousy work instead of appointing them as tech developers. Later on, during their conversation with the CEO of the company who taunts upon her (Dal-Mi’s) past choices which makes Do-San lose his patience and ends up smashing the CEO’s name plate to make him stop.
Now, this is something to learn from our tech expert Nam Do-San. Where Do-San has been portrayed as a simple, shy and an excellent web developer, the only flaw he holds in him is his ‘anger’. He gets hurt quickly and lets his anger talk instead. Which, in my opinion isn’t an ideal trait for our personality to hold. Is it?
But with time and episodes we can see a change in that particular trait of his. By the time we reach at the end of the show we see a growth in his character. In the last episode we see that during an interaction with the tech developers of Morning AI they (Do-San and Dal-Mi) almost get into a heated argument with the three. That’s when Do-San comes in between to calm down the situation and leaves the scene with Dal-Mi. Later in the car we can hear him giving an advice to Dal-Mi saying “Don’t let them bother you. They are not worth it.”
Do-San, with time learned a valuable lesson of controlling his anger and avoiding such situations which will bring nothing but harm to himself.
2. Kindness Is An Act Of Love & Care. It Can’t Be Paid Back.
Here comes the heartwarming story of Han Ji-Pyeong and Dal-Mi’s halmoni (Korean word for Grandmother). This gives us a deep insight of Han Ji-Pyeong’s life after turning 19. A age where you are neither an adult nor a child, you are just stuck somewhere in between struggling with life.
In the first episode is dedicated to this beautiful non-related mother-son’s story that took place 15 years ago. When Ji-Pyeong was struggling with marking his place and making a future for himself, he comes across a strong headed yet kind lady Mrs. Choi aka Halmoni. She provides him shelter, food and emotional support when he needs the most. Ji-Pyeong too establishes a sense of attachment to her with time but refuses to show it.
Here, halmoni’s kindness and trust was the factor that helped Ji-Pyeong change his way of looking at the world. Where earlier, he would blame the world for his situation and never trusted anyone, now (15 years later) he was a bit flexible than he was before.
Even tho, he left halmoni for his future 15 years ago, but still a debt lives in his heart. The debt of halmoni’s kindness. He is now wealthy, has a great paying job and a Han river facing house yet can’t pay back his debt.
Well, over here I wanted to tell Han Ji-Pyeong one thing, kindness is an act of love and care not a debt which needs to be paid back. It’s about reciprocating that feeling back. It did took him a while to understand this but he did.
Doesn’t matter if the girl he liked didn’t liked him back but even in that heartbreak halmoni was there for him like she has always been.
3. Inspiration Can Come From Anywhere & Anyone.
The whole show is based around Sand Box, a place for those who wish to start their own company. But do you know what was the inspiration for the Sand Box’s CEO behind starting this? It was a memory of a man whom the CEO met 15 years ago.
The memory was of his 5-year-old daughter who asked her father to fill the ground beneath the swings with sand so she could prevent herself from getting hurt after falling from them.
Your source of inspiration might be closer than you think. You never know.
It’s such a small, unnoticeable memory from a far, but for the CEO it left an impression of lifetime. So deep that she decided to turn this memory into a fruitful reality. We can too learn this and look around for inspirations.
4. DETERMINATION.
Determination is what we see ever since the show starts. Be it to start your own company, look for ideas, finding a long lost childhood crush or proving your sister wrong, determination is need everywhere.
The point of determination suits well on Dal-Mi. A high-school graduate who dreams to open her own company. She learned marketing, management and languages on her own. She never let anything affect her, accepted that just like good things, everything bad that happened to her is also because of her own self just.
Maybe determination is not alone enough but even if you want to start something in future you need determination first more than anything to do it properly.
5. You do not need to be stuck at a place if you are made for something else.
This is a point which many of us must have faced during our school, college or work life. The course you are studying might not be the one for you but you are still coping up with it. The job that you are currently assigned to might not be the right fit for you but still…
I have a few friends in college who did go through the same situation. They were earlier enrolled into different courses like engineering, medical or law but their heart was never really there with them. After struggling with that for about an year or two they finally made a firm decision and changed to their desired courses.
It has nothing to do with courage but a firm decision just like Jung Sa-Ha did. Being a lawyer she decided to switch her career to a designer, what she wanted to be and joined forces with Samsan Tech at Sandbox.
Being a lawyer was her choice so was being a designer. Both of these careers were of her choice and also something she enjoyed. Why not idolise a personality like her and choose the path of our choice?
6. Accepting your fault and apologising from them won’t make you small.
In the last few episodes we see Kim Yong San, one of the three ‘San’ of Samsan apologising for his past behaviour and misunderstandings to Seo In-Jae and Han Ji-Pyeong.
For a major part of his life he lived in a delusion, having a different image of In-Jae and Ji-Pyeong in his mind. He made his actions according to it and hurt those two and himself in it too. But he never once flinched or hesitated in accepted his faults and wrong doings.
If he can, then why can’t we? Why can’t we realise, accept and apologise for our wrong doings? Remember, accepting your mistakes won’t make you small but will make you look more wise and mature.
7. Sometimes, what you think is normal might not be normal for others.
When I say innovation, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
Technology? Change? Speed? We might be excited for it but what about those who aren’t?
This question was pointed out by Nam Do-san’s father, where he mentioned that the generation from which he belonged to also had sudden and fast innovation which helped them with time but the innovation Seo In-Jae’s company was about to introduce isn’t helpful. Instead, it will cost them their jobs.
In-Jae’s company developed a software for another company which can take care of the security issues remotely without any manual help, and Do-San’s father happens to be working at the same place as a watch guard. This is the point he wanted to raise here. A sudden invasion of technology in his life took away his job.
Changes are good but we need to think about those as well who might not be comfortable with the changes we think upon bringing. When smartphones were introduced you, me, our friends and parents were able to adapt with it easily in comparison to our grandparents. They found it delicate, expensive and of no use to them. While our world revolves around smartphones, they found it the most irrelevant part of their live. Not because it was of no use to them but because it was hard for them to adjust to the new change that quickly.
9. Just because you are related doesn’t mean that your lives are intertwined together as well.
Another point well raised by Do-San’s father while he was explaining his innovation point to Won In-Jae when was asked about not stopping his own son who too is involved into tech business.
“He has his own life, so do I.” Do-San’s father ends up his point with this while answering In-Jae’s question. Just because you two are related doesn’t mean that your lives are intertwined as well. Not every single decision you take should revolve around your parents, it can many a times revolve around yourself too. It’s just like do whatever you wish to but be the same loving child when around your parents, like this you can find your equilibrium with them in between.
It’s not a lesson just to be learnt by us but also by the generation before us. It’s important to not interfere into every single part of each others life. Yes, each other. Do not interrupt their choices and they won’t interrupt yours.
10. Be experimental. Or say, be confident and firm in what you want to do. Don’t let others affect your decisions.
“We are the future. We need a partner. We’ll make a lot of money.”
This was the script of Do-San’s video speech which he sent to San-Francisco after winning a tech competition. I would say the video itself will let you know what experimental spirit and who’s confident personality I am referring to.
Jakdu studio’s owner and Nam Do-San’s first cousin Nam Chun-ho. A character who tells us to do whatever we want to and also helps us learn that anything can happen from nothing. A small handy green screen, bright smile, wicked mind (in a creative way) and great editing skills this guy made me realise that there’s audience of every type and I really have a long run to go in this field.
After seeing this show the first thing that came to my mind was finding a mentor like him to learn such skills in communication, marketing, editing, building connections and think this creatively! My bad, couldn’t find a mentor like him :(
11. The More You Surround Yourself With Unreal, The More Lonely It Will Make You.
The above sub-title might be a bit confusing for you, right? Let me explain it properly. The ‘unreal’ I mentioned above is ‘Yeong-Sil’ the AI technology that keeps Han Ji-Pyeong company. I feel that this video can explain you about the point I want to mention.
Han Ji-Pyeong no doubt was a hardworking and ambitious person but in all of this he forgot to add some humans in his life. Someone whom he could talk to, lean on to when in pain, share his happiness with. All he always had was an AI device who just did as per his wish. It was not until the end when halmoni came back in his life to be his support system.
12. There is No Such Thing as ‘Harmless Lie’.
The base of the show or shall I say the reason behind the show started was a ‘lie’. A lie made by halmoni 15 years ago to give Dal-Mi comfort after she learned about her parents getting a divorce. 15 years went by and the truth never came out instead started a series of lies to keep Dal-Mi in shadow for some more time and they succeeded in it.
But do you what happened later? The truth came out and broke Dal-Mi and her love & trust into millions of pieces. Knowing that her most treasured memory and person were all fake.
There is no such thing as a harmless lie. If the lie told by you doesn’t hurt the person now, it will hurt them later. It is something which is bound to happen, no matter how much you try to hide it.
So, these are the top 12 lessons we can learn from the show ‘Start-Up’.
You might be aware of many points from here already while some might be a bit new, but more important is how many of them have you already applied in your life or you will in future.
P.S: Me & my dad were both team Han Ji-Pyeong, so we ended up crying a lot in his scenes.
