Late to the party, but at least I made it! :p

I honestly wasn’t planning on watching the Korean drama ‘Start-Up’ at all. I’m not a big fan of Nam Joo-hyuk or Bae Suzy; but with the amount of hype surrounding the drama, I decided to finally watch it during the Christmas break.

Now that I’ve finished it, I can’t say that I’m a massive fan of the K-drama as a whole. However, I do need to speak up for Good Boy because it surprises me to no end that so many of my friends rooted for Nam Do-san while watching this show because for me: Han Ji-pyeong > Nam Do-san. Here’s why.

Here’s Why I Prefer Han Ji-pyeong Over Nam Do-san

He was there for Seo Dal-mi from the beginning.

Okay, so this isn’t Do-san’s fault, but the entire backstory between Ji-pyeong and Dal-mi really struck a chord in me. With a cute backstory like that, it was difficult for me to even think of rooting for Do-san, especially in the earlier episodes of the drama. Some of my friends argued that Ji-pyeong was merely “forced” into writing the letters… but while that may have been the case in the beginning, it becomes pretty clear that he, too, enjoyed writing the letters for companionship down the line and did so because he wanted to. Those letters were from the heart!!!

He is there for her all the way.

From writing letters to Dal-mi when they were younger to answering more than 400 of her questions via email when they joined Sand Box to the three years when Do-san was off not making paramdam in San Francisco, Ji-pyeong was by Dal-mi’s side all the frickin’ way. Without fail. Without question. Without hesitation. Where were you, Do-san? Out of sight, out of mind, ganern? Tapos babalik ka, biglang back to normal parang walang nangyari? Dami kong feelings. :p

He is straightforward and honest.

One of my friends called Ji-pyeong “insensitive and harsh”, which really surprised me because I never saw him that way. While he is definitely straightforward and honest, I never thought he was being insensitive or harsh. But then again, people say the same thing about me even when I’m not intentionally being insensitive so I might just like this about him because I can relate to him on that level. On that note…

He knows what he’s talking about.

When Mr. Han says something, he says it with confidence and with conviction; and 100% of the time, he’s right. Whether he’s giving it to someone straight or giving some sort of advice, you don’t need to doubt his words because you know he knows what he’s talking about. It’s not his fault that some people aren’t strong enough to swallow his feedback. Probably the only time he wasn’t straightforward was when…

He struggled with admitting his feelings, but that’s okay.

Now it may be true that he “lied” about how he feels about Dal-mi in the beginning, but it’s safe to say that Ji-pyeong has been very guarded with his feelings because of his past. The beautiful thing is that he eventually moves past that and admits how he feels about Dal-mi – and he doesn’t just admit this to her directly, but also to her grandma and to Do-san. He basically let the whole world know – and that’s hot.

He’s a family man.

He may not have had a family of his own growing up, but he became a part of Dal-mi’s family in a way – and without even expecting anything in return. He spent the holidays with them. He helped them out at home. And he was always present. Always. Even when he technically didn’t have to be. Not meaning to throw Do-san in front of the bus or anything, but he hardly called his parents when he was in San Francisco. He didn’t try to get in touch with Dal-mi, either. I mean… *shrugs shoulders*

He dresses well.

Whether in a simple Sand Box shirt, a pink cartoon shirt, a suit, or a coat; he always looked good. And he has great watches. I have a thing for men’s watches.

He eats with a passion.

I don’t know about you, but when Ji-pyeong was eating that pine nut kalguksu, all I could think was, “Damn. I wish I was that bowl of noodles.” :p But seriously… Ji-pyeong eats a lot in this show and every scene in which he eats is memorable. Can we also talk about how he was confessing his feelings to Dal-mi – even looking for her after she got mad to say his piece – and mixed the noodles for her while he was talking like it was the most natural thing in the world? Such a gentleman.

He’s always saving everyone.

Let’s face it: Ji-pyeong is like a superhero in this show. From making sure Dal-mi gets through her parents’ divorce when they were younger to saving Samsan Tech’s tech from getting stolen by jerks to mentoring Samsan Tech at Sand Box to pointing out the flaws in 2STO’s contract to running like mad to stop that reporter, Ji-pyeong did everything in his power to save these guys as much as he knew how.

He accepts defeat gracefully.

When Ji-pyeong knew that Dal-mi didn’t feel the same way about him, he accepted his defeat gracefully, even tipping Do-san off and telling him to open his eyes. He even talks to Dal-mi afterwards to clear the air and make sure they are able to start with a clean slate.

Honestly, while I was bothered earlier on that things were going in Do-san’s direction (which also made sense because he is Joo-hyuk, after all), I found myself unbothered by the decision by the end of the show. I won’t elaborate, but Do-san and Dal-mi really deserve each other. 🙂 Still, as men, it was Ji-pyeong > Do-san for my by a long shot. What about you? Whose side were you on?

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