After Netflix’s Start-Up: what’s next for Bae Suzy, Nam Joo-hyuk and Kim Seon-ho following the smash K-drama’s global success?

Jan 14 , 2021

South Korean drama series Start-Up was last in a string of international streaming hits distributed by Netflix in 2020. Photo: Netflix

Bae Suzy is starring with Park Bo-gum and Gong Yoo in sci-fi fantasy Wonderland, while Nam Joo-hyuk lines up alongside Han Ji-min in romantic movie Josée, and Kim Seon-ho, Kang Han-na and Kim Do-wan are all poised to appear in new K-drama series

Crash Landing on You, Itaewon Class, Extracurricular, Record of Youth and, most lately but definitely not least, Start-Up – these Netflix-distributed series all clocked up impressive international audiences over the past 12 months, cementing 2020 as the year that K-drama officially went global.

With themes ranging from the sociopolitics of North and South Korea – the backdrop of Se-ri and Captain Ri’s chemistry, now at last known to be replicated in the romantic leads off-screen – to unravelling the everyday struggles of starting a tech business, viewers enjoyed a wide selection of creative and diverse storytelling, which in turn solidified the presence of the Hallyu wave across the world more than ever.

Start-Up hit our screens at the latter part of 2020 and ended on a high note. According to Nielsen Korea, the series’ finale scored a domestic viewer share 4.9 per cent and 5.2 per cent for the two parts.

So with Start-Up now wrapped, what’s next for the newly world-famous cast?

Bae Suzy

K-pop star and bona-fide CF queen Bae Suzy’s upcoming film, Wonderland, directed by Kim Tae-yong, is set in a simulated universe “where people reunite with their loved ones with whom they can no longer talk to in reality”. The film features a star-studded cast; joining her in the April release are said to be Park Bo-gum, Parasite’s Choi Woo-shik, Jung Yu-mi and evergreen heartthrob Gong Yoo.

Nam Joo-hyuk