Boys Over Flowers (Hangul: ??? ??; Hanja: ??? ??) is a 2009 South Korean television series that earned high viewership ratings in South Korea and popularity throughout Asia. It stars Ku Hye-sun, Lee Min-ho, Kim Hyun-joong, Kim Bum, Kim Joon and Kim So-eun. It aired for 25 episodes on KBS2 from January 5 to March 31, 2009 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 22:00 KST.
The series is about an average girl who gets tangled up in the lives of an arrogant rich boy and his friends, and is based on the Japanese sh?jo manga series Boys Over Flowers (?????, Hana Yori Dango) written by Yoko Kamio. The series is the fifth television adaptation of the manga following the Taiwanese Meteor Garden and its sequel Meteor Garden II, and the Japanese Hana Yori Dango and its sequel Hana Yori Dango Returns.
Video Boys Over Flowers (TV series)
Plot introduction
The poor but vivacious Geum Jan-di (Ku Hye-sun) receives a scholarship to attend the exclusive Shinhwa High School. She dislikes her wealthy classmates, especially the four best-looking and most powerful boys in the school, who are known as the F4. Their leader, the arrogant Gu Jun-pyo (Lee Min-ho), singles out Jan-di to bully, but she stands up to him, and he begins to fall in love with her. However, she has already developed feelings for his best friend and fellow F4 member, Yoon Ji-hoo (Kim Hyun-Joong). As Jan-di continues to get entangled in the F4's world, everyone's friendships and feelings become complicated.
Maps Boys Over Flowers (TV series)
Cast
Main
- Ku Hye-sun as Geum Jan-di
- A dry cleaner's daughter, who is offered a scholarship to attend the prestigious Shinhwa High School. Headstrong, optimistic, stubborn, and kind-hearted, Jan-di readily stands up for her friends when they are being bullied. She gets on Jun-pyo's bad side when she stands up to him, but he soon professes his feelings for her. (Known as Makino Tsukushi in the manga.)
- Lee Min-ho as Gu Jun-pyo
- Jung Chan-woo as young Gu Jun-pyo
- Kang Han-byeol as child Gu Jun-pyo
- The leader of the F4 and heir to the Shinhwa Group, one of the biggest companies in South Korea. He is hot-tempered and believes that there is nothing that money can't buy. Though he's unable to express his feelings, deep down, he has a heart of gold. He torments Jan-di after she stands up to his bullying ways, but ends up falling in love with her and will do anything to protect her. (Known as Domyoji Tsukasa in the manga.)
- Kim Hyun-joong as Yoon Ji-hoo
- Nam Da-reum as child Yoon Ji-hoo
- A member of the F4 and the grandson of a former president of Korea. He has a driving phobia after being involved in a car accident that killed his parents and left him the only survivor. He is initially in love with his childhood friend Seo-hyun, who helped him overcome his social anxiety. Calm and gentle, his musical talent catches Jan-di's attention and she begins to develop feelings for him. (Known as Hanazawa Rui in the manga.)
- Kim Bum as So Yi-jung
- Moonbin as young So Yi-Jung
- A member of the F4 and a skilled potter. His family owns the country's biggest art museum. After losing his first love to his brother, he becomes a Casanova. He eventually changes his playboy ways when he realizes that he likes Ga-eul. (Known as Nishikado Sojiro in the manga.)
- Kim Joon as Song Woo-bin
- A member of the F4, his family runs the country's largest construction company, which Woo-bin later admits has strong connections to organized crime. However, he has excellent business sense and is very charismatic. (known as Mimasaka Akira in the manga.)
Supporting
People around Jan-di
- Ahn Suk-hwan as Geum Il-bong, Jan-di's father
- Im Ye-jin as Na Gong-joo, Jan-di's mother
- Park Ji-bin as Geum Kang-san, Jan-di's younger brother
- Kim So-eun as Chu Ga-eul, Jan-di's best friend
- Kim Ki-bang as Bom Choon-sik, Jan-di and Ga-eul's boss
People around Jun-pyo
- Kim Hyun-joo as Gu Jun-hee, Jun-pyo's older sister
- Lee Hye-young as Kang Hee-soo, Jun-pyo's mother
- Jung Ho-bin as Jeong Sang-rok, Jun-pyo's mother's secretary
- Song Suk-ho as Butler Lee, Jun-pyo's family's butler
- Kim Young-ok as Jun-pyo's family's head maid
- Lee Min-jung as Ha Jae-kyung, Jun-pyo's fiancee
- Seo Min-ji as Jang Yu-mi
People around Ji-hoo
- Han Chae-young as Min Seo-hyun, Ji-hoo's first love
- Lim Si-eun as young Min Seo-hyun
- Lee Jung-gil as Yoon Seok-young, Ji-hoo's grandfather
People around Yi-jung
- Im Joo-hwan as So Il-hyun, Yi-jung's older brother
- Park Soo-jin as Cha Eun-jae, Yi-jeong's first love
Students at Shinhwa High School
- Gook Ji-yeon as Choi Jin-hee (aka Ginger)
- Jang Ja-yeon as Park Sun-ja (aka Sunny)
- Min Young-won as Lee Mi-sook (aka Miranda)
- Lee Si-young as Oh Min-ji, Jan-di's friend
- Jung Eui-chul as Lee Min-ha / Lee Jae-ha
Source: HanCinema
Differences from the manga
- The relationship between the two characters Sojiroh and Yuki (Yi-jeong and Ga-eul in the Korean version) is merely hinted. In the Korean version, their relationship gradually develops throughout the series, having their own significant plotline instead of acting as a subplot.
- Yoon Ji-hoo has a more significant role in Geum Jan-di's life than the Taiwanese and Japanese versions, more strongly depicted as a romantic companion for most of the drama.
- Woo-bin's family does not appear in this version, nor is he only interested in older women.
- How Geum Jan-di came to attend the same school as F4 is changed completely. In the manga version, Makino's parents sent her to Eitoku against her wishes to attend another high school with her middle school friends because they thought in order to increase chances for Makino to marry a rich guy, she will need to go to a school full of rich people. In the Japanese TV series, Makino decides to apply for Eitoku after seeing Shizuka Todou at the briefing session, wanting to become an amazing person like her. Yet in the Korean version, Jan-di saves a student from committing suicide while delivering laundry (her family owns a dry-cleaning business), and in order to subdue the negative press from the incident, Shinhwa Group offers her a scholarship to the school. Geum Jan-di is reluctant to attend and at first declines, but complied because of parental pressure and because the school has a state-of-the-art swimming pool (she is a competitive swimmer).
Soundtrack
Reception
Boys Over Flowers attracted high viewership ratings and buzz throughout South Korea during its broadcast in 2009, and created another Korean Wave throughout Asia. The cast members became household names and shot to stardom overnight, and after the series ended, several of them became the faces of various endorsements and advertisements. The show is credited with launching the career of its lead actor, Lee Min-ho, who had previously appeared in a small number of low-budget high school dramas.
During its broadcast, the series influenced South Korean men to take their appearances more seriously to copy the metrosexual or "pretty boy" image (kkotminam, lit. "men as beautiful as flowers") of the F4 characters in the drama. This led to an increase in South Korean males wearing cosmetics, preppy and cruise outfits, and clothing in traditionally more feminine looks like the color pink and floral prints.
The drama's local filming locations became tourist attractions, such as Damyang Dynasty Country Club in South Jeolla Province; Ragung hanok hotel in Silla Millennium Park in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province; Hilton Namhae Gold & Spa Resort in South Gyeongsang Province; Grand Hyatt Seoul ice rink; Lotte Hotel World's Emerald Room; Farmer's Table in Heyri; and Yangpyeong English Village. The overseas locations featured such as New Caledonia and Macau also became sought-after holiday destinations.
The series' international popularity extended to Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, India, Nepal, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Sri Lanka , Zambia and among others. The cast members held various sold-out events across Asia, such as concerts and fan meetings.
The Seoul chapter of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) criticized the series for being the epitome of materialism and the Cinderella complex, saying it sets a bad example for Korean dramas by depicting school violence, and teenagers indulging in pleasure and prejudice toward others based on their appearance and social class. The YWCA report also singled out the leading female character (Geum Jan-di) for being passive and dependent.
Ratings
South Korea
Philippines
Awards and nominations
International broadcast
- Japan: Mnet Japan (2009) and TBS/BS-TBS (2011)
- Taiwan: CTV and GTV (2009)
- Singapore: Mediacorp Channel U (2009)
- Hong Kong: TVB J2 (2009)
- Philippines: ABS-CBN (2009), Studio 23 (2010), Jeepney TV (2014 and 2017)
- Indonesia: Indosiar (2009) and RCTI (2015)
- Thailand: Channel 7 (2009)
- Vietnam: H1 and HTV3 (2009)
- Malaysia: 8TV (2009) and NTV7 (2016)
- Canada: SHAW Multicultural Channel
- Israel: Viva Platina Channel (2010)
- United States: KBS America
- Cambodia: TV5 (2010)
- Botswana: BTV (2011)
- Peru: Panamericana Televisión (2011)
- Panama: SERTV (2011)
- Ecuador: Ecuador TV.
- Romania: Euforia Lifestyle TV (2011)
- Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico TV (2011)
- Kazakhstan: El Arna
- Chile: Etc...TV and MEGA (2012)
- Turkey: TRT Okul (2012)
- Lebanon: MBC 4 (2013)
- India: Puthuyugam TV (2014)
- Sri Lanka: TV Derana (2014)
DVD licensing
In North America, YA Entertainment released the series in two DVD box sets; volume one was released in November 2009 and volume two in December 2009.
See also
- The Heirs, a Korean series starring Lee Min-ho with similar themes to Boys Over Flowers.
- Cinderella and Four Knights, a television drama that has been compared to Boys Over Flowers.
References
External links
- Official website (in Korean)
- Official trailer (in Korean with English subtitles)
Source of article : Wikipedia
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