Boys Over Flowers (Hangul: ??? ??; Hanja: ?????) is a 2009 South Korean television series starring Lee Min-ho, Ku Hye-sun, Kim Hyun-joong (of SS501), Kim Bum, Kim Joon (of T-Max) and Kim So-eun. It aired on KBS2 from January 5 to March 31, 2009 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 22:00 for 25 episodes.
It is based on 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. It spins the modern-day Cinderella tale of a poor, but spunky schoolgirl at an exclusive academy who attracts the interest of four rich and handsome guys of the school collectively known as F4.
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Synopsis
Hardworking Geum Jan Di (Ku Hye-sun) attends the exclusive Shinhwa High School through a scholarship she obtains. She finds her shallow, privileged classmates unbearable, especially the notorious F4, consisting of four rich and handsome senior students: the arrogant Gu Jun Pyo (Lee Min-ho), the quiet Yoon Ji Hoo (Kim Hyun-Joong), the charming So Yi Jung (Kim Bum), and the flirtatious Song Woo Bin (Kim Joon). They are considered to be the kings of Shinhwa High School. After Jan Di manages to withstand all of Jun Pyo's pranks, he begins falling in love with Jan Di but she already has feelings for Ji Hoo. Eventually she feels for Jun Pyo, even sacrificing her body to protect him when they are both kidnapped. He leaves school when he gets called away to run the family business after his father falls ill. The other members of the F4 bring them back together. She leaves with him after he is betrothed to an unconventional rich heiress who has also met and liked her.
Cast
Main
- Lee Min-ho as Gu Jun-pyo
- Jung Chan-woo as young Gu Jun-pyo
- Kang Han-byeol as child Gu Jun-pyo
- Ku Hye-sun as Geum Jan-di
- Kim Hyun-joong as Yoon Ji-hoo
- Nam Da-reum as child Yoon Ji-hoo
- Kim Bum as So Yi-jung
- Moonbin as young So Yi-Jung
- Kim Joon as Song Woo-bin
- Kim So-eun as Chu Ga-eul
Supporting
- Kim Hyun-joo as Gu Jun-hee
- Han Chae-young as Min Seo-hyun
- Lee Min-jung as Ha Jae-kyung
- Lee Hye-young as Kang Hee-soo
- Ahn Suk-hwan as Geum Il-bong
- Im Ye-jin as Na Gong-joo
- Park Ji-bin as Geum Kang-san
- Lee Jung-gil as Yoon Seok-young
- Lee Si-young as Oh Min-ji
- Song Suk Ho as Butler Lee
Joon-pyo's family's steward.
- 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)
- Im Joo-hwan as So Il-hyun
- Park Soo-jin as Cha Eun-jae
- Seo Min-ji as Jang Yu-mi
- Jung Eui-chul as Lee Min-ha / Lee Jae-ha (model Haje)
- Kim Ki-bang as Bom Choon-sik
- Haiming as Ming
- SS501 - special performance of "UR MAN" (cameo, episode 4)
Differences from the manga
- In the manga, the characters are in high school in season 1, but F4 (minus Domyoji) attends Eitoku University in season 2. In the Korean version, the characters are also in high school, but the F4 move on to Shinhwa University from episode 13 onwards. Shinhwa High School and Shinhwa University are located within the same campus.
- 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 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
Awards and nominations
International broadcast
- Japan: A special preview of the series aired on March 21, 2009. The series then officially aired on Hallyu Channel Mnet every Sunday at 7:30 p.m. starting on April 12, 2009. It also aired on terrestrial channel TBS and its cable channel BS-TBS.
- Taiwan: It aired on CTV beginning May 10, 2009, on Sundays at 10 p.m. GTV also aired the series starting from May 16, on Saturdays at 9 p.m.
- Singapore: It aired on Mediacorp's Channel U starting from May 16, 2009 every Saturday at 9.30 p.m., together with Taiwan's GTV (Channel U broadcast the Taiwan version).
- Hong Kong: It aired on May 10, 2009 on Hong Kong's biggest television network, Television Broadcasts Limited, specifically its channel intended for a younger audience TVB J2.
- Philippines: It aired on ABS-CBN on May 11, 2009. It was first re-aired on UHF channel Studio 23 on April 19, 2010. And now its re-aired on cable channel Jeepney TV on August 18, 2014 and again in 2017. It is also available to stream with subtitles on Iflix and Viu (streaming media). GMA Network to air local version of Boys over Flowers along with JU Entertainment
- Indonesia: It aired on Indosiar every Monday and Tuesday at 10.30 p.m., starting from June 1, 2009 and It aired on RCTI every Monday to Friday at 01.30 p.m., starting from January 2, 2015. It is also available to stream with subtitles on Iflix.
- Thailand: It aired on BBTV Channel 7 Bangkok every Saturday and Sunday at 9.15 a.m. starting from July 4, 2009. Repeat telecast every Monday to Thursday at 3.10 a.m. starting from December 30, 2015. It is also available to stream with subtitles on Iflix.
- Hong Kong-based-pan-Asian TV channel Xing Kong aired the series on July 8, 2009, as part of the "Boys Over Flowers Trilogy" along with the Taiwanese and Japanese versions.
- Vietnam: It aired on H1 (Hanoi Television) beginning June 24, 2009, from Mondays to Thursdays at 9 p.m. The copyright was held by TVM and it also aired on HTV3 every weekend at 9:00 p.m. beginning August 22, 2009.
- Malaysia: It aired on 8TV (Astro channel 708), starting from December 16, 2009, dubbed in Mandarin with Malay subtitles. Later on, in 2016, it has re-broadcast again at NTV7 during weekdays, Monday to Friday afternoons from 12:00 noon until 1:00 pm. It is also available to stream with subtitles on Iflix.
- Canada: It aired in Vancouver on SHAW Multicultural Channel (119) weekdays from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. with English subtitles.
- Israel: It began airing on September 3, 2010 on Viva Platina Channel, 2 episodes every Friday.
- United States: Hulu started streaming the full 25 episodes in August 2010.
- Cambodia: It aired on TV5 in 2010.
- Botswana: It began airing in January 2011 on BTV.
- Peru: It began airing on May 5, 2011 on Panamericana Televisión.
- Panama: It began airing on June 19, 2011 on SERTV, Channel 11.
- Ecuador: It aired on Ecuador TV.
- Romania: It began airing on October 12, 2011 on Euforia Lifestyle TV.
- Puerto Rico: It began airing on October 19, 2011 on Puerto Rico TV.
- Kazakhstan: It aired on El Arna.
- Chile: It began airing on April 16, 2012 on Etc...TV and sister station MEGA.
- Turkey: It began airing on December 1, 2012 on TRT Okul.
- Lebanon: It began airing on March 23, 2013 on MBC 4, dubbed as Ayam al Zohor.
- India: It began airing on May 12, 2014 on Puthuyugam TV, daily from 7:00-8:00 p.m. (with reruns at 10:30-11:30 p.m., and the next day at 2:00-3:00 p.m.), dubbed in Tamil. It also premiered on the digital platform of Zindagi known as Ozee, dubbed in Hindi from 3 July 2017. It is also available on Viki with English subtitles.
- Sri Lanka: It premiered on August 11, 2014 on TV Derana, Monday to Friday 8:30 p.m - 9:00 p.m, dubbed in Sinhala. It is also available to stream with subtitles on Iflix.
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.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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