Boys Over Flowers

CAST

Koo Hye Sun as Geum Jan Di
Lee Min Ho as Goo Joon Pyo
Kim Hyun Joong as Yoon Ji Hoo
Kim Bum as So Yi Jung
Kim Joon as Song Woo Bin
Kim So Eun as Chu Ga Eul (Jan Di's best friend)
Kim Hyun Joo as Goo Joon Hee (Joon Pyo's elder sister)
Lee Hye Young as Kang Hee Soo (Joon Pyo's mother)
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)
Han Chae Young as Min Seo Hyun (F4's best friend/Ji Hoo's ex girl friend)
Lee Min Jung as Ha Jae Kyung (JK Group's CEO's daughter and Jun Pyo's fiancee)
Lee Jung Gil as Yoon Seok Young (Ji Hoo's grandfather)
Jung Ho Bin as Jung Sang Rok (Kang Hee Soo's Chief Secretary)

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Original Work: Manga Hana Yori Dango by Kamio Yoko
Production Company: Group Eight
Director: Jun Ki Sang
Screenwriter: Yoon Ji Ryun

PLOT

Guem Jan Di is a commoner who comes from a normal dry cleaning family. One day she happened to deliver some dry cleanings at Shinhwa College, the most famous college in the country for its creator, Shinhwa Cooperation and also for its students, who all come from rich and famous families. It was at Shinhwa where Jan Di saved a guy who wanted to commit suicide as he was tormented by the notable Flowers 4, better known as F4.

The infamous F4 consisted of the four richest, best looking and most talented guys: Goo Jun Pyo, Yoon Ji Hoo, So Yi Jung and Song Woo Bin. If for some reasons, the F4 found you annoying and hateful, you should be expecting a red card in your locker and the immediate isolation and torment from your fellow students.

To soothe the media, Shinhwa Cooperation’s chair woman decided to accept Jan Di into Shinhwa college under a swimming scholarship.

At Shinhwa, Jan Di continuously encountered the notorious F4 and their bullying actions. Many times, Jan Di wanted to stand up for her schoolmates as they were bullied by the F4 but she just didn’t have enough courage to do so. One time, Jan Di’s only friend at the school, Min Ji accidentally spilled ice-cream on the leader of the F4, Goo Jun Pyo’s shoe; and he wasn’t willing to let her go until she licked it all of. Min Ji hesitated and was saved by Jan Di, who shocked Jun Pyo and the F4 by shoving her ice-cream cone in his face.

As expected, Jan Di found a red card in her locker the next day; and her suffering started there. Her desk was filled with graffiti; her books went missing; eggs were thrown at her; flour was chucked on her. Jan Di fell alone, annoyed and angry; she escaped to the stairway. To her surprise, a member of the F4, Yoon Ji Hoo was also there. He walked toward her and started to wipe all the dirt off for her. It was then that Jan Di started to fall for him.

Jun Pyo started to become anxious when Jan Di still hadn’t given up and begged for his forgiveness after so many days of playing tricks on her. One day, a rumor came around the school that Jan Di was pregnant; she was furious and suspected that it was Jun Pyo who started the rumor. She came to meet him and to the horror of the F4 members and Jun Pyo himself, she kicked him in the face. She also told him that it was impossible for her to be pregnant as she still hadn’t had her first kiss.

From that moment onwards, Jun Pyo started to think that Jan Di must like him and was waiting for him to give Jan Di her first kiss. To F4’s surprise, Jan Di rejected Jun Pyo. As for Jan Di, her hatred toward Jun Pyo started to grow as her liking toward Ji Hoo also grew. In the end, who would Jan Di choose: the hot-headed heir to Shinhwa Cooperation Goo Jun Pyo or the quiet musician Yoon Ji Hoo?

PERFORMANCE

Goo Hye Sun (Guem Jan Di): This girl is seriously gifted. She is a wonderful actress. The scene after her break-up with Jun Pyo, she made me cried so much as the way she acted that scene was so real and touching. But then almost right after that, the scene with Ji Hoo walking in on her in the toilet and how she reacted to that made me laughed so much that no matter how many times I watched it, it still cracks me up. Overall, Goo Hye Sun gave a touching performance and I must say I cannot think of anyone who can replace her as Jan Di.

Lee Min Ho (Goo Jun Pyo): Praising Lee Min Ho in this review is probably just useless as there are so many articles out there that can tell you how much of a great young actor this guy is. Yes, he was nobody before Boys over flowers but truly, without Lee Min Ho and his charming ways, BOF would never be as completed.

Kim Hyun Joong (Yoon Ji Hoo): Frankly, at first, I thought Kim Hyun Joong only had the looks to be Ji Hoo but hey, did he prove me wrong. As his character developed, his acting also started to become better. My favourite Ji Hoo scenes would be when he walked into Jan Di in the toilet (his face was just so calm and innocent, LOL); and when he admitted to Jun Pyo for the first time at Macau’s airport that he only stepped back because Jan Di was his best friend’s girlfriend.

Kim Bum (So Yi Jung): Drop dead gorgeous, this is all I can say about Kim Bum and his smile. I have to admit he is probably the cutest looking Korean actor out there. Now about his acting; he might have overacted a few times but he did pretty well at some scenes like the scene where he was thinking about Cha Eun Jae, his first love and how he wished she would look for him again; or the scene on the roof top when Ga Eul showed him the sun rising between the advertising boards. He did really make me feel the pain that he was going through.

Kim Joon (Song Woo Bin): Kim Joon had the least acting space in the entire drama so to judge his acting is an extremely difficult task. For a rookie, I thought he’s done an okay job. What I love most about this guy is his ability to use American hip hop slang, very charming.

Kim So Eun (Chu Ga Eul): Miss. Cuteness is what I’ve decided to call her. It was evident that she did a good job being paired up with Kim Bum as the number of fans out all over the world who want a spin-off story for So Yi Jung and Chu Ga Eul must agree.

Lee Hye Young (Kang Hye Soo): I thought she was the perfect person for this role. She was successful as an actress as I found myself hating her character so much.

Kim Hyun Joo (Goo Jun Hee): As always, Kim Hyun Joo did a great job as Jun Pyo’s sister. Oh, how I wish I had a sister like her.

Lee Min Jung (Ha Jae Kyung): She’s quite adorable and pretty. Lee Min Jung was a perfect choice as Ha Jae Kyung.

Ahn Suk Hwan, Im Ye Jin & Park Ji Bin (Jan Di’s family): I love this trio. They were very comical in this drama and did everything excellently.

FUNNIEST MOMENTS

Jan Di shoving her ice-cream in Jun Pyo’s face
Jan Di kicking Jun Pyo in the face
Jan Di giving Jun Pyo a mouth-to-mouth at Seo Hyun’s party
Jun Pyo pretending to be in a coma at the hospital so that Jan Di would admit her love for him
Ji Hoo walking in on Jan Di in the toilet
Jan Di and Jun Pyo spying on Yi Jung and Ga Eul

SADDEST

Jun Pyo seeing Jan Di and Ji Hoo kissing on the beach
Yi Jung telling Ga Eul to not misunderstand as acting is just acting
Jun Pyo telling Jan Di she was a stain in his life and breaking up with her
Jun Pyo not remembering who Jan Di was and calling her names

SWEETEST
Jun Pyo showing Jan Di his heart in New Caladonia
Yi Jung helping Ga Eul to forget the jerk she dated
Jun Pyo lighted the whole playground for Jan Di
Jun Pyo ignored the snow storm to look for Jan Di
Ji Hoo singing on the street, trying to earn money because of Jan Di

WHAT TO LOVE
The clothes, the cars, the holiday places, the setting, the sound tracks, the cast, the sub plot between Yi Jung and Ga Eul, the friendship between F4… Well, pretty much everything. Really, what’s not to love?

If you haven’t already seen this drama, now is the time to watch it! I swear if you’re into this genre and don’t watch it; you’re really missing out heaps.