Boys Over Flowers (2009)

Oh boy... this is the first drama that I ever watched, the one which started it all. It will always hold a special place in my heart, on a high-high pedestal, perfect in every way, the drama to which no other drama could ever compare. Well... it is really hard to think another drama might take its place in my heart. However, as I've watched more and more dramas I've found this level of love for other dramas for a whole plethora of reasons. But no matter how many dramas I watch I highly doubt that the special and honored place that Boys Over Flowers has in my heart will change.

In my opinion this drama is an excellent choice to introduce the non-K Drama-believer to the world of K-Dramas. For me it made me hungry to know more about the culture of Korea, the language, and the story concepts used to tell this tale. Because of this drama I was introduced to some very basic concepts of the K-Drama scene. Chaebol, Eomeoni, OTP, OST, STP, Flowerboy, Sunbae, Wae/Wae-yo, Ya!, Second Male Lead Syndrome, and Oppa. As I watch more and more dramas I gather more and more terms and words to my knowledge base. I’m sure there are other really phenomenal choices for a person’s first drama, but I’m biased and really believe Boys Over Flowers is in the top three best choices to bring people into the fold.

I won’t summarize the story here, there are so many places and blogs which rehash and retell the store in its entirety. Instead, my goal is to talk about what I liked and disliked about the story itself. Hopefully help others to decide if Boys Over Flowers is for them.

Let’s start off by saying if you’re watching a drama for the eye-candy then Boys Over Flowers has it in abundance. All of the F4 are handsome Flowerboys. Each fulfilling a different character archetype. Goo Jun Pyo is the cold hearted Chaebol who torments and tortures others with a smirk. Yoon Ji Hoo is the tender hearted and warm second male lead with a smile that can melt your heart. So Yi Jung is the suave Casanova/Plyaboy who can charm the pants off anything. And Last but certainly not least is Song Woo Bin, the enforcer and smooth talker of the group who will defend his friends no matter what. Something for everyone that’s for sure.

Geum Jan Di is the poor, working class gal who finds herself wrapped up in the world of the excessively rich. She is stubborn, cheerful, hard working, and a bright light to her friends. For me she was amazing to watch. The story put her through the gamut of emotions and she still remained strong and true to her own morals. For me that was an amazing journey to witness.

I keep saying what I loved about this show, so I should add a few notes about what I didn’t like. Geum Jan Di’s family caused me no end of frustrations. The more I learn about the culture there and the image portrayed in their TV shows I can see where they were coming from. However, this poor noona just couldn’t get over the fact that they were pretty much trying to sell their daughter to a rich family for their own improvement. Plus the strained/strange relationship between the parents didn’t sit well with me. Because Jan Di was so hard working I really wanted to see a family that supported her and was happy at home. Lastly, it bothered me that the parents left the high school daughter in charge of her middle school brother and left to make money.

The Eomeoni, Jun Pyo’s mom, yeah I hated her so much. I understand the role she played and the way she created dramatic intensity in the story, however, she was a bit much. I wanted to see her part toned down a little, because then it would have been a little bit more believable.

This story introduced me to Second Male Lead Syndrome, I’m sure there are a ton of other names for it. But what it boils down to is that I loved Ji Hoo so much that by the end of the story my heart was broken and bleeding for him and his unrequited love. I hated that he didn’t get a happily ever after, it still bothers me to this day.

Other things that I loved about this show was the secondary love story between So Yi Jung and Cha Ga Eul. It was fun to watch Yi Jung grow as a man and to see Ga Eul slowly fall in love with him. The friendship that blossomed between Ji Hoo and Jan Di makes my heart all warm and fuzzy (as long as I don’t think about his unhappy ending). I loved how Goo Jun Hee (Goo Jun Pyo’s older sister) and Min Seo Hyun (Ji Hoo’s first love) protected and supported Jan Di. I also just loved the story. Angry, rich, spoiled, brat who slowly becomes a good man through his love for a woman he shouldn’t want. The acting was superb and writing amazing. Best of all, for me, it had a mostly happy ending. There were a few sad things which I wish could have turned out better for the characters I adore, but even with these road bumps the ending was happy and sweet.

Noona's Rating
Overall: 9 (Rated at 5 Stars on DramaFever.com)
Story/Writing: 9
Cast/Actors: 10
OST: 9
Sets/Costumes: 7
Feels: 10

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I understand that this drama is surrounded by varied opinions so I will attempt to be mindful of that...

'Boys Before Flowers' or "Boys Over Flowers' was my very first K-Drama. My friend and I watched 20 of the 25 episodes in one full sitting - dedication right there. I must admit, I was not disappointed (evident by the various dramas I have watched since).

The storyline of 'Boys Over Flowers' provides moments of tears (I cried like a baby), joy (grinned like a fool and laughed very often), pure annoyance and hatred toward certain 'evil' characters (we experienced much of this), it is certainly a drama that can leave people shouting at their screens. I thought the storyline was great, it always had me at the edge of my seat, enthralled in the events that were unraveling in front of me. However, it has been noted by many other people that the last story plot (I won't state what it is) was unnecessary, and I agree, to a point. I can understand the need for such a plot as it signified the strength of Gu Jun Pyo's love for Geum Jan Di and vise-versa. Overall, the storyline was very good/great, in my opinion - as infuriating as it was brilliant.

The acting/cast... The supporting cast were convincing in their roles, especially Gu Jun Pyo's mother... horrendous woman - she performed her role very well. I ADORED the main leads - Koo Hee Sun (Jan Di) and the F4 members... I must admit, this is the only role of Hee Sun that I have liked (please don't hate me). The actors who played the members of F4 (in my opinion) suited their roles perfectly. I thoroughly enjoyed watching them interact and slowly reveal their inner character. Their performances were commendable.

The music... what can I say? I thoroughly enjoyed it. I downloaded the various soundtracks to my phone if that says anything. The music in this drama was outstanding. I believe it was well suited to the drama and the events which were occurring.

Re-watch value... considering that I and a group of my friends have each re-watched this drama on multiple occasions... I would say its pretty high.

Overall, I would say this is a great drama. It is enjoyable and successfully and skillfully manipulates the audiences emotions. I found myself caring for each character (minus the obviously detestable characters... I would definitely recommend watching this drama if you haven't already, the cute moments are well worth it.

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The Good: Lee Min Ho as Goo Joon Pyo. This was his break out role for a reason. Goo Joon Pyo is not a good person and he would make a terrible boyfriend, but boy is he fun to watch.

The Meh: Everyone else, practically, especially Kim Hyun Joong's Ji Hoo and Goo Hye Sun's Geum Jan Di. Seriously, what was up with her character. Had potential to be a decent and even kinda badass female lead, but she was just such a puzzling and at times infuriating one instead.

The Bad: The story, oh, it's bad. And frustrating. And terribly cliched. But so, so addictive and fun to watch.
This show was one of my first korean dramas and I finished it in like four days, I couldn't stop. I have a very soft spot for it, in spite of its flaws and overall messiness. One of my guilty pleasures.

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Overrated

When I was starting my journey in Asian Drama I read that Boys Over Flowers was a must see, oh boy, it actually disappointed me to the point that I stopped watching Asian dramas for a while. I know this one is one of the first dramas that became popular and opened the doors for all the other to come but the characters and the plot were disappointing. I am not sure but I think that in 2009 it was one of the one dramas to go along with the story of the rich boy and the poor girl (that's why I am giving it a 9), but what I don’t like is the lack of consent and consistency in the story.

First, to explain the lack of consent I don’t understand why Joon Pyo was always dragging Jan Di around, making her go places she didn’t wanted to and practically forcing her to be his girlfriend, he never asked her if she wanted to, he just started telling people around hum that it was that way and taking Jan Di with him to different places. And with the lack of consistency, at first Jan di is shown as a strong girl who is ready to stand up for herself and her friend to whomever dared to mess with her, but then she just lets Joon Pyo toy with her and drag her around, when they “started” being a couple she tried to explain that they weren’t but like, just saying it like twice as much and in a tone that no one would pay attention to, girl, you were throwing ice cream to that guy and yelling at him and now you can’t defend yourself?? And let’s not talk how Joon Pyo’s mother made her do whatever she wanted, I understand you can’t talk back to elder people in Korea but then she actually did what the woman asked for?

And don’t get me started on how she actually feel in love with the guy that was always bossing her around and didn’t care how she felt and not with the one that was always taking care of her and was so nice with her.

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BOF vs. Meteor Garden (2018) - spoilers abound!

I watched Boys Over Flowers first, then immediately moved on to the Chinese remake Meteor Garden (2018). I have so many feelings! Wrote this comparison for a friend recently and figured I'd share it here too as my official review.

Tl;dr: In BOF, Jan-di should have chosen Ji-hoo, but in MG I'm happy for Shancai and Dao Ming Si.

In BOF there wasn’t enough development and growth to the relationship with Jun-pyo. She went from not liking him to kinda liking him to being wrecked that he no longer wanted her. I needed more good times between them to cement the emotions and convince me that she actually loved him as much as he loved her, and that they could actually work together for a lifetime. This is where MG definitely excelled! The relationship arc is much better. And because the love triangle is so downplayed in MG, I’m perfectly happy that she ends up with Dao Ming Si.

Ji-hoo’s line in BOF about being her honorable fireman and coming to her rescue when he hears her heart alarm just slayed me. Like how can you have a line that great and not get the girl in the end!! He was SO good to her.

I probably could have made my peace with her choosing Jun-pyo if the ending hadn’t been so shitty. Ji-hoo spends THREE YEARS by her side as they pursue their common interest in medicine while Jun-pyo is MIA, he still loves her completely, but Jun-pyo makes a flashy entrance and gets the girl? UGH! And worst of all, Ji-hoo’s grandfather is now dead, so the poor guy is left totally alone! Soooo unsatisfying. In MG on the other hand, the ending is very sweet.

In some ways the acting felt more natural in MG, but the acting was more emotional in BOF. MG never made me *feel* whereas BOF had me a wreck at times. I also liked that everyone in BOF had tragic backstories, bad things happened that had lasting consequences (her shoulder, Yi-jung’s hand, etc.) and villains were truly villainous, whereas everything in MG was toned down and always easily resolved. BOF was all about the anguish, and that worked for me.

I did prefer that MG downplayed the bullying aspect and made F4 better people from the get-go than their BOF counterparts.

Even so, I liked the supporting cast F4 boys better in BOF. I felt like they had a stronger relationship with Jan-di than the MG counterparts. I liked that all 4 in BOF had stronger identities that established why they were considered so elite, whereas in MG their lives seem pretty average except for Si’s. And I preferred the Yi-jung/Ga-eul romance side plot romance in BOF. I *could not stand* MG's meek little Xiao You as she chased after Xi Men! Multiple times I shouted “have some self-respect, girl!” at my screen lol. Xi Men got *real hot* in the second half of the series though. In BOF I did feel bad that Woo-bin’s character was so minor, like he’s the only one who didn’t get his own side plot, but then I got super annoyed with the amount of screen time his MG counterpart Mei Zuo got with that other love triangle story that came out of nowhere and ate up waaaay too much screen time in a disconnected plot.

The characters are meant to be younger in BOF than in MG, but for me I felt the plot scenarios and the acting and the emotions all felt more mature in BOF.

The hair was bad in both shows early on, but got better as it went. Ji-hoo got hotter when he started wearing glasses, and Xi Men got hotter when he stopped lol. I always preferred BOF’s fashion over MG’s though, more dapper.

BOF had more plot holes and wild unbelievable scenarios, so MG for sure wins for better and more even storytelling.

The many travel excursions in BOF made it feel like I was watching a season of the Bachelorette, which honestly I really liked. The travel in MG was unexciting to me, and the London scenes were downright AWFUL with the accents and absurd portrayals of British people (having lived in London for 4 years, I was literally screaming at the TV during the fancy restaurant musical moment).

Lastly, the product placements in MG were laughably annoying. So in your face!

I think that on a point by point logical basis, I might lean towards MG as the being better, but honestly it’s the overall feeling and lasting impression that makes BOF win for me, logic be damned.

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This show was just a big WTF for me.

The thing is, this drama was bad. Plain and simple. At every plot twist all I could think was what the fuck, or of course this happens. No, seriously. Just what the hell?! Who wrote this shit? It was that bad. The acting... was okay. Just okay. The first four episodes were pretty good and I had a good feeling about the show. But then it just went downhill.

But... for some reason we still come back to this show. It's still very popular and is the first kdrama for the most of us. It was for me. What is it about the show that makes us like it? I don't know. It could be F4, amazing eye candy playing with our hearts, or it could be the cutesy scenes of which the show has a lot.

What I do know, that if you've already been introduced to k-dramas, good ones. You won't like BOF. But if you're new to them or are into teen romances, HEAVY melodrama and don't really care about the story, you can give this show a go.

Rewatch value- Honestly, if I ever go back to this show, I'm only going to be able to sit through the first four episodes. Even that is just barely.

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I watched the other 2 versions before i watched this and was so excited for it to come out...but when it did i was extremely disappointed. They changed too much from the manga/anime and i couldn't get used to it. i respect the fact that korea likes to be different when adapting a drama but most of the time it never works out in their favor.

I hated how this show dragged on and on and on .___. i got bored. but kept watching hoping that ever episode after would be better..

the cast. oh the cast. really bad in my opinion. they didn't pick people who had chemistry and it showed. i was more interested in sojiro and yuki's (idr the korean names) relationship than jandi and gyo jun po(?).

most of the people that "loved" this drama are the ones that have never watched any other drama/version. if i were one of them i might've loved this drama :/

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The great story of a poor girl falling in love with a rich spoiled guy…this series has failed to hold my intrest till ep 14…i mean the storyline started to be complicated, twisted and thrilling starting from ep 14…i can’t believe that it was actually filmed this way…there was no chemistry between the characters…their actions and emotions weren’t understood…the love triangle between Jun Pyo, Jan Di and Ji Hoo was silly…the main point of how was the love triangle could be so complicated and painful wasn’t demonstrated in a right way…the acting itself was off and wired…i mean they started to act really good at the end…this has really failed my expectations for Lee Min HO, Kim Hyun Joong and Kim Bum…these three actors have done much better than this…However, as i said before the story became thrilling at the very end…there were some really funny moments…the only characters who acted really good from the begining was Go Jun Pyo’s mum and Ga Eul (Jan Di’s best friend)....i have seen better series with the same main point…i recomend watching Secret Garden as it has shown the real complications and problems when a poor woman falls in love with a rich arogant guy….

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I really liked this Drama it was super cute and funny. I didn't really like how they made the main girl look though. She's pretty in the anime version of this and in the drama I was really disappointed. The story line didn't follow all the way through like the anime I definitely saw differences. But, other than that it was really good and something I would definitely watch again in the future. If you're into the cute lovey dovey Dramas then I would definitely recommend this to those. Anyways, I hope that more people will like this, and give it a chance, because I'm glad I did. :)

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