Boys before flowers photo

Boys before flowers

Title: 꽃보다 남자 / Kgotboda Namja / Boys Before Flowers
Also known as: Boys Over Flowers
Chinese Title : 花样男子
Japanese Title : 花より男子 / Hana Yori Dango
Genre: Romance, comedy
Episodes: 25
Broadcast network: KBS2
Broadcast period: 2009-Jan-05 to 2009-Mar-31
Air time: Monday & Tuesday 21:55


Synopsis

Jan Di is an average girl whose family owns a dry cleaning store located near the luxurious and well known Shin Hwa College. Jan Di meets the four richest and most spoiled boys known as the F4. After saving a boy from jumping off the roof of Shinhwa High School, she is admitted into the school on a swimming scholarship. Jan Di tries to avoid confrontation with the F4 at all cost because she knows what happens to those that stand against them. However, when Jan Di’s friend, Oh Min Ji, accidentally gets ice cream on the leader of the F4′s shoes, she’s forced to declare war on the leader of the F4, Goo Joon Pyo.

Cast

Koo Hye Sun as Geum Jan Di aka Makino Tsukushi

F4

Lee Min Ho as Goo Joon Pyo aka Domyoji Tsukasa
Kim Hyun Joong as Yoon Ji Hoo aka Hanazawa Rui
Kim Bum as So Yi Jung aka Nishikado Sojiro
Kim Joon as Song Woo Bin aka Mimasaka Akira

Extended Cast

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)
Lee Si Young as Oh Min Ji
Gook Ji Yun as Choi Jin Hee / Ginger
Jang Ja Yun as Park Sun Ja / Sunny
Min Young Won as Lee Mi Sook / Miranda
Kim Ki Bang as Bom Chun Sik (Jan Di and Ga Eul’s boss)
Song Suk Ho (송석호) as Butler Lee
Kim Young Ok as Head Maid
Im Ju Hwan as So Il Hyun (Yi Jung’s older brother)
Park Soo Jin as Cha Eun Jae (Yi Jung’s first love)
Kim Min Ji as Jang Yoo Mi
Kim Jong Jin (김종진) as So Hyun Sub (Yi Jung’s father)
Jung Ui Chul as Lee Min Ha / Min Jae Ha (fashion model)
Kim Hyung Joon as himself (cameo, ep4)
Kim Kyu Jong as himself (cameo, ep4)
Heo Young Saeng as himself (cameo, ep4)
Lee Hae Woo as Host Q (the guy who drugged Jan Di’s drink, ep4)
Lee Jung Joon as Gong Soo Pyo (Ga Eul’s boyfriend, ep9-10)
Heo Kyung Hwan (허경환) as (Cell phone event MC, ep10)
Lee Jung Sung as radiologist (cameo, ep13)
Hai Ming (하이밍) as Ming (Ji Hoo’s friend, ep14-15)
Lee Suk Goo (이석구) as (Shinhwa’s high school principal)
Jo Soo Bin as announcer
?? as Goo Bon Hyung (Joon Pyo’s father)

Production Credits

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

Awards

- 2009 14th Asian Television Awards: Nominated for Best Drama Series, Best Drama Performance by an Actor (Lee Min Ho), Best Drama Performance by an Actress (Koo Hye Sun)
- 2009 Seoul International Drama Awards: Most Popular Actor (Kim Hyun Joong)
- 2009 45th Baeksang Awards: Best New TV Actor (Lee Min Ho)
- 2009 45th Baeksang Awards: Most Popular TV Actor (Kim Hyun Joong)

Episode Ratings

Date Episode Nationwide Seoul
2009-01-05 1 14.3 (7th) 14.4 (6th)
2009-01-06 2 17.6 (4th) 17.4 (4th)
2009-01-12 3 20.8 (4th) 21.1 (4th)
2009-01-13 4 21.4 (4th) 21.6 (3rd)
2009-01-19 5 24.8 (3rd) 24.3 (3rd)
2009-01-20 6 24.8 (3rd) 24.6 (3rd)
2009-01-26 7 19.5 (1st) 19.1 (1st)
2009-01-27 8 25.9 (2nd) 25.3 (2nd)
2009-02-02 9 29.7 (2nd) 29.4 (2nd)
2009-02-03 10 30.5 (2nd) 30.2 (2nd)
2009-02-09 11 31.5 (2nd) 31.8 (2nd)
2009-02-10 12 31.4 (2nd) 31.2 (2nd)
2009-02-16 13 31.5 (2nd) 31.5 (2nd)
2009-02-17 14 31.9 (2nd) 32.0 (2nd)
2009-02-23 15 32.4 (2nd) 32.3 (2nd)
2009-02-24 16 33.2 (2nd) 32.9 (2nd)
2009-03-02 Special 21.8 (3rd) 22.4 (3rd)
2009-03-03 17 29.9 (2nd) 30.6 (2nd)
2009-03-09 18 35.5 (1st) 35.7 (2nd)
2009-03-10 19 31.2 (2nd) 31.3 (3rd)
2009-03-16 20 32.6 (2nd) 31.6 (2nd)
2009-03-17 21 33.6 (2nd) 33.8 (2nd)
2009-03-23 22 31.8 (2nd) 32.4 (2nd)
2009-03-24 23 31.8 (2nd) 31.6 (2nd)
2009-03-30 24 30.2 (2nd) 29.2 (2nd)
2009-03-31 25 34.8 (1st) 34.9 (1st)

Summer Scent (2003, KBS miniseries)

I finally finished watching Summer Scent. Don't misunderstand me. I am not implying that Summer Scent is such an unbearable show to watch that I have to force myself to watch it. It's just the feeling of relief you get when the drama finally comes to an end.

Summer Scent threads along the same vine as its predecessors: Autumn Fairy Tale and Winter Sonata. Narrating the story of two lovers and their tribulations, it certainly follows the directing style of Yoon Suk-ho, who also directed the previous two dramas.

In this drama, PD Yoon is reunited with actor Song Seung-hun (Calla, Ice Rain), who also acted in Autumn Fairy Tale. Perhaps it was the previous chemistry which they had build-up together in the previous drama, Song Seung-hun could grasp the PD's requirements and expectations, and thus played the role of Yoo Min Woo well. Song Ye-jin (The Classic, Crazy First Love), in her fifth role in dramas and movies, also showed that she has grown up to become a more mature actress since her debut in 2001 in Delicious Proposal.

Song Seung-hun plays the role of Yoo Min Woo, an architect who lost his first love, Eun Hye (played by actress Shin Ae) in a traffic accident on the day of their wedding. Ever since that freak accident, he believed that he would never be able to fall in love again, until he met Shim Hye Won, whose personality bears a striking resemblance to his first love. However, like how most Korean dramas go, their meeting was not immediate, but rather coincidental in the mountains three years later. What made this story complicated was the fact that Hye Won, who used to be a sickly child with a heart problem, had a heart transplant with, gasp! Eun Hye's heart!

The complications do not end here. The story also threads on a sideline, where the lovers find it tough to maintain their love since Hye Won was already attached to Park Jung Jae (played by actor Ryu Jin), a charismatic eligible bachelor. Making things worse, Jung Jae's younger sister Jung Ah (played by actress Han Ji-hye) who is also best friends with Hye Won, is in love with Min Woo...

Just looking at the relationships alone, one can pretty much tell that it's a messed-up entanglement. What stands out in this show also is the beautiful scenery and lovely soundtrack. Using Calla Resort and the tea fields as a backdrop, one can't help but to admire the beautiful scenery too. An avid classical music lover myself, it was exhilarating to hear Schbert's famous Serenade been played in the background. Besides Serenade, the soundtrack also boasts a couple of great songs that went well along with the scenes in the show.

As for the performance of the supporting cast, Ryu Jin put up a good performance. Portraying a composed, sensitive new age guy, he has clearly done a good rendition of what is required of his role. Han Ji-hye was impressive in her debut performance too. She is natural in her acting. Perhaps this could be the reason as to the success of her latest comedy-drama, Narang 18 Seh.

Summer Scent is a good drama to watch. But compared to Autumn Fairy Tale and Winter Sonata, I personally felt that this was the least exciting of all. Perhaps this could be attributed to the slow start-up pace of the drama. However, the audience can expect a more tense atmosphere with each episode. The plot has its pretty ridiculous moments as well, especially the heart-thumping moments, which I felt were pretty preposterous

Punch (2003, SBS drama special)

As the title suggests, Punch is a drama about boxing. This drama stars Joo Jin-mo (Musa, Wanee and Junah) and Shin Min-ah (Madeline, Volcano High) as the two main protagonists.

Joo Jin-mo, after a four-year hiatus from drama production, returns to the small screen as charismatic boxer Lee Han-sae. An interesting character, Lee Han-sae is perceived as a playboy by others who do not know him personally. A nightclub king at night (he's the manager of a nightclub) and a college dropout, Lee Han-sae does take his boxing training seriously. In fact, he was so good that he managed to win a boxing title.

This could be said to be where the story picks up. Shin Min-ah plays Jang Yoo-bin, the sister of an inspiring boxer named Jang Yoo-chul who rivals the skill of Lee Han-sae. However, during the final boxing match, where the two are pitted against each other, Lee Han-sae wins the match, with Yoo-chul dying of complications from his injuries. Then, by some twist of fate, Han-sae and Yoo-bin fall in love with each other until one day, she realizes that he was the one responsible for her brother's death.

Although the storyline sounds typical and predictable, I felt that this was one of the best dramas I have seen for a long time. Using boxing as a background could be said to provide a breadth of fresh air, instead of utilising the usual parental disapproval as the main reason why they had so many obstacles in their relationship (think Winter Sonata, Romance).

The characters turned in great performances in this show. Joo Jin-mo was fantastic. It was refreshing to see him back on the small google box after seeing him in so many big movie projects. This regular "oppa" (big brother) role seems to be tailored just for him. Shin Min-ah did a good performance too, considering that she's relatively inexperienced in acting except for a few movie projects under her belt. A natural talent, she could be one of the actresses to look out for in the near future.

Sung Shi-kyung, who is more known for his singing abilities than his acting, also had a supporting role in this show. After watching his performance, one might feel that it would be better if he had just stuck to singing. As this was his first foray into acting, his stiff expressions and emotions were quite a pain to watch. Luckily, at the end, the show was still saved by the excellent chemistry between Joo Jin-mo and Shin Min-ah

Stairway to Heaven (2003-2004, SBS drama special)

2003 could be said to be a pretty fulfilling year for Korean dramas. From All In to Mermaid Lady, Yellow Handkerchief to Damo, these dramas have garnered a pretty faithful following when played on TV. To top off the moving year of titillating Korean dramas, SBS broadcast Stairway to Heaven, starring current heartthrob Kwon Sang-woo and entrancing actress Choi Ji-woo.

This show was a big hit, considering that it could absorb a viewership of anything from 25%- 45%. Of course, one of its main reasons could be the star-studded cast. Starring Kwon Sang-woo, who returns to the screen after his major movie hit My Tutor Friend, fans can't seem to get enough of him. Also, Choi Ji-woo, the awe-aspiring actress from Winter Sonata, has not been in any productions since Winter Sonata, except a Hong Kong-Korea production, 101 Proposals. Another of its lead actors, Shin Hyun-joon has also been missing from drama productions since 1999. With a cast like that, it's no wonder that it was one of the most anticipated dramas of the year, even in its pre-production stage.

Alas, this drama is not exactly captivating or exciting. The storyline is too cliche. Most of the plot seems to have been copied from other dramas such as Autumn Fairy Tale and Winter Sonata. Certain parts of it also parallel the storyline of Beautiful Days, which might be due to the fact that the PD of this drama Lee Jang Soo was the PD of Beautiful Days.

Like any other melodrama, this story opens with two childhood friends: Cha Song Joo (Kwon Sang-woo) and Han Jung Suh (Choi Ji-woo). However, as Jung Suh's father remarries, her new stepmother Tae Mira, brings her two children along, Han Tae Hwa and Han Yuri (Kim Tae-hee). An introvert, Han Tae Hwa (Shin Hyun-joon) is touched by Jung Suh's kindness towards him and gradually falls in love with her. On the other hand, Jung Suh and Song Joo have an inseparable relationship. At the same time, Yuri also likes Song Joo. So you can see that there's pretty complicated relationship triangle, or rather, rectangle here.

The show than fast-forwards years later, when the children have all grown up. However, due to a freak accident, Jung Suh is run over by Yuri's car, which leaves her suffering from memory loss and living with Tae Hwa under a pseudonym. Song Joo is devastated, but never forgets about Jung Suh even though the irritating Yuri tries at all times to get his attention. When the lovers finally reunite, another cruel misfortune occurs...

Like Autumn Fairy Tale, this story also depicts two children who grew up together and become lovers. Kwon Sang-woo is captivating as Song Joo. In fact, the media reported that Kwon shed so much tears in one of the scenes of the show that even the production crew became teary. In fact, this seems to be his best production to date, having acted in pretty minor roles before. Choi Ji-woo is also charismatic in her role as Han Jung Suh. However, it seems like she has become so fixated in playing pathetic, damsel in distress roles (recall: Beautiful Days, Truth, Winter Sonata) that it is becoming numbing for the audience to see her in such pitiful renditions.

However, it was refreshing to see Shin Hyun-joon in dramas again. Taking a five year hiatus in drama productions to concentrate on his movie career, there have been significant changes in his acting style, becoming more mature and in-depth in his character portrayal. Another actress Kim Tae-hee, who plays the evil Yuri, failed to impress with her bad-girl impersonation. Going by the same few expressions, Kim clearly shows her weakness in portraying the inner feelings of Han Yuri, especially since the four main characters in the drama focus a lot on inner feelings. Lee Wan could be said to have brought in a breath of fresh air. Acting as the younger Tae Hwa, Lee Wan is considered one of the most prominent up-and-coming actors to look out for. In fact, he is Kim Tae-hee's brother in real life.

To conclude, Stairs to Heaven is typical Korean melodrama. Unless you are a big fan of Kwon Sang-woo or Choi Ji-woo, you would most probably find this story boring, since the storyline has been used in so many other high profile drama productions before. Watching the last episode, one feels not forlorn, but rather, melancholic.

Romance in Paris (2004, SBS drama special)

I had yet to watch another 2004 Korea drama production since Stairway to Heaven. For a while, I felt that the genre of Korean dramas had come to be stereotyped and typecast as sappy, romantic, authoritative dramas with each plot made up of repetitive, parallel and analogous storylines.

As I decided to choose a drama production to watch again, I was quite apprehensive on the choice of a drama. But after hearing positive reviews of Romance in Paris and the high ratings that it garnered, I was rather curious about this drama, and wondered if it would be as excellent a drama as others had described it to be.

Romance in Paris is addictive. With its first three episodes showing the landscape of Paris, it is no wonder why the audience would be beheld by the picturesque scenery of the city of Amour. The Eiffel Tower, Seine River and other sights and sounds of Paris are captivating in the opening scenes of this drama. However, this is not the only captivating factor. The drama itself is also alluring and draws viewers in with each subsequent episode.

This is a Cinderella story. Although there is no real prince living in palace with a line of maids and a butler, the male protagonist here could be said to be a reincarnation of one. Suave, rich, smart, he is everything that you could ask for in a guy. Our Cinderella is, as the name suggests, a poor, optimistic, beautiful lady with an enchanting smile that could melt almost any guy.

The actors in this show are excellent. It seems like the roles were tailored just for them. Our prince is Park Shin-yang, who is better known for his movies like A Promise and The Letter, both of which were hits in the 1990s, rather than drama roles. An outstanding actor, he gave an excellent rendition of the role, Han Ki-joo, who is the GM of a multi-national coporation dealing with cars. Initially, after viewing the first two episodes, his acting seemed a little stiff. In fact, I was wondering why the PD chose someone who cannot act to take upon the lead role. But as subsequent episodes were unveiled, I was really impressed with his performance.

Kim Jung-eun, best known for the movie Marrying the Mafia, is the hard-broke girl Kang Tae-young, who is constantly being fired in her part time jobs. Although she had never taken on the leading role in a drama production, Kim shows her own charisma and proved that she also is worthy of becoming an A-list actress. She is the one who provides the soul for the drama with her forgetful character and cutsey performance.

Of course, we should not forget another actor, Lee Dong-gun, who acts as Yoon Su-hyuk, who together with Park Shin-yang is head over heels for Kang Tae-young. It was amazing to see how much Lee Dong-gun has matured in his acting skills. When I first saw him in Ad Madness in 1999, he was still an aspiring singer acting in minor roles in small productions. But his depth in portraying Su-hyuk's inner emotions was overwhelming. At 24, he is definitely an excellent actor to look out for. In fact, after watching his performance in Romance in Paris, I had the urge to view his earlier works such as Sweet 18.

A Cinderella story, but is it a Cinderella ending? If there is one flaw in the drama, it is definitely the ending. After watching the ending, questions marks were flying in my head. It was simply incomprehensible. In fact, I had to re-watch the last episode again to try to understand the ending. But sad to say, another attempt to do that would be futile. My guess would be that the PD would want the audience to comprehend it at their own discretion.

Nice story, nice scenery, great soundtrack, great cast but bad ending. But if you are contemplating which Korean drama to watch, I would still highly recommend this one.

My Love Toram (2005, SBS special drama)

Our local public library recently began stocking Korean and Chinese TV dramas on DVD, which is great news for my bank balance. One of the first dramas I checked out was a two-part SBS special from 2005 called Nae Sarang Torami (My Love Toram), which I hadn't heard of before. The English title isn't even on the DVD case.

Jun Suk-yeon (Ha Hee-ra, To Be With You) and her husband Kim Seong-min (Kim Young-ho Second Proposal) live happily with their two children on Jeju Island, where they have an orchard. As the story begins, they agree to raise a golden retriever puppy named Toram for her husband's junior Yeom Dong-ho (Kwon Hae Hyo, My Lovely Samsoon), who trains guide dogs for the blind. Toram turns out to be a bright, friendly addition to the family and the community.

But then Suk-yeon is blinded in an accident. Furious at her new dependency, she flees to Seoul, intending to return to graduate school, demanding that her family stay away until she finds her way again. She has a terrible time until she's reunited with Toram and he becomes her guide dog. But even then, she is stymied by the nervousness her neighbors feel about a blind woman, and their outright fear of her big guide dog. So she returns to Jeju. Her husband, understanding her need to complete her education, sells their farm and returns to Seoul with the children while Suk-yeon attends graduate school there. She has to contend with her son's anger; he won't forgive her for abandoning them when she was first blinded, and he's embarrassed by her blindness now before his classmates.

Since this is a TV drama, Suk-yeon wins over not just her son but his entire class, developing Braille and mobility skills that would make Helen Keller envious. She wins over the bus driver who had at first refused to let her on the bus with Toram, though guide dogs are permitted on public transportation by law. But presently Toram begins to droop. He has cancer of the spleen, yet no matter how sick he is, he insists on staying with Suk-yeon.

Nae Sarang Torami is fairly shameless melodrama: on a shinpa scale of 1 to 5, I'd rate it a 4; in my recent viewing, only You Are My Sunshine evokes tears with more gusto. I didn't mind having my heartstrings yanked in the least. I just sat in front of the TV with tears running down my face, loving every minute, and only occasionally mocked my willingness to be manipulated. It doesn't hurt that the story is more or less true, based on the real Jun Suk-yeon's book about her beloved dog. The show incidentally serves as an infomercial for Samsung's training center for seeing-eye dogs, which gets prominent credit. SBS also booked Jun Suk-yeon and her husband on daytime TV, where she talked about her life and the program, illustrated with video clips.

Ha Hee-ra is taller, leaner and more glamorous than her real-life model -- she reminds me of Geena Davis -- but she's a perfect TV drama upscale suffering mom. Kim Young-ho is better cast as her husband: stocky, unglamorous, solid and totally credible. If I had trouble shaking the image of Kwon Hae-hyo as the wacky, macho chef in My Lovely Sam-soon, it was his fault only for being so memorable before; he's restrained and equally strong here.

It's a constant cause of wonder to me how much thought goes into even the lightest Korean entertainment, compared to the US. That's not always true, of course -- I've seen Sassy Girl Chunhyang, Marrying the Mafia, and OldBoy -- but they're the exceptions that prove the rule. My Love Toram could have been unbearably maudlin; instead it earned my emotional response honestly.