Boys 0ver Flower (BOF) ~the k0rean versi0n~

Boys Before Flowers (꽃보다 남자) is a 25-episode
South Korean television drama broadcast by KBS2TV in 2009. This is the Korean drama adaptation of the Japanese manga Hana Yori Dango. It is the equivalent of Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden and Japan's Hana Yori Dango (TV series), and thus making it the third televised version to air on television screens.


Synopsis
A middle-class girl, Geum Jan-di, becomes admitted to a rich, prestigious school known as Shinhwa. The school is filled with rich people who can afford to go there. She becomes admitted after saving a student from committing suicide. At the school, she meets people with various personalities. There are the mean girls, fake friends, and last but not least: The F4. The F4 consists of 4 people: Goo Joon Pyo, Yoon Ji Hoo, So Yi Jung, and Song Woo Bin. Goo Joon Pyo is the leader of the F4 and is also the heir of the Shinwa group. At first, he insults and makes Geum Jan-di's life miserable after she humiliates him. The only person who seemed to have sympathy for her was Ji Hoo, who saved her numerous times. However, as the drama progressed, Goo Joon Pyo developed feelings for Geum Jan-di. It turned out to be a twisted love triangle between Geum Jan Di, Goo Jun Pyo and Yoon Ji Hoo.

Relationships

Jun Pyo and Jan Di


Jan Di initially hates him and his two friends, Yi Jung and Woo Bin. She is the only one who is strong enough to stand up against Jun Pyo after he tries to humiliate Min Ji, Jan Di's only friend at the school. Jun Pyo then puts a red card in Jan Di's locker which indicated that she was a victim for F4. After continuous bullying his feelings for Jan Di begin to develop.
However, Jan Di dislikes him for what he had done to her and she already has taken a liking in Ji Hoo (although she believes she likes him, she later finds out it is just a friendly like). Jun Pyo persists in showing Jan Di his affections towards her and after the event of going on a date with Ji Hoo, she realises her feelings towards him. As their relationship becomes official, Jun Pyo's mother becomes an obstacle. She does everything possible to prevent Jun Pyo from being with Jan Di. Later on Jun Pyo gets hit by a car and remembers everything except for Jan Di. A crippled girl, named Yumi, who is at the same hospital with Jun Pyo, comes into the story and befriends Jun Pyo. Yumi and Jun Pyo hosts a pool party, saying that they are going to go overseas to the U.S. to study. Jan Di, desperately trying to get Jun Pyo to remember her, shows Jun Pyo the necklace he gave her and throws it into a pool. She asks him if he knows how to swim. Then Jan Di jumps into the pool and Jun Pyo's memory is triggered and rescues Jan Di.
Jun Pyo realizes his inner blackness in episode 5 and thinks Jan Di, which translates to "Weed" in English, really represents his true love.

Jun Pyo and Jae Kyeong


Ha Jae Kyeong is the daughter of the owner of the very large JK Company. According to Jun Pyo's sister, his mother is "selling him off" [in the form of an arranged marriage with Jae Kyeong because she needs Shinhwa to form alliances with JK. Jae Kyeong also happens to be a person that Jan Di "idolizes" because Jae Kyeong saved her from being robbed when she was in Macau. Jae Kyeong begins to really like Jan Di because Jan Di is her only friend and being to have true feelings for Jun Pyo. Jun Pyo and Jae Kyeong first meet fighting over shoes that Jun Pyo wants to buy for Jan Di.
Jun Pyo's mom, who doesn't live with her older daughter, convinces Jun Pyo that this marriage is really important and that he should start being nicer to Jae Kyeong. So they start officially dating but everything that they do ends up with Jun Pyo remembering Jan Di. Jae Kyeong feels that Jun Pyo always has someone else on his mind and asks him to kiss her in proof that he really does like her. He does, but Jan Di sees. However, the way he kisses Jae Kyeong is totally different compared to how he has kissed Jan Di. Kissing Jae Kyeong without closing his eyes indicates that he has no feeling for her. Later on it is very obvious that Jun Pyo still likes Jan Di and Jae Kyeong acknowledges that Jun Pyo will never love her and will only love Jan Di. So she leaves the two of them on the day of the wedding at the altar.

Ji Hoo and Jan Di


When Jan Di was being bullied after receiving the red card, Ji Hoo was the only one who offered her consolation. Such generosity made Jan Di seem to develop feelings for the soft-spoken Ji Hoo. However, his first love was Seo Hyeon, a lawyer and a model. He even followed her to Paris, as So Hyeon went back to Paris. While he was gone, Jun Pyo took action on Jan Di and she ended up liking him too. But when Ji Hoo came back, Jan Di was in a state of confusion, not knowing who she really likes. Eventually, Jan Di comes to an understanding of her feelings and chooses Jun Pyo. At New Caledonia, Ji Hoo comes somewhat begins to like Jan Di and this develops throughout the TV series.
For his friendship with Jun Pyo and wanting Jan di to be happier, he leaves Jan Di. We can see that whenever Jan Di is going through hard times, struggling or is depressed, Ji Hoo is always there for her, not wanting her in grief. In addition, he gives lots of advice when she has problems with Jun Pyo and encourages their love, as his definition for love, is making that person happy. According to Jan Di, Ji Hoo is her "firefighter" and "guard". This plays a role as Ji Hoo always knows where Jan Di is somehow and puts the "fire" out in her heart or "guards" her from any physical and emotional danger there might be. Ji hoo never really tells his feelings directly to Jan Di - the first time he attempted at this, Jan Di fell asleep and the second time, he hinted that he liked her however she did not hear. The third time, he confessed to her by giving her a family heirloom i.e. a ring which was his mother's, however Jan Di rejected him. She stated that no matter how much she tried, she was not able to forget Gu Jun Pyo.

Ji Hoo and Seo Hyeon


Seo Hyeon is a model, as well as a lawyer who helped Ji Hoo when he was a child to overcome trauma and the autism that Ji Hoo was in, from the tragic death of his parents. Seo Hyeon becomes Ji Hoo's first love. Gu Jun Pyo states that Seo Hyeon is also like a mother to Ji Hoo. Seo Hyeon announces that she will go to Paris to become a model instead of inheriting her family's business and becoming a lawyer. Ji Hoo tries to fight for their love on Jan Di's advice and follows her to Paris. However, their relationship fails and he returns to Korea.

Yi Jeong and Eun Jae


Eun Jae is Yi Jeong's first love. Yi Jeong had a crush on her but backed off, believing that she was in love with his older brother. Eun Jae asked Yi Jeong to find her at a located place at 7:00am, however he did not attend. She wanted to tell him that she loves him through a clever but heart-warming method (please watch the series in order to find out). Yi Jeong finds out later that she indeed had feelings for him, but began dating his brother, thinking that it was Yi Jeong who did not have any feelings for her.

Yi Jeong and Ga Eul


Ga Eul is Jan Di's best friend since kindergarten. Ga Eul starts developing romantic feelings for Yi Jung after he helps her get over her boyfriend who just played with her and took her on a fake date to help set Jun Pyo and Jan Di back up again. At first, it's obvious that Yi Jung only thinks of her as a good friend when he says he doesn't like girls that are "nice, idiotic, or involved with his friend". Ever since Ga Eul helps him through his self-destruction, Yi Jung finds out that Ga Eul, not Eun Jae has always been by his side. He eventually shows some feelings towards her, especially when he promises to visits her first by the time he comes back from Sweden.

Cast

• Koo Hye Sun: Geum Jan Di (금잔디)
  

Jan Di is from a poor family with a fierce and weed-like determination. She first liked Ji Hoo, who was the only one who showed any compassion while she was bullied. Eventually Jun Pyo begins to fall in love with her, and as he expresses his feelings towards her, she gradually begins to reciprocate those feelings. Jan Di later is determined to pursue the medical industry after realizing she can't swim because of her shoulder.

• Lee Min-ho: Gu Jun Pyo (구준표)
  

Jun Pyo is the hot-headed leader of F4. Exasperated by Jan Di's act of defiance, he makes her a target of bullying. But as time passes, he begins to admire Jan di's determination and will and falls in love with her. He is the heir of Shinhwa Group, and after his father passes away, he inherits and begins to run the Shinhwa Group along with his mother.

• Kim Hyun-joong: Yun Ji Hoo (윤지후)
  

Ji Hoo is a calm and soft-spoken boy who likes to play the violin, piano and guitar and conduct an orchestra. Seo Hyeon was Ji Hoo's first love, after she helped him overcome trauma after the death of his parents when he was little. He attempts to fight for Seo Hyeon's love by following her to France. When he comes back, he has already realized that he had fallen for Jan Di. However, Jun Pyo has already announced his love of Jan Di. Ji Hoo decides not to betray his friend by trying to fight for Jan Di. He is a grandson of Korea's former president.

• Kim Bum: So Yi Jeong (소이정)
  

A playboy who often flirts with girls, Yi Jeong is himself a reputed potter. He is from a family of well-known artists, who own an art gallery exhibiting national treasures.

• Kim Joon: Song Woo Bin (송우빈)
  

From their origin in the underworld, Woo Bin's family now runs a prominent construction business. The family owns real estate throughout the country.
Geum (금) Family:

• Ahn Suk Hwan: Geum Il Bong (금일봉)
  
• Lim Ye Jin: Na Gong Ju (나공주)
  
• Park Ji Bin: Geum Kang San (금강산)
  

Gu (구) Family:

• Lee Hye Yeong: Gang Hui Su (강희수)
  
• Kim Hyun Joo: Gu Jun Hui (구준희)
  
• Jung Ho Bin: Jeong Seongrok (정성록)
  

Friends:

• Han Chae Yeong: Min Seo Hyeon (민서현)
  
• Kim So Eun: Chu Ga Eul (추가을)
  
• Lee Shi Yeong: Oh Min Ji (오민지)
  
• Lee Min Jeong: Ha Jae Kyeong (하재경)
  

Mean Trio (Jin Sun Mi):

• Gook Ji Yeon: 최진희 (known as Ginger)
  
• Jang Ja Yeon: 박선자 (known as Sunny)
  
• Min Yeong Won: 이미숙 (known as Miranda)
  

Other characters:

• Jung Ui Chul: Lee Min Ha / Min Jae Ha
  
• Kim Min Ji: Jang Yoo Mi
  

Awards and Achievements

At the 45th Baeksang Awards, Lee Min Ho was awarded Best New Actor, while Kim Hyun Joong won the Popularity Award.


International Broadcasts

• ABS-CBN in the Philippines acquired the exclusive TV and cable TV rights to air this series and set to be premiered on May 11 in its primetime block. Although earlier, GMA Network claimed that they acquired the series.
  
• Boys Over Flowers is the first Korean Drama in the Philippines wherein the characters' names will not be changed to western names.
  
• Mediacorp's Channel U in Singapore has also acquired the rights to air the series, and will be aired every Saturday at 9pm, starting from 16 May 2009.
  
• Taiwan's CTV has also acquired the rights to air the series starting from 10 May 2009, on weekdays at 10pm. GTV will also air the series starting from 16 May, on every Saturday at 9pm.
  

Boys Before Flowers
(The Korean Rendition of Hana Yori Dango)




Are you a fan of Hana Yori Dango? How about Meteor Garden? If so, I'm quite sure you'll be happy to watch the newest series based on the Japanese Shoujo Manga by Kamio Yoko, Boys Before Flowers.

If you can't get enough of Boys Before Flowers which is also known as Boys Over Flowers or Kgot Boda Namja, then this LENS is perfect for you! Get to know the actors behind the characters they portray, watch the trailers, download the videos of their official soundtracks, save their ohh-so-gorgeous pictures and download their latest wallpapers... what more can you ask for?

Boys 0ver Flower 0f K0rea
is n0t the same
as the 0ther versi0n
like Hana Y0ri Dang0 0f
Japan
and Mete0r Garden
0f Taiwan
it d0esn't have
the seas0n tw0..,
which is the 0riginal
st0ry..,