Boys Over Flowers (2009 TV series)

Boys Over Flowers (Korean: 꽃보다 남자; RR: Kkotboda namja) is a 2009 South Korean television series starring Koo Hye-sun, Lee Min-ho, Kim Hyun-joong, Kim Bum, and Kim Joon. Based on the Japanese manga series Boys Over Flowers (花より男子, Hana Yori Dango) which was written and illustrated by Yoko Kamio,^[1] the series, directed by Jeon Si-Kang, tells a story of a working-class girl who gets tangled up in the lives of a group of wealthy young men in her elite high school. It aired for 25 episodes on KBS2 from January 5 to March 31, 2009.^[2]

It is often regarded as a pioneer in Korean high school series, as well as to have helped the proliferation of the "Korean Wave". The series earned high viewership ratings in South Korea, and became a cultural phenomenon throughout Asia.^[3][4] Lee Min-ho's role as the leader of F4 completely contrasted his role in Mackerel Run, which earned him overseas popularity.^[5]

Shinhwa Group is one of South Korea's largest conglomerates and is headed by the strict and arrogant Chairwoman Kang Hee-soo (Lee Hye-young). Her son Gu Jun-pyo (Lee Min-ho), heir to the Shinwha Group, leads the F4, the most popular and powerful group of boys at the prestigious Shinhwa High School, an ultra-elite school exclusive to the richest families in Korea. Yoon Ji-hoo (Kim Hyun-Joong), So Yi-jung (Kim Bum), and Song Woo-bin (Kim Joon) —Jun-pyo's best friends and rich heirs in their own right—make up the remaining members of the group. When F4 bullies a boy to the verge of suicide, the poor but vivacious Geum Jan-di, (Ku Hye-sun) who is making a delivery to the school for her family dry cleaning business, saves his life by pulling him as he's about to jump. A photo of Jan-di's heroics appears in the newspapers, resulting in media backlash and protests from consumers against the Shinhwa Group, and how the school treats the students. Chairwoman Kang, in order to please the customers and dismiss the protests, arranges for the commoner Jan-di to receive a scholarship to attend the high school to appease the outraged consumers. Jan-di's family and parents Geum Il-bong (Ahn Suk-hwan) and Na Gong-joo (Im Ye-jin), and her younger brother Geum Kang-san (Park Ji-bin), are very proud of her, and Jan-di attends to school on a swimming scholarship.

Immediately, Jan-di dislikes her wealthy classmates and is disgusted by their obsession with the F4 boys, including the mean girl trio Sunny (Jang Ja-young), Ginger (Gook Ji-yeon) , and Miranda (Lee Mi-sook), who are obsessed with the F4 and bully her on multiple occasions to sabotage her. One day, Jan-di and her new friend, Oh Min-ji (Lee Si-young), were eating ice cream and balancing on a wall when Min-ji fell and dropped her ice cream on Jun-pyo's shoe. Jun-pyo is furious and says the shoe was very expensive, and that the only way he'll forgive Min-ji is for her to lick it off. Jan-di, scared for her friend, volunteers to do it for Min-ji, as she doesn't want her to do something so humiliating. However, Jan-di stands up for Min-ji, even placing her family's dry cleaning sticker on his head. Irked by her strong-headed nature, Jun-pyo singles Jan-di to bully, placing trash in the swimming pool and multiple other tricks, but she refuses to cower and stands up to him, even kicking him in the face. She is the first person to stand up to him and dislike him, which intrigues him. Bored and lonely, he plays silly tricks on her and eventually falls for her, although he is first in denial. Jun-pyo continues to encourage the students, led the mean trio of girls, to bully and torture Jan-di. Her desk and notebook, drawn by a string, is led out into the corridor, where Jan-di gets attacked with eggs, oil and flour by the bullies and other classmates. Min-ji solemnly stares at her friend being bullied, but later apologises to her. Ji-hoo encounters Jan-di on the staircase afterwards, and gives her his handkerchief to help clean her up, showing his compassionate side. He saves her from being attacked by a group of boys who were planning to assault her after school, which Jun-pyo hired to attack her. As a result of his kind actions, Jan-di starts to develop feelings for Ji-hoo but soon discovers that Ji-hoo fosters a one-sided love for Min Seo-hyun, a successful celebrity, model, lawyer-in-training and his childhood friend. The bullying continues as Jun-pyo drags Jan-di to a school dance. The mean girls trick Jan-di into thinking the event is a costume party, so she wears a Wonder Woman outfit. They cause her to fall into the food table, covering her in wet food. Ji-hoo and Seo-hyun rescue her from the humiliation, and Seo-hyun gives her a makeover. The belle of the ball, she dances with Ji-hoo, making Jun-pyo jealous.

Seo-hyun befriends Jan-di and leaves for Paris to pursue her own career. Seeing how unhappy Ji-hoo is, Jan-di convinces him to follow Seo-hyun. After Ji-hoo leaves the country to pursue a relationship with Seo-hyun, Jan-di begins to grudgingly spend more time with Jun-pyo. He bullies her into a date, which she initially planned on skipping for a shopping sale. Out of guilt for making Jun-pyo wait for her many hours in the snow, she agrees to spend time sightseeing and getting coffee with him, but they end up getting locked in the skylift overnight. Jun-pyo gets sick and starts coughing due to cold, so Jan-di covers him with the multiple clothes she bought from the sale, and they fall asleep on each other. Jun-pyo wakes up before Jan-di and writes a message on the wall commemorating his "first night" with Jan-di, which she sees and first thinks that it's defaming her and will "stop her from getting married", but later sees and thinks is sweet. Later, Jun-pyo declares to the school that she is his girlfriend. By this time, he has grown on Jan-di. Although she thinks he can be overbearing, she realizes that he is actually sweet and acts out because of his lonely childhood.

Shortly afterward, Min-ji takes her to a club. She has been secretly obsessed with Jun-pyo and was upset that he declared feelings for Jan-di. At the club, Min-ji takes pictures of Jan-di lying unconscious in bed with a guy. When she wakes up, she sees a message written by anonymous person, thanking her for last night. She hurries to school to see an outraged Jun-pyo, who believes that Jan-di has been cheating on him. His fans and crowd of adoring classmates once again bully and abuse Jan-di. The rest of the F4 try convince Jun-pyo that Jan-di is innocent, and help Jan-di identify the source of the drama. Min-ji reveals her involvement with the photos to Jun-pyo, and that she took the photos of Jan-di in bed. It is revealed that she and Jun-pyo have been classmates since kindergarten and that Min-ji has long been trying to win his attention by undergoing cosmetic surgery. Jun-pyo shuns Min-ji for betraying her friend and rushes to save Jan-di, who is still being attacked by bullies. He apologizes for doubting her, and their bond grows stronger. Even after being so horrible to her, Jan-di stands up for Min-ji but slaps her in the face, admitting that she does not forgive Min-ji for her evil plan, but appreciates the time they had together. Min-Ji leaves the school permanently.

Ji-hoo returns to Korea, causing Jan-di to feel confused about her feelings. While Jun-pyo relentlessly tries to shower her with affection, she is increasingly distracted by Ji-hoo. During a weekend trip to New Caledonia, they spend time together. She has an accident swimming and Ji-hoo rescues her because Jun-pyo cannot swim because of an horrible incident that took place when he was a child. This upsets Jun-pyo and he has a one sided rivalry trying to woo Jan-di. Later, when she has trouble sleeping, Jan-di takes a walk on the beach, where she sees a sad Ji-Hoo. She comforts him about his past love for Seo-hyun, but he surprises her by declaring his feelings for Jan-di. Jun-pyo stumbles upon Jan-Di and Ji-Hoo as they kiss. Jun-pyo expresses how hurt he is from the kiss. In a rage, punching Ji-hoo in anger and feel betrayed by both Jan-Di and Ji-Hoo. The next morning, Jun-Pyo leaves the island and becomes reclusive, causing Jan-di to feel guilty. She realizes that she has feelings for Jun-pyo. Her best friend Chu Ga-eul(Kim So-eun) bonds with F4 member So Yi-jung, and she develops a crush on him. Jun-pyo wants to have both of them expelled from school, and his sister, Gu Jun-hee (Kim Hyun-joo) suggests a contest of three sports, randomly picked by a machine, to determine who gets their way. If Jun-pyo wins, Jan-di and Ji-hoo are expelled. The first event is horseracing, which Jun-pyo wins but at the expense of his horse which he rides too hard and carelessly. The second event is car racing, which Ji-hoo wins despite childhood trauma of car accidents. The third event is swimming, the childhood trauma of Jun-pyo. Yi-jung offers to swim for Jun-pyo and Jan-di wants to race for herself. Jan-di wins in a close race. Eventually, while Ji-hoo loves Jan-di, he lets her go because he cares for his friend Jun-pyo and knows that Jan-di will help him become a better man.

When Jun-pyo's mother, Chairwoman Kang, learns of Jun-pyo's relationship with Jan-di, she attempts to humiliate Jan-di and her family due to their social status. Jan-di's family dry cleaner is closed by his mother, and they make a stand selling food on the motorway. Jun-pyo and his mother, stuck in a traffic jam, sees Jan-di selling amongst the stuck cars when she unknowingly stumbles upon the car he's in. She quickly backs away, but Jun-pyo chases after Jan-di and kisses her. The chairwoman is enraged, while Jan-di's family stares in happiness. Jun-pyo and Jan-di are then walking up a hill, where she makes a promise to Jun-pyo not to break up because of his mother. Eventually, times get worse for Jan-di as her and her parents are working multiple jobs to survive as their main source of income, the dry cleaners is shut. Jan-di, exhausted from overworking herself,sees a job for a model. Seeing how popular they can be after a commercial sold out a product featuring an up and coming model, she takes it anyway, going to a apartment after school where two men, seemingly photographers, are. She thinks the photoshoot is normal, however,the photos and outfit are sexualising. Jan-di attempts to leave, but nearly gets assaulted before a mysterious man saves her, who is actually the same model from TV and attends Shinhwa. She befriends him, and he helps her earn money by modeling for a major magazine. The photos have dark and mature tones, angering Jun-pyo as he feels hurt by Jan-di seeking help from someone else, especially another man. Jun-pyo punches the model in the face for hanging out with Jan-di, and distances himself subtly, although Jan-di apologizes for Jun-pyo's behaviour. One day, Jan-di goes to class to see on the whiteboard that the class has been moved to a science lab, which Jan-di goes to and sees is empty. While she looks around, a smoke bomb is placed into the room, which Jan-di tries escape, but the windows and doors are sealed, that makes her pass out. Jan-di wakes up to see that she is kidnapped by the model, who confesses his love to him and reveals that he is the younger brother of the student whose suicide Jan-di had prevented, and he seeks revenge. Jan-di tries escape and calls him crazy, but as she tries to open the door he suffocates her, which leaves her unconscious, of which the model tries to kiss her. Jan-di then wakes up in a chair in a warehouse with the model and multiple thugs. He uses Jan-di as hostage to call Jun-pyo and tell him to come to the warehouse alone. Jun-pyo arrives alone to rescue Jan-di, but the model has him beat up by in front of tied-up Jan-di. The model tries to force Jun-pyo to promise never to see Jan-di, a request he refuses. Jun-pyo is beaten severely and unable to walk stably . In a rage, the model attacks him with a chair, but Jan-di throws herself onto the floor on top of Jun-pyo so the chair hits her instead. The chair damaged her shoulder and leaves her on the floor, but the pair are rescued by the other F4 members who followed Jun-pyo. The injury that Jan-di sustains in the incident permanently damages her shoulder prevents her from swimming in the future, of which the F4, minus Jun-pyo, hosts a makeshift graduation ceremony for Jan-di at the pool she practiced in.

After Jun-pyo's father falls ill, his mother forces and manipulates him to begin training to lead the Shinhwa Group. He leaves the city and goes to Macau, turns cold and cuts contact his friends and Jan-di, and begins to accompany his mother to formal events. After six months, Jan-di and F4 pursue him and try to convince him to break free; however he turns them away. After, Jan-di confronts Jun-pyo personally, of which he pushes her away, deeming her as a poor girl. Jan-di is hurt, but has fun with Ji-hoo, trying to make Jan-di think of it as a holiday. While Jun-pyo shopped shoes and suddenly thought of Jan-di, he decides to buy the shoes, of which another girl showed interest in. They fight over the shoe, and Jun-pyo wins. He runs after Jan-di in the airport, of which she rejects him, looking in pain. Jun-pyo cries, before being ushered away by his bodyguard, leaving the shoe box behind. Chairwoman Kang then gets intel that Jan-di was in Macau, and invites Jan-di to an event, primarily to humiliate her. Suddenly, Mrs Kang randomly says Jan-di will play the piano for the guests, of which she plays the piece assigned for her with teary eyes. Jun-pyo stares at her for the whole of the performance with cold eyes, which the chairwoman observes. In order to keep the distance between her son and Jan-di, Chairwoman Kang arranges Jun-pyo's engagement to the heiress of JK Group Ha Jae-kyung(Lee Min-jung), the same girl he fought for the shoes, and announces the marriage at the party without notification of her son. Jan-di is hurt, but returns to Korea, living alone as her parents and Kang-san, her little brother, moved to a seaside town, unable to afford for themselves but still wanting to keep Jan-di at Shinhwa.

Now working multiple jobs and overworking herself, Jan-di approaches Jun-hee, who also loved a man outside her family's social status, and asks for advice to move on and for finding work, so Jun-hee appoints Jan-di as Jun-pyo's personal maid under the mentoring of Jun-pyo's grandmother, who runs etiquette classes in the countryside but briefly moved in. It is evident that both Jun-pyo and Jan-di still love each other. Even though Jae-kyung falls in love with Jun-pyo and tries to win him over, she soon realizes that her efforts are in vain. The day of the wedding comes and Jun-pyo begs Jan-di to stop him from getting married, as him and Jae-kyung talked about it in the chapel. Jan-di refuses to say no, and leaves, nearly getting kidnapped by the chairwoman's servants before getting rescued by Chen, Jae-kyung's bodyguard. Although Jan-di was seen as an obstacle to the chairwoman and thinks the marriage will go well without her, Jae-kyung refuses to marry Jun-pyo. Jae-kyung states that she will feel guilty that she was standing in the way of a relationship that was meant to be.

Jan-di and Jun-pyo reunite and are in love, going on a beach date and having a picnic only for Jan-di to leave the city due to her friends and family being threatened by his mother. Jun-pyo is heartbroken and gets into trouble with the police. Later that week, the F4 try look for Jan-di, Ji-hoo even seeing hallucinations of her. He turns on he TV to clear his mind, when he sees Jan-di selling fish in a seaside town. Ji-hoo tells the rest of the F4; Jun-pyo saying he doesn't care about Jan-di but comes anyway, and Ji-hoo he arrives by himself. On the island, a seemingly angry man stalks Jun-pyo, saying he owes something to him. Ji-hoo and Jun-pyo meet at night, Ji-hoo is about to cross the road when he man drives towards Ji-hoo with killing intent. Jun-pyo, scared of his friend dying, pushes Ji-hoo out of the way and gets into a car accident while trying to save Ji-hoo's life. Jun-pyo tells Ji-hoo to take care of Jan-di, knowing that Ji-hoo loves Jan-di too. Jun-pyo survives the accident but loses his memories, including those of Jan-di. Jun-pyo meets a girl in the hospital, who manipulates Jun-pyo to think all the memories of Jan-di were her doing. He feels suspicious because the lunchbox she made is different to Jan-di's from the picnic, but he is convinced by the girl and gets with her. Jan-di is saddened that he cannot recall who she is. The girl requests Jan-di leave him alone as she says Jan-di is giving her bad memories. Jan-di knows the girl is manipulating him, however, Jun-pyo believes Jan-di is a crazy woman. The girl fully convinced Jun-pyo and they're hosting a farewell party, as they planned to move to America. Jan-di, saddened, stares at the pool, and Jun-pyo comes along. She starts asking him to try to remember her name, and he can't recall it. She asks him multiple personal questions before she picks up the custom-made necklace Jun-pyo made her and throws it into the pool, before falling in as he watches, causing him to be flooded by memories of them saving each other from drowning. He calls out her name and rescues her and they unite once again. The girl scowls and runs away. Although he later asks her to marry him, they decide it is best to pursue their individual dreams first. Jun-pyo leaves for America, where he furthers the Shinhwa Group and becomes a successful businessman.

Four years later, Ji-hoo graduates medical school and still has feelings for Jan-di. Jan-di is a third-year medical student, while Yi-jung is a successful architect and returns from Sweden for Ga-eul, who has become a teacher who teaches pottery to kids. Jun-pyo arrives in a helicopter and proposes to Jan-di at the beach side; the rest of the F4 arrive at the same time and they all walk alongside the beach, smiling happily.

• Park Ji-bin as Geum Kang-san (금강산), Jan-di's younger brother / Manga character: Susumu Makino
• Kim Ki-bang as Bom Choon-sik (봄춘식), Jan-di and Ga-eul's boss
• Jung Ho-bin as Jeong Sang-rok (정상록), Jun-pyo's mother's secretary / Manga character: Nishida
• Song Suk-ho as Butler Lee, Jun-pyo's family's butler
• Kim Young-ok as Jun-pyo's family's head maid / Manga character: Tama
• Seo Min-ji as Jang Yu-mi (장유미) / Manga character: Umi Nakajima
• Lee Jung-gil as Yoon Seok-young (윤석영), Ji-hoo's grandfather
• Lim Ju-hwan as So Il-hyun (소일현), Yi-jung's older brother
• Park Soo-jin as Cha Eun-jae (차은재), Yi-jung's first love / Manga character: Sara Hinata
• Gook Ji-yun as Choi Jin-hee (최진희) (aka Ginger) / Manga character: Yuriko Asai
• Jang Ja-yeon as Park Sun-ja (박선자) (aka Sunny) / Manga character: Erika Ayuhara
• Min Young-won as Lee Mi-sook (이미숙) (aka Miranda) / Manga character: Minako Yamano
• Jung Eui-chul as Lee Min-ha (이민하) / Lee Jae-ha (이재하). He also falls for Geum Jan-di for her behaviour. / Manga character: Junpei Oribe
• Jung Chan-woo as young Gu Jun-pyo (uncredited)
• Kang San as young Yoon Ji-hu (uncredited)
• Moonbin as young So Yi-jung
• Kang Yu-seok as young Song Woo-bin (uncredited)
• Kang Han-byeol as child Gu Jun-pyo
• Nam Da-reum as child Yoon Ji-hoon
• Jung Tae-ho as child So Yi-jung (uncredited)
• Lee Eun-soo as child Song Woo-bin (uncredited)
• Lim Si-eun as young Min Seo-hyun
• Kim Young-sun as Fishing village resident 3 (cameo)

Source: HanCinema

Elle Magazine ranked Boys Over Flowers #6 (out of 10) on the October 2020 10 Best K-Dramas To Binge-Watch On Netflix list.^[10] Boys Over Flowers attracted high viewership ratings and buzz throughout South Korea during its broadcast in 2009.^[11] 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.^[12]

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 styles like the color pink and floral prints.^[13] The drama's local filming locations became tourist attractions, such as the 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.^[14][15]

The series' international popularity extended to Japan,^[16] Thailand,^[17] Vietnam, Singapore, India, Nepal, Malaysia, Taiwan,^[18] Sri Lanka,^[19] and Zambia among others. The cast members held various sold-out events across Asia, such as concerts and fan meetings.^[20] 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.^[21]

In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

• Official website (in Korean)
• Boys Over Flowers on Netflix
• Boys Over Flowers on KBS World
• Boys Over Flowers at IMDb