Boys Over Flowers

Hello drama family!

The first drama I want to review was the first drama I had ever watched! I was absolutely in love after this one!

Title: Boys Over Flowers

Apps: Rakuten Viki and Netflix

Release Year: 2009

Region: S. Korea

Episode Count: 25

Boys Over Flowers is probably the first drama a lot of people were introduced to. It is the drama that has my first oppa, Lee Min Ho. I feel like he's probably the original oppa for a lot of ladies out there and it was probably because of his portrayal of Goo Joon Pyo that did it. I know that's the case for me, at least. I watched this drama originally on a website called Dramafever, but seeing as it is no longer available, you can also find it for free on Viki or with a subscription to Netflix.

I was in college when this particular drama was released. Being younger, I definitely loved this show. It is a high school style drama, at first, that takes us on a journey of newfound friends and unlikely love. This is full of the usual drama tropes, including bad boys and a girl from a different social status that gets entangled with them.

Plot: A high school girl ends up saving another teenager from jumping off the roof of a prestigious high school. As a reward for her heroism, she was given the opportunity to attend the school which she would not have been able to otherwise. There she meets the group that runs the school, they are four teenagers known as F4. They are popular, talented, handsome, and wealthy teens. The only problem is they are also bad boys who don’t treat many people outside of their group very well. Over her time at the school, she will run into several problems, create new and unexpected friends, and even fall in love.

Now, let's talk about the characters.

The female lead (FL) is a brave and feisty teenager by the name of Gum Jan Di played by Koo Hye-Sun. She comes from a family that is not particularly wealthy or powerful in any way. They're actually a relatively normal family, although they are goofy from time to time and have their issues. I, personally, felt like her family got on my nerves from time to time with how they treated Jan Di and how they reacted to certain circumstances. It just displays that families can be annoying from time to time and are not always perfect, but they still love each other through everything

that happens to them. The one thing I really liked about Jan Di, though, is that she didn't put up with any attitude from our male lead, Goo Jun Pyo, and his friends. Let's learn a little about them next.

Jan Di just doesn't take Jun Pyo's crap

There are four male characters in this particular show who are a group of friends that had known each other since childhood and they are known in their high-class high school as F4. Each character in this quartet has varying degrees of story involvement and I will describe them from most involvement to least.

Our first and main male lead (ML), is Goo Jun Pyo played by Lee Min Ho. This man is my original oppa and it is because of Boys Over Flowers. Jun Pyo is a wealthy bad boy who is the leader of F4. He is arrogant, rude, and aggressive. He is all around someone you wouldn't want your daughter to date, really. His family is pretty questionable as well.

Next, we have Yoon Ji Hoo played by Kim Hyun-joong. If you have second lead syndrome, it probably began with Ji Hoo. He is a talented violinist who lives on his own and has no family connection through most of the series. He is quiet and often keeps to himself - you could call him an introvert. He's very selective about who he relates to and often reminds me a little of a cat.

Thirdly, we have So Yi-jung played by Kim Bum. This character isn’t as widely part of the story as the first three characters that I mentioned. Yi-jung is a talented potter who is also a womanizer. He likes the ladies. There is a side story that involves the FL's best friend and himself that delves into who his first love was and how he moves on from that past. Outside of being involved with the F4 and the storyline about his first love, there isn't as much involvement of his character as the first two members of F4 I mentioned.

Finally, we have Song Woo-bin played by Kim Joon. Now, this particular character doesn't have a major story arc in this particular drama. He is, in my eyes, very much a side character. He is tough and willing to fight, he seems somewhat fearless. He is probably the protector type of the group. I do wish we could have seen more of him and learned more about him, but unfortunately that was not the case.

All four members of F4 come from wealthy families, each involved in different sorts of business - whether legitimate or questionable. Most of them also have traumas that are revealed throughout the series and bring into a new light who each character really is on the inside rather than who they are on the surface. I really enjoyed the character development of the F4 in Boys Over Flowers. Although, there were times I just wanted to slap some sense into a few of them.

The number of episodes is actually more than some current Korean dramas have, but the storyline does keep you riveted. There will be characters you absolutely love and wish the best for, while there are others you will absolutely hate. To be honest, I absolutely hated Jun Pyo's mother, I just could not stand her. We all love to have a villain that we hate, though. I think this is due to the talents of the actors and actresses because without their ability to portray these characters, I don't think I would have felt as much as I did while watching. If I hadn’t felt any sort of emotions, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed this drama as much as I did.

There are also plenty of unrealistic situations that these characters find themselves in that I think only a drama about a poor girl meeting four very rich teenagers could have, but that's part of the charm of Boys Over Flowers. Dramas help take you out of the reality that you're currently living in and provide you with a mental break, so being unrealistic in some of the scenarios isn't so bad in my mind. Also, some of these dramatic and unrealistic scenes are a guilty pleasure of mine. I know they can be really far fetched, but I enjoy the drama of it. The idea that Jan Di could end up falling for one of the F4, even if they were arrogant and horrible in the beginning, was heart warming and the unrealistic romance they had was something that made me feel all fuzzy inside.

Now, there is one drama trope I absolutely do not like. This particular trope is when one of the main characters loses their memory. I feel like this is a way to create added drama, creating more issues for the other leads in trying to remind their friend or lover who they are. It may even take several episodes to resolve. This particular trope is featured at some point in Boys Over Flowers and I didn’t prefer it, but I am sure there are people out there who do not mind it and maybe even love this type of trope. So, don’t knock it until you try it, I guess.

Boys Over Flowers has been a long time favorite of a lot of K-drama fans and I think it is still beloved by a lot of people. It almost feels like a classic to some extent. Every time I think about how I started my journey into watching these shows, I think back to Boys Over Flowers and how it shaped what I love today. So, this show is really what began my descent into Asian drama addiction. I highly recommend watching Boys Over Flowers, or at least trying it out. It can be cheesy, dramatic, and annoying at times, but it can also be very heart warming and you get attached to the characters while following along in their journey.

Drama Mama Rating: 9/10 (mostly because of nostalgia and Lee Min Ho)