
ShinHwa
School is a school for rich people, where Goo Jun Pyo, the heir of the
global corporation ShinHwa Group, Yoon Ji Hoo, Soh Yi Jung, and Song Woo
Bin attend school. They form a gang called F4. Goo Jun Pyo, the leader
of F4, is the main ruffian.
Geum Jan Di, who is not from a rich family, ends up attending ShinHwa
School when she saves a boy from jumping off the rooftop and is given a
scholarship to quiet down the publicity the incident caused. The entire
school worships the F4 except for Geum Jan Di. However, she likes Yoon
Ji Hoo, who appears to be different from the other three. Geum Jan Di
finally speaks up against F4 to defend her friend. From then on, she
becomes Goo Jun Pyo's main rival. Almost every time Geum Jan Di is
bullied, Yoon Ji Hoo helps her in some way. Geum Jan Di and Goo Jun
Pyo's rivalry intensifies, but at the same time it is a source of
amusement for him as Geum Jan Di has now caught his attention.
The story develops and Goo Jun Pyo slowly starts falling for Geum Jan
Di. On the other hand, Geum Jan Di's attention is on Yoon Ji Hoo, her
savior, but ultimately, as the story progresses, her heart is with Goo
Jun Pyo. The couple faces many obstacles as they continue to struggle
for their love.
Cast
- Geum Jan Di is the headstrong daughter of a dry cleaner. While on a
delivery run to Shinhwa High School, she saves a bullied student from
committing suicide. Geum Jan Di is offered a scholarship to attend the
prestigious school, and ends up getting on the bad side of Goo Jun Pyo
but the end is that she is going to fall for Goo Jun Pyo because of the
way he fights for his love for her.
- Goo Jun Pyo is the leader of F4 (the most popular guy at Shinhwa
High) and heir to the Shinhwa Conglomerate. Being the hottest of the
group, he torments Geum Jan Di after she stands up to his bullying ways,
but ends up falling for her instead.
- Jang Geun Suk mentioned in an interview that he was originally offered the role Goo Jun Pyo, but he chose instead to take on Beethoven Virus.
- Yoon Ji Hoo is a member of F4 and grandson of the Korean
former-president. His musical talent catches Geum Jan Di's attention and
she begins to develop feelings for him. In the end, he developed
feelings for her. He was involved in a car accident which leaves him the
only survivor for his both parents have died in the accident. He has a
"Driving Phobia" due to the accident.
- Soo Yi Jung is F4's Casanova. He is a skilled potter and his family
owns the country's biggest art museum. He eventually changes his playboy
ways when he realizes that he is in love with Chu Ga Eul (Kim So Eun).
- Song Woo Bin is known as F4's Don Juan. His family runs a large
construction company and has important connections to an underground
organization, hinted to be the mafias.
- Geum Jan Di's best friend and works with her at the porridge shop.
She eventually told So Yi Jung that she liked him and he, eventually,
reciprocates those feelings.
Extended cast
- Kim Hyun-joo
as Goo Jun Hee - Goo Jun Pyo's elder sister, and one of the only people
he listens to. She wants the best for her brother and constantly shows
him the error of his ways.
- Lee Hye-young as Kang Hee Soo (aka President Kang) - Goo Jun Pyo's
mother and President of the Shinhwa company. She vehemently opposes to
her son being with Geum Jan Di and does everything in her power to stop
them.
- Ahn Suk-hwan
as Geum Il Bong - Geum Jan Di's father and a dry cleaner. His friend
takes out loans under his name, and as a consequence he is chased by loan sharks.
- Im Ye Jin
as Na Gong Joo - Geum Jan Di's mother. She is very money-minded and
constantly pressures Geum Jan Di to attract and marry a rich man.
- Park Ji-bin as Geum Kang San - Geum Jan Di's younger brother and is very technologically inclined.
- Han Chae-young
as Min Seo Hyun - Yoon Ji Hoo's first love and a famous Korean model.
He is still hung up on her when Geum Jan Di develops feelings for him.
- Lee Min-jung
as Ha Jae Kyung - a successful CEO's daughter and ends up being Goo Jun
Pyo's fiancee. Although the engagement was arranged by their parents,
she develops feelings for him but unfortunately he doesn't feel the
same. Because of that, she backs out of the wedding.
- Lee Jung-gil
as Yoon Seok Young - the former-president of Korea and Yoon Ji Hoo's
grandfather. He believes that he caused Yoon Ji Hoo's parents' fatal car
accident and has been too guilt-ridden to face his grandson ever since.
- Jung Ho Bin as Jung Sang Ruk - President Kang's Chief Secretary. He
is sympathetic towards Goo Jun Pyo and often helps him out when it comes
to Geum Jan Di.
- Lee Si-young
as Oh Min Ji - Geum Jan Di's first and only friend when she transfers
to Shinhwa High. However, she harbors deep feelings for Goo Jun Pyo and
ends up sabotaging Geum Jan Di to get closer to him.
- Gook Ji Yun as Choi Jin Hee (aka Ginger) - one-third of the Mean Girls Trio (Jin Sun Mi).
- Jang Ja-yeon as Park Sun Ja (aka Sunny) - one-third of the Mean Girls Trio (Jin Sun Mi).
- Min Young Won as Lee Mi Sook (aka Miranda) - one-third of the Mean Girls Trio (Jin Sun Mi).
- Im Joo Hwan
as So Il Hyun - So Yi Jung's estranged elder brother. He leaves the
family home and abandons So Yi Jung in order to live a normal life.
- Yumei Mei as Soo Min - Goo Jun Pyo's childhood bestfriend
- Park Soo Jin
as Cha Eun Jae - So Yi Jung's childhood friend and his first love. She
winds up teaching pottery and crosses paths with So Yi Jung after
disappearing for 3 years.
- Kim Min Ji
as Jang Yu Mi - a patient at the same hospital Goo Jun Pyo is admitted
to. She pushes her way into Goo Jun Pyo's life by taking advantage of
his amnesia.
- Jung Eui-chul
as Lee Min Ha (suicidal student)/Min Jae Ha (model Haje) - two
characters played by the same actor. The first is the suicidal student
that Geum Jan Di saves, and the later his vengeful brother who vows
revenge against Goo Jun Pyo by hurting Geum Jan Di.
- Haiming as Ming - Yoon Ji Hoo's friend from Macau
Cameo:
- SS501 special performance, "UR MAN" in episode four
Manga
- In the manga, the characters are in high school in season 1, but F4
(minus Domyoji) attends Eitoku University in season 2. In the Korean
version, the characters are also in high school, but the F4 move on to
Shinhwa University from episode 13 onwards. Shinhwa High School and
Shinhwa University are located within the same campus.
- The relationship between the two characters Sojiroh and Yuki (Yi
Jung and Ga Eul in the Korean version) is merely hinted. In the Korean
version, their relationship gradually develops throughout the series,
having their own significant plotline instead of acting as a subplot.
- Yoon Ji Hoo has a more significant role in Geum Jan Di's life than
the Taiwanese and Japanese versions, more strongly depicted as a
romantic companion for most of the drama.
- Yoon Ji Hoo is depicted as an orphan in the Korean version, where as
in the Japanese and Chinese versions as well as the manga he has a
family and is set to follow in the family business
- Woobin's family does not appear in this version, nor is he only interested in older women.
- How Geum Jan Di came to attend the same school as F4 is changed
completely. In the manga version, Makino's parents sent her to Eitoku
against her wishes to attend another high school with her middle school
friends because they thought in order to increase chances for Makino to
marry a rich guy, she will need to go to a school full of rich people.
In the Japanese TV series, Makino decides to apply for Eitoku after
seeing Shizuka Toda at the briefing session, wanting to become an
amazing person like her. Yet in the Korean version, Jan Di saves a
student from committing suicide while delivering laundry (her family
owns a dry-cleaning business), and in order to subdue the negative press
from the incident Shinhwa group offers her a scholarship to the school.
Geum Jan Di is reluctant to attend and at first declines, but complied
because of parental pressure and because the school has a
state-of-the-art swimming pool (she is a competitive swimmer).
Reception
The series became a huge hit, creating another
Korean wave
throughout Asia and the cast members shooting to super-stardom
overnight. After the series ended, several of the actors and actresses
became the faces of various endorsements and commercial advertisements.
Boys Over Flowers became a hit throughout
South Korea
during its broadcast, to the point of influencing the behavior of the
public. The drama series influenced men to take their appearances even
more seriously and try to gain the "pretty boy" image that existed among
the F4 characters in the drama. More South Korean males started to wear
cosmetics
and viewers in South Korea and beyond started to notice the overseas
filming locations of the drama as possible holiday destinations.
[1]
The series became a hit beyond South Korea in other states in
Asia, including
Thailand,
Japan,
Vietnam,
Singapore,
Nepal,
Philippines, the northeast Indian state of
Sikkim,
Arunachal Pradesh,
Nagaland,
Mizoram and
Taiwan,
amongst others, and the actors and actresses that played the main
characters shot to super-stardom, and held various events, often Boys
Over Flowers-related, across Asia. 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.
[2]
International broadcasts
- In the Philippines,
the ABS-CBN network acquired the TV rights to air this series. It
premiered on May 11, 2009 in the primetime spot, and it aired from
Mondays thru Fridays.
- The series was also aired on Malaysia's free-to-air television 8TV(ASTRO channel 708), started from December 16, 2009.
- Taiwan's CTV has also acquired the rights to air the series and started from 10 May 2009, on Sundays at 10pm. GTV will also air the series starting from 16 May, on every Saturday at 9pm.
- Mediacorp's Channel U in Singapore
has also acquired the rights to air the series, and it will be aired
every Saturday at 9.30pm, starting from 16 May 2009, together with
Taiwan's GTV (Channel U broadcast the Taiwan version).
- Hong Kong's biggest television network, Television Broadcasts Limited, gained the rights to broadcast the drama, and it was aired on its channel intended for a younger audience TVB J2, and started airing in 2009.
- Indonesia's TV channel Indosiar acquired the rights to air the series, and will be aired every Monday and Tuesday at 10.30 pm, starting from 1 June 2009.
- Thailand started airing on 4 July 2009, every Saturday and Sunday at 9.15 am. Broadcaster is BBTV Channel 7 Bangkok.
- Vietnam started airing on June 24, from Monday to Thursday every week at 9pm on H1 (Hanoi Television). The copyright was held by TVM and was legally aired on HTV3 every weekends at 9:00 pm from August 22, 2009 until now.
- Asia's Xing Kong aired BOF on July 8, 2009, as part of BOF Trilogy along with the Taiwan and Japanese versions.
- Canada: Aired in Vancouver on SHAW Multicultural Channel (119) weekdays from 7:30-8pm (local time) with English sub-titles.
- Israel: Started airing on September 3, 2010 on Viva Platina Channel, every Friday 2 episodes.
- United States: Hulu started streaming full 25 episodes on August 2010.[3] All 25 episodes are also available on Netflix as instant streaming.
- Peru: Started airing on May 5, 2011 on Panamericana Televisión
- Panama: Started airing on June 19, 2011 on SERTV, Channel 11
- Botswana: Started airing from January 2011 on BTV
- Ecuador: Currently airing on Ecuador TV
- Romania: Started airing on October 12, 2011 on Euforia Lifestyle TV
- Puerto Rico: Started airing on October 19, 2011 on Puerto Rico TV
- Kazakhstan: Aired on El Arna
- Chile: Started airing on April 16, 2012 on Etc...TV and later on at the sister station MEGA where it became a rating success during its current timeslot
DVD licensing
- In North America, YA Entertainment released the series in two DVD
box sets; volume one was released in November 2009 and volume two in
December 2009.[4]
Music
Album # |
Album Info |
Tracklisting |
1st |
Boys Over Flowers Original Soundtrack: Part 1[5]
- Artist: Various
- Released: 23 January 2009
- Label: Doremi Media Co Ltd
- Language: Korean
- Format: Studio album (CD)
- Genre: K-pop
|
|
2nd |
Boys Over Flowers Original Soundtrack: Part 2
- Artist: Various
- Released: 16 March 2009
- Label: Doremi Media Co Ltd
- Language: Korean
- Format: Studio album (CD)
- Genre: K-pop
|
|
3rd |
Boys Over Flowers OST 2.5 - F4 Special Edition
- Artist: Various
- Released: 18 March 2009
- Label: Mnet Media Co.
- Language: Korean
- Format: Studio album (CD)
- Genre: K-pop
|
|
Awards
References