Let’s talk about THE LEGENDARY drama Boys Over Flowers. For some of the old Kdrama fans Boys Over Flowers is an emotion. The storyline, the plot, the chemistry, the friendship and even the iconic second everything itself is legendary. So, I am going to present Boys Over Flowers full review just for you. Because as a Kdrama fan you need to know about this legendary drama. You can find no one who claims himself a Kdrama fan and doesn’t know the name of this drama, even if he didn’t watch the drama he surely knows about it. To be very honest without any biased opinion I’m going to say this drama mostly introduced Kdrama to foreign audiences.
The old kdrama fans always have the nostalgia of their first watched drama. Not only the foreign fans or natives, there are so many Korean celebs including IU, Park Bo Gum and Kim Soo Hyun mention their fondness for the drama and also depict the influence the drama had in their acting career.
A Plot that Resonates: A Tale of Love, Class, and Rivalry
The high school love story shows the puppy love of the young Jun Pyo and Jandi. Also class distinction and rivalry are shown in the drama.
The main attraction of the drama is the friendship of some rich kids who were known as F4 altogether. They were the kings of the school without the crown. Another central character was Geum Jan Di, who was poor and the only student with a full free scholarship. Then how this poor girl from nowhere met the kings of the school. The optimistic Jan Di was targeted by school bullies by those rich kids, especially the leader Jun Pyo. Later, when the story moves on we can see the growing love of some of the characters and an iconic love triangle. The other most significant characters are Yun Ji Hu, So Yi Jeong and Song Woo Bin.
The trope of a rich boy falling in love with a poor man mostly spreaded from here, which is so common in every second drama now. The main lead Jun Pyo was the arrogant chaebol of the Shinhwa company. He never cared for any outsider other than his family and F4 couldn’t accept when a poor girl from nowhere avoided him. He started chasing and hurting the girl to know the reason and ultimately fell in love with her. Here to give the story a dramatic move Jan Di starts liking another member of F4. And we got another most legendary love triangle, Ji Hu as our most adored second lead. All the viewers cherished the main leaders but could not help themselves to feel sorry for Ji Hu.
The perfect blend of romance and melodrama made the drama one step ahead of the time.
Iconic Characters: The Heart of Boys Over Flowers
Boys Over Flowers full review will not be full without mentioning the iconic characters of it. All of the characters were iconic in themselves. Let’s talk about the principal characters of the drama.
Gu Jun-pyo:
Our pretty lover boy was the leader of the bullies, you know? The young boy who was always avoided by his mother turned himself into a bully. When he first saw Jan Di he wanted to torment her but she was not tormented at all. Soon he fell in with the carefree Jan Di and changed himself completely to be loved by her. But his story was not so smooth from the beginning to the end. First, he felt ignored by Jan Di and when he got the love of her, their courtship was opposed by his conglomerate mother for the poor state of Jan Di. But Jun Pyo developed his character and made himself capable of saving his love.
Geum Jan-di:
Jan Di, an honest, optimistic and carefree girl, who lives with her own dignity ends up being admitted to a prestigious and a high-class private school. Here she meets some arrogant boys who are known as F4. At first, she didn’t like any of them but Ji Hu who seemed like a nice and helpful guy. But in the course of time when started to hang out with them and observe them closely she could understand that they were not bad guys but some kids who were deprived of family love.
Yun Ji Hu:
The most kind boy of F4 was an introverted guy who lost his parents in an accident. Ji Hu was different from his other friends. A calm and peaceful guy who loves to play the violin. When he met Jan Di he forgot his painful past for a time being. For his look, attitude and nature he is still in the hearts of the viewers.
The iconic F4:
The group of four friends, Goo Jun Pyo, Yun Ji Hu, So Yi Jung and Song Woo Bin, were so cold towards the other people but to each other they became their shoulder to lean on. When the elders of their families didn’t care for him they grew up taking care of each other. Jun Pyu was the leader of F4 but he never neglected any of the three. The other was also loyal to him. They had an unbreakable brotherhood that made the drama interesting and loveable.
Other supporting characters like Jandi’s friend Choo Ga Eul, Jun Pyo’s sister Gu Jun Hee and the whole family of Jan Di also left their impact throughout the drama.
Cast: Lee Min Ho, Koo Hye Sun, Kim Bum, Kim Jun.
Memorable Soundtrack and Fashion
The soundtracks are not only famous for their marvelous melody but also perfection of syncing with the storyline. In each episode whenever the song plays in the background it will make you think like, yes this is what I need in this situation.
There are a total two official albums consisting of 25 OSTs. I’m giving you a shortlist of this and then we will talk about some of the best of the best.
The shortlist:
- Paradise by T-Max
- Stand By Me by SHINee
- One More Time by Tree Bicycle
- Because I’m Stupid by SS501
- Starlight Tears by Kim Yoo-kyung
- Something Happened to My Heart by A&T
- Falling Slowly by Lee Yoon-jeong
- Almost Like Love by Brand New Day
- Wish You Are My Love by T-Max feat. J
- Love Is Fire by Kara
- Do You Know? by Someday
- Lucky by Ashily
- Blue Flower by Loveholic
- Yearning Heart by A’ST1
- Love U by HowL
Paradise by T-Max:
The song Paradise and the appearance of the F4 go side by side. Whenever they entered the scene the song was played and again whenever the song played they were meant to come. So fans really loved the fact that if they came together this song would surely play at the same time if they heard the song they were ready to have an iconic F4 entry. This energetic song declared the chams of the high profile friends.
Stand By Me by SHINee:
In the list of evergreen classics, this song made its own place. The slow-burning love of Jun Pyo and Jandi is felt through this song. The heartwarming romantic scenes were even loveable through this upbeat yet emotional melody.
Do You Know by Someday:
This song worked like magic to inject the depth of emotion into the hearts of the fans. The soft ballad perfectly fitted when their unspoken emotion was depicted through their eyes.
Fashion: An Up To Date Style and The Trendsetters
As I previously said, everything that exists in this drama is iconic for sure, the clothing and fashion are nothing less than that. It shaped each character’s personality and created a milestone for the latter dramas for so many years.
Let’s discuss some of the trendsetters:
Gu Jun-pyo’s Legendary Look:
Jun Pyo’s cold look, his curly hair, his fashion sense, his luxurious clothing screams about who he is. The heir of the Shinhwa company often was spotted with designer coats, luxurious scarves and limited-edition shoes that reflected his wealth and power.
Geum Jan-di’s Practical Dressing Style:
Jandy’s style of clothing matches her class. As Jan-di is depicted here as a poor girl she dresses so simply. She, unlike Jun Pyo, is often spotted in her simple jeans and hoodie and in her school uniform. To show the class difference of the leads Jan Di was given the down to earth dressing as she is a daughter of a laundry man.
F4’s Coordinated Fashion:
The F4 members describe the elites of the society. The class and their nature were illustrated in their style and clothing sense
- Ji Hu who was the grandson of a former minister of Korea is a kind hearted and soft natured boy and dressed as softly as him. He chose the color of kindness white and other light colors.
- So Yi Jung, the young yet renowned potter and the third member of F4 also comes from a wealthy family. He dressed himself with blazers and turtlenecks which bear his artistic taste.
- The last but not the least member of the F4 Song Woo Bin has a plain and childish personality. He is often dressed in casual yet elegant wearing.
- Though all of them have a different preference of styling they often coordinate their style to be seen as an unbreakable group together maintaining their class and elegance.
Criticisms and Controversies:
There is no doubt that this drama is a complete masterpiece. But my article Boys Over Flowers full review will be unbiased. There are different kinds of people and their mentality in society so, along with the praises, this drama has also gained some criticism and controversies.
- Because of the trope of a bully to a lover, the drama was not praised by all the critics.
- To some of the critics it’s the toxic character of Jun Pyo and his behavior towards Jan Di made him a villain. On the contrary, some people say the kind and gentle Ji Hu was more deserving to be the main lead of the drama.
- According to some critics, the drama has the probability of giving the wrong message to the society such as normalizing school bullying and the class distinction.
- When the strong headed and carefree Jan-di started depending on Jun Pyo the critics or some of the audience lost their interest to move on to the next episodes.
- Even though the drama has so many things to praise as a classical drama, some audiences compare the drama with a modern-day drama. This is totally unfair to the classics. Today’s Kdramas are blessed with skilled writers, a balance of genres and the relationships of the characters even the cinematography and setting are more than 10 times better than that time, so in no sense it is reasonable to compare a classical drama with modern-day drama.
Should You Watch Boys Over Flowers Today?
Without any doubt, this drama has cultural significance and a phenomenon. Though there are some people who will tell you why you should not watch the drama. But here I am to show you the undeniable reason why you should watch this legendary drama.
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- The classic that started the trope: You know where the Cinderella kind of story got the hype from? I mean a rich boy and poor girl love story, all started here. If you enjoy this kind of romantic drama then you should know its root. Again the arrogant male lead falling in love with a strong headed girl and changing himself for the sake of love trope also begins from here.
- Love triangle and second lead syndrome: Do you enjoy love triangles? Do you often tend to fall in love with the second lead? Then I’m offering you the greenest flag of Kdrama history. The love triangle is so effortlessly strong here that even the viewers can not decide with whom they should ship Jan Di.
- Star-Making Performances by the Cast: The show was that unquestionable opportunity that made the cast become the shining stars of Korea. Lee Min Ho became a household name and international sensation by playing Gu Jun Pyo. On the other hand, Kim Hyun Joong won the hearts of the nation and created the layout of the perfect second lead for the later dramas. And Koo Hye Sun became Jan Di for so many fans for years because of how relatable her character was. Other supporting characters too were loved and celebrated by the audience.
- Cultural Impact and Hallyu Legacy: If you want to know the cultural root of Hallyu (Korean film industry) you have to watch this drama. Again if you want to know the progress of Kdramas or if you want to know about the classic era of Kdrama you have only one option which is to watch the drama.
- The Aesthetics of Classic: The classic era has its own beauty. You can feel the aesthetic vibe throughout the whole drama. The location, the fashion and the styles of the characters will give you a rich vibe too.
Till date for so many fans Boys Over Flowers is one of the beloved dramas. Although it faced some criticism from netizens, it surely is the pride of Korea. But if you want to be unbiased and want to enjoy the drama then one thing you should remember is that you can not compare a classic and modern-day drama together. If you keep it in your mind that you are watching a classical drama then I am sure you can enjoy the drama fully that once broke all the records in the box office.
So? Are you ready? To be mesmerized by the charms of the iconic F4? To fall in love with Jun Pyo? To adore Jan Di? To be sorry to Ji Hu? To know the root of your favorite rom-com dramas? If you are then don’t waste your time; smile, take your favorite flavored popcorn and start watching Boys Over Flowers without any hesitations. I hope my Boys Over Flowers full review will help you.