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:
JUNPYO AND JANDI
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.
JUNPYO AND JAE KYUNG
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 JANDI
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.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE OTHER VERSIONS:
- In the Taiwan version, Jan Di's character was an only child. In the Japanese and Korean version, she has a younger brother.
- In the Taiwan version, the heroine attends college. In the Japanese version, the characters are in high school in season 1, but F4 (minus Domyoji) attend 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.
- In Taiwan and Japanese version, Jan Di’s character was already studying at the school for rich people. In Korean version, Jan Di was admitted after saving a boy for jumping off the roof of Shinhwa High School on a swimming scholarship.
- In both Taiwan and Japanese version, the relationship between the two characters: Sojiroh and Yuki ( also known as Yi Jung and Ga Eul in the Korean version) is only hinted. But in the Korean version, the relationship between these two is gradually developed throughout the series.
- Akira, the fourth member of the group, seems to be the youngest in Japanese version, and is unknown in Taiwanese version. In Korean version, Song Woo Bin seems to be the oldest of the four.
- In the Taiwan version, it is not so obvious that Ji Hoo's character is in love with Jan Di's character, but in the Korean Version, it is obvious that Ji Hoo's character is in love with Jan Di's character where he eventually confesses his feelings.
TO WATCH FULL EPISODES PLEASE GO TO THIS LINK. IT HAS THE COMPLETE EPISODE AND ENGLISH SUBTITLES:
http://www.mysoju.com/boys-before-flowers/
Because im stupid by SS501
