Boys Over Flowers – Final News Review & Comments

Dear readers,

So this is it! THE END!

Actually, I’ve had so little spare time this week that I’m watching the final episode as I type right now. Originally I was planning to write a concluding commentary; however, I’ve decided not to because….. I need to sleep. Hehe. Actually, I didn’t want to analyze it much – Boys Over Flowers is a drama that is best enjoyed by not taking it seriously. Just a few random BOF-related thoughts:

• I was ALMOST happy to hear the return of “Paradise” in the last episode after a long (much-needed) hiatus.
• I usually don’t criticize a person’s acting skills much but – in his brief appearances, Kim Jong Jin (who played Yi Jeong’s father in the drama) displayed the worst acting I’ve seen in a long time. Maybe that’s how his character was written, or maybe that’s how he was directed to act – but wow….his dialogues with Yi Jeong were just painful to watch.
• I didn’t mind the prospect of not having Yi Jeong and Ga Eul to get in the end, but I really like how they wrapped things up. Adorable!
• The most annoying part of the entire drama was playing background music when the characters were supposed to be playing instruments.
• I’m so sad that Secretary Jung wasn’t in the final episode.
• Lee Min Ho (Gu Jun Pyo in BOF) and Matsumoto Jun (Tsukasa in HYD) both played their parts so well in their respective dramas that I can’t imagine anyone else in their roles.
• Hurrah for Chairwoman Gu Jun Hee!

Feel free to post your final thoughts (BRIEFLY) in the comments section.

Anyhow, lots of readers have been asking us for information on what the main cast of BOF will be doing in following months. Beyond the jump (below) is a review of some recent events, as well as a peek into their near future. This will be our last official BOF news review, so enjoy!

P.S. We’ve read some comments here and there saying that Hana Yori Dango (manga)’s author, Yoko Kamio, basically shut down licensing requests from the Philippines and China to create their own national dramas. However, the decision wasn’t really up to her; it was because she signed a contract with Group Eight (the production company for BOF) agreeing not to permit any other drama adaptations for two years following the Korean BOF. Hence, both the Filipino and Chinese versions cannot follow the Hana Yori Dango storyline closely.

3/23 – 4/2

• Lee Min Ho is singing with Jessica H.o. (Ho Hyun Joo) for a Cass beer commercial.  In the CF, he will be a singer, performing a concert on stage. Jessica will feature as a rapper in the song. Jessica’s agency representative said that the genre of the song is hip-hop, and Jessica was recommended by the song producer.
  

  Cass rehearsals

  Jessica was born in the States and debuted in 2005. She has been active as a member of  group Uptown since her debut. She recently released a digital single called “Life is Joyful” and is also planning to release another mini album in the summer.

• Kim Beom is preparing special gifts for his fans. He decided to make some pieces of pottery to give away during his fan meeting on April 12. Winners will be chosen by a random draw. He started taking pottery lessons one month before filming the drama due to his role. At first, he was only going to learn enough to gain a skillful posture for filming. However, he became truly interested in ceramic arts so he is still taking some lessons. Kim said that he decided to give his pottery work his fans after much consideration on what would be significant and memorable gifts. He also added that although they are not made by the genius potter So Yi Jung and would probably be not much to look at, he is making them with his utmost sincerity.

• Lee Jung Gil was director for a day at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital on March 26. The hospital introduced this kind of system to give the feeling of closeness to their patients. Lee went around the hospital meeting patients, signing approvals, and encouraging employees. Lee said that it was a valuable experience that he could take a peek into the lives of health care professionals who try to think from patients’ perspectives, as well as see the difficult situation of health care sector in Korea compared to the authoritarian and conservative image of hospitals in dramas.
  

  Lee Jung Gil at the hospital

• Kim Hyun Joong will soon prepare for SS501’s collection album to be released in May. This album will consist of each member’s solo songs. Kim already revealed his solo song publically during the March 31 fan meeting. After the release of the album, the group will be working in Japan from May to July. SS501 will then release an official album in August. A representative of his agency said that although he will progressively consider other filming productions, Kim’s top priority is his singing career. SS501 is plaaning for an Asia Tour Concert in January 2010.

• Kim Joon will also return to the stage. He will appear on Music Bank on April 3 to sing “Fight the Bad Feeling”. This is going to be his first singing activity after his appearance in the drama. He has plans to film some commercials, as well as participate in Andre Kim’s fashion show. In May, T-Max will hold two concerts in Tokyo and Osaka.

• Kim Beom will leave for the States on April 3 to take a short break. Afterwards, he is going to hold his first fan meeting in Korea. Following the fan meeting, he will be filming the movie Flight (or Fly Up / 비상) with Kim Byul starting April 20. He also has plans to star in the movie 71 and film seven commercials.

• Lee Min Ho is planning to take a break for a while. He must first finish filming five commercials that have been on hold. Then, once he completes BOF promotional activities in Japan this month, he will carefully consider which project to do next. In May, he will receive surgery to remove the metal rod in his knee. Lee said that he wants to test the human limit for longest consecutive hours of sleep and also that he has a schedule for filming in England. Lee has plans for his first fan meeting at the end June (to match his birthday) as well.

• Ku Hye Sun’s first novel Tango was published on April 1. It seems that she will be busy even after wrapping BOF. First, she is scheduled to do promotional activities for the novel. Then, her new age album will be released in May. She has already finished recording with some musical artists that she is close to. Ku also has plans to display an art exhibition based on the works of art that she put into the novel.
  

  Tango by Ku Hye Sun

• Ku Hye Sun’s short film The Madonna (유쾌한 도우미) got into the final selection of 2009 Busan Asian Short Film Festival (BASFF). This is her debut movie, which she did everything for – write the script, direct, and create the theme song. The movie is a 14-minute film and about mercy killing (euthanasia) and a Catholic priest’s perspective on it. Kim Myung Soo and Jun Tae Soo (Ha Ji Won’s brother) are the movie’s leads. Ku’s film is one of 90 (out of 656) that were chosen from 14 countries (out of 20). The festival will be held from May 13 to May 17.

• As we mentioned earlier, Lee Min Jung is currently filming Baekyahaeng – Into the White Night (백야행 – 하얀 어둠 속을 걷다).

• Lee Min Ho’s agency invited his fans to participate in naming his fan club. Fans can make their suggestions on Lee Min Ho’s official homepage for 2 weeks from April 1 to April 14.
  

  http://www.leeminho.kr

  Lee Min Ho’s official homepage originally opened in February 5. However,  the server crashed due to the high number of visitors. Therefore, his agency opened a new one to greet his fans.

• Kim Beom is promoting “The 5th World Ceramic Biannale 2009 Korea”. The event is going to be held for a month starting May 25 in Gyeonggi-do.

• Yoon Ji Hu/Kim Hyun Joong’s fan club, Jihu-ache (지후앓이; 앓이 is pronounced ahree and means ache/pain) donated $2,650 (￦3,500,000) to The Beautiful Foundation. The special thing about this donation was that it was under the name, Yoon Ji Hu. The members wanted to share the joy they felt through the drama with society and memorialize the character, Yoon Ji Hu. Although there have been several cases of fans donating under the actor/actress’ name, this was the first time that a donation was made under a drama character’s name. The money will be used for the poor.

• Another group of Kim Hyun Joong’s fans who attended “Good Bye, Yoon Ji Hu” donated $7,500 (￦10,000,000) to Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation. The donation was led by Kim Hyun Joong’s fan club, Kim Hyun Joong Perfect, to help children who suffer from leukemia but cannot receive proper treatment due to financial conditions.

• The cast and crew of BOF had a banquet on April 1 to celebrate the wrap of the drama. Approximately 200 were in attendance. Along with dinner, thank-you speeches, and farewells, they also had a moment of silence in honour of the deceased Jang Ja Yeon.
  

  BOF wrap party

• Exported versions of Boys Over Flowers will have different OST’s and CG’s. A representative from the drama said that they took into consideration the public’s feedback (i.e. complaints) about the excessive use of the same songs and unprofessional computer graphics. For example, they are plannning to change the helicopter scene (Jun Pyo’s method of transportation to school one day) and the scene where ducks were in the pool (Jun Pyo’s prank).  The soundtrack will be edited with the songs that have been popular in Korea, with less repetition of the songs from the first OST. Some Korean fans were upset to hear this news, and questioned whether the Korean version was for practice.

• Boys Over Flowers will be broadcast every Sunday starting April 12 on MNet Japan (cable TV). A fan meeting will be held on April 16 at Tokyo Dome City’s JCB Hall. The F4 and Ku Hye Sun will leave for Tokyo on April 15. The show will then be broadcast on TBS beginning in the summer.

• The rumoured ending scene from New Caledonia has been confirmed as the original ending. However,they had to change the ending in Korea – not just because of the leaked photo, but a filming error. The scene they filmed last in New Caledonia was one where Jun Pyo and Jan Di looked for the ring in the sea. The ending was supposed to be Jun Pyo proposing to Jan Di and then the two ending up searching for the ring in the water.  However, when they were editing in Korea, they realized that Jun Pyo had the ring on while looking for it.

• KBS is pre-selling  the Boys Over Flowers DVD, planned for release on April 27. Supposedly, the company is only releasing a limited number of copies. The DVDs will have the option of English subtitles. It is uncertain whether the DVD set will feature the broadcast version or the edited version (such as the ones to be exported).

• Kim Hyun Joong had a fan meeting called “Good Bye Yoon Ji Hu” at Olympic Park in Seoul on the evening of March 31. Kim Beom, Kim Joon, and the rest of SS501 appeared as special guests.
  

  Kim Hyun Joong sings "Happiness is..."

  

  Kim Beom & Kim Joon