Boys Over Flowers is a Korean drama adaptation of the Japanese manga Hana Yori Dango. It premiered on January 5, 2009 on KBS2TV and successfully ended on March 31, 2009 after 25 episodes. This is the third television drama adaptation of the popular Japanese manga Hana Yori Dango after the success of both the Taiwanese and Japanese versions.
Cast
* Koo Hye Sun: Geum Jan Di is the first girl to stand up to the leader of F4, Jun Pyo, and the first girl to get the infamous F4 Red Card. Starting from there, a chain of events ultimately leads to her falling in love with Ji Hoo and then Jun Pyo, as well as F4 becoming some of her closest friends.
* Lee Min Ho: Gu Jun Pyo is the hot-headed leader of F4 and the heir of the Shinhwa Corp Group, the most powerful company in Korea. When he was in high school, he met Jan Di and was stunned by her act of defiance. Though at first determined to make her life miserable, he falls in love with her towards the middle of the story.
* Kim Hyun Joong: Yoon Ji Hoo is a calm and soft-spoken boy who is deeply involved with music. He is shown playing the violin, guitar, and piano. He is the main other rival, besides Jun Pyo, for Jan Di's heart but he gives her up because he values his friendship with Jun Pyo. He is the man that Jun Pyo said that should take care of Jan Di or take responsibility for Jan Di if Jun Pyo himself was ever unable to. He is an F4 member.
* Kim Bum: So Yi Jung is from a family of well-known artists and is a reputable potter himself, making his first debut at the age of sixteen. His family owns a famous art gallery that exhibits national treasures. He is the F4 playboy.
* Kim Joon: Song Woo Bin is from a family that runs a large construction company but has important connection to an underground organization, hinted to be the mafia. He is often seen betting with Yi Jung over various matters, and is seen to be hanging around Yi Jung the most out of all the other F4s, vice versa. He is an F4 member.
* Kim So Eun: Chu Ga Eul is Jan Di's best friend, and has been since Kindergarten. She and Yi Jung work together and even go on a fake date in order to bring Jan Di and Jun Pyo back together. Eventually an attraction evolves between Yi Jung and her throughout the series.
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.
* Ji Hoo has a more significant role in Jan Di's life than the Taiwanese and Japanese versions, more strongly depicted as a romantic companion for most of the drama.
* Woobin's family does not appear in this version, nor is he only interested in older women.
* How 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 as a reward she is given a scholarship to the school. Jan Di was also initially reluctant to attend, but complied because of the school swimming pool (she wants to become a professional swimmer), another trait absent from the manga.
