KDrama to Watch: Boys Over Flowers (2009)

Boys Over Flowers (2009) 

Grade: B

25 Episodes, about 80 minutes each

A poor, unsophisticated daughter of a dry cleaner, Geum Jan Di saves a bullied boy at the elite Shinhwa High School when he tries to jump off the school roof to end his life. Jan Di is then enrolled in the high school, tuition free, and butts heads with the elite school's top four, the ones who bully for sheer entertainment. Eventually the top four leader, Goo Jun Pyo, falls for Jan Di, and the witch mother does everything in her power to tear them apart and destroy Jan Di. (Jun Pyo is the heir to the Shinhwa company fortune.)

*Good pace, liked the soundtrack, very well-done secondary character development, but the violent parts were too bloody for my taste. Not enough lighthearted moments. Might watch again. Top ten favorite because everything else was done well.*

UPDATE: (Viewed again Dec 2022) I have watched dozens of Kdramas since I first saw this one in 2014, and it is not as good as I originally thought. It's far too "soapy" for my taste, drawing out the miscommunications to a painful degree. The evil mother-in-law character never has to face justice for her outrageous behavior, and the writers use the "let's spend several years apart before we commit to each other" trope which I can't stand. Still, all that being said, this is an iconic Kdrama and it deserves at least one viewing.