Postman to Heaven

천국의 우편배달부 (Postman to Heaven) is a South Korean movie directed by Lee Hyeong-min and released in 2009 with a running time of 108 minutes. The movie actually was a Japanese-Korean collaboration written by Eriko Kitagawa.

Story: Jae-joon is a mailman delivering letters to heaven which makes him the heaven's postman. One day when emptying the mailbox he meets Ha-na, a woman who keeps on writing to her deceased ex-boyfriend. During the next two weeks they become closer and try to ease the pain of those who are in pain after someone's death - but Jae-joon has a secret that is the reason why they can't be found out.

Cast: Kim Jae-joong as Jae-joon is a really interesting character and actor. It is soon obvious that he has a secret but the acting keeps his character mysterious and somehow interesting. Also the character develops and changes slowly which was portrayed well.
Han Hyo-joo as Ha-na was a little bit too childish as a character sometimes but her turning into a happy and bright person was really good to watch and the light-hearted kind of thing that is popular among audiences in both Japan and Korea. The acting was good but not perfect so her overall performance was a nice thing but still not perfect.
However, they had a good chemistry on-screen which was easy and nice to watch.


The way this story was told somehow fascinates me, the idea of a heaven's postman who helps to ease people's pain is something I would wish for in a real life. The way Jae-joon's personal background was revealed and what or who exactly he is in fact is very interesting. While this movie maybe included not enough action to be one of my overall favorite movies, it is definitely worth watching.
So my personal rating is a 7.5/10.

Days With You

恋極星 (Koikyokusei; Days With You) is a Japanese movie directed by Amiy Mori and released in March 2009.

Story: Natsuki Kashiwagi lives in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and takes care of her autistic brother Daiki Kashiwagi. One day she is reunited with her childhood love Souta Funabiki who moved away to Canada when they were young. The two fall in love again but Souta suffers from a serious disease and decided to not get surgery again since the disease is always returning.

Cast: Another movie with Erika Toda in it, this time as Natsuki Kashiwagi. Her acting is really good in my opinion, she manages to portray the happiness and the hope as well as the sadness and the burden of caring for her brother alone after her fathers death well.
Kazuki Kato delivers another great character as Souta Funabiki. The way he portrayed the struggle with the disease and the hopelessness but also the will to fight for his love and his parents was portrayed well and really made me hope the best for him (and the fact that I just hate sad endings of course makes me hope for the best all the time as well).
And Ryuya Wakaba as Daiki Kashiwagi did a great job portraying the autistic younger brother. I don't know much about autism, just that there are of course different forms, and I was wondering if what he was portraying was a real form of autism but I think it fit the story well in total and did highlight the fact that he somehow needed his sister to help him.


I can't say I loved this movie but I kinda liked it so it got a 7/10 from me. It is not necessarily a movie I would rewatch even though I do love the setting and the acting a lot but the story doesn't really offer a big surprise. I honestly knew what disease they would use right when I read about a 'serious illness', it is just what usually happens in dramas and movies.
But what I have to admit is that the Japanese movie producers know how to make a heartwrenching melodramas just by using some stereotypical things.

Jeon Woo Chi: The Taoist Wizard

전우치 (Jeon Woo Chi) is a South Korean movie directed by Choi Dong-hoon released in 2009.

Story: The movie begins in the Chosun dynasty where a young wizard named Jeon Woo Chi, his friend and helper, three Taoist wizards, a king and evil goblins all are after a prophetic pipe. While trying to get the pipe Jeon Woo Chi becomes framed for a crime he didn't commit and ends up sealed into an ancient scroll.
In 2009 evil goblins start appearing all over Korea again and the retired Taoist wizards are called to help. They release Jeon Woo Chi and his friend and servant from the scroll to help them and save the world. In modern Korea, however, women and sightseeing become far more interesting to Jeon Woo Chi.

Cast: So the main character Jeon Woo Chi was played by Kang Dong-won. I haven't seen him in many works I think but in this one his acting was good - just the character was a little bit ridiculous and weird which is probably not really surprising.
Yoo Hae-jin as Chorangyi, the servant, friend and actual dog of Woo Chi, was hilarious in his own way. The acting was so funny that I really came to like him as a character and the actor itself.
Lim Soo-jung as Seo In-kyung turned out to be one of the less memorable characters. I would love to tell all of you more about the character and the acting but I cannot say much about it. It wasn't bad but not good so more like an average not really outstanding person.
Kim Yun-seok as Hwadam was just the perfect villain to me though. I think I was a little bit scared but it wasn't too bad so I'm still alive.
Other actors in this movie include Baek Yoon-sik, Joo Jin-mo, Kim Sang-ho and Song Young-chang.


After all I can say that a 7.5/10 is not really a bad rating for this movie. Logic aside, it was fun and included impressive martial arts-scenes. On the other hand it really lacked that one thing - logic. Yes, even fantasy usually includes some.
However, for a movie night with about 200 exchange students it is a fun and light watch and nothing too serious.
I recommend it if you're interested in fantasy and martial arts as a short pleasure but nothing more, I don't think it would be more to most people.

Soul

혼 (Soul, also known as Possessed) is a South Korean drama series that aired on MBC from August 5th to September 3rd 2009. The series consists of 10 episodes with a duration of approximately 1 hour and 5 minutes.

Story: Ha-na and Doo-na are sisters but one day Doo-na dies a terrible death and her sister cannot safe her. Her ghost comes back to take revenge and possesses her sisters body - the main problem is that not only Doo-na can possess her sister but also other ghosts. Ha-na rarely remembers what happens when ghosts, or souls, take over her body. One day criminal psychologist Shin Ryu becomes involved and soon he's one of the few who can actually help Ha-na but a tragedy in his past and a chance to take revenge might make things even worse.

Cast: Lee Seo-jin is really good as Shin Ryu. I liked his acting overall even though I found his character a little difficult to understand I just really thought he was an interesting character. As for Im Ju-eun as Yoon Ha-na I think they just solved the puzzle too fast to keep her character interesting for a long time. The possessed acting was a little weird but good in the end so there's nothing I can really complain about.
T-ARA's Park Ji-yeon as Yoon Doo-na was good but neither the best nor the worst character. Since this was one of her first roles in a series I think she might have improved a lot as an actress but I also think she wasn't one of the main characters regarding her screen time in this drama. Now this could be discussed of course.
And also Supernova's Park Geon-il is in this drama as Jung Shi-woo. He has some characteristics of a typical second male lead but at some point I feel like he's more extreme when it comes to protecting and helping Ha-na no matter what. At some point the innocent high school kid seems to be obsessed with the idea of doing anything for Ha-na. The acting was pretty good but again he seemed a little too insane sometimes.
And of course I need to mention Kim Gab-soo as Baek Do-shik whom I wanted to see punished until the very end. Now I don't know whether that worked or not but I still have hope. Somehow.
Other actors in this series include Yoo Yun-suk as Baek Joong-chan, Lee Jin as Lee Hye-won and Kim Sung-ryung as Ha-na's and Doo-na's mother.

Soundtrack: Personally I enjoyed how the music created the atmosphere at times so I think there's nothing to complain about. The number of songs that were actually sung by some K-music artists is pretty low though, there's only one song Yangpa performed so if you prefer soundtracks with more songs that are actually sung this might not be that much to your liking.


Overall I think this drama is solid for fans of unusual K-dramas that aren't all lovey-dovey. A 7/10 rating from me just because it failed to deliver the "horror" but that might only be me. And that's okay since me reviews are also based on my personal opinion. It's worth watching though and I might consider rewatching it at some point.

ToGetHer

愛就宅一起 (ToGetHer, also known as Superstar Express) is a Taiwanese drama series that first aired on CTV from February 15th to May 3rd 2009. During the following months it aired on various other broadcasting stations.

Story: Mars is a star who has to face a crisis after a few scandals. Since the articles weren't telling the truth he feels like the bad treatment following those articles is not fair. One day because of him not earning enough money anymore his company asks him to move out of his apartment and he starts living with the quiet student Chen Mo Mo, who only has interest in her manga Prince Kashaba, and her sister Chu Chu. While Chu Chu is overly excited, Mo Mo doesn't even know who he is. It turns out that Mars and Mo Mo not only go to the same school but are also classmates so they meet quite often and fight a lot. Mars only wants to get back his status as a star and works hard. However, Mo Mo and Mars become closer while they're supporting each other more and more..

Cast: The second Taiwanese drama I've watched and again there's Jiro Wang in it as Mars/ Zhuang Jun Nan. Regarding his character.. well, I have to admit that at first he was full of himself and an arrogant star. Nothing we haven't seen in other series involving idols but that still doesn't mean that it's too bad. I love the way his character changes though and I enjoyed seeing the actor actually portraying that change well. Jiro Wang in fact is a familiar face (as some of you who have been reading my blog for some time) know but I think seeing his emotions displayed in this drama gives a good impression of his acting.
Next there's Rainie Yang as Chen Mo Mo. Personally I've known Rainie Yang as a singer since 2012 so I don't really know if the quiet, shy character of a person that's often forgotten and left behind suits her but I enjoyed her acting in this one in general as well though I really didn't like Mo Mo at first and thought that it was just overacted because her character was supposed to be that way.
George Hu as Wei Jia Sen was a far more complex character simply because he has the intelligence of a boy. While mental health issues weren't a topic Asian drama talked about for quite some time (if I remember right) I found the way Wei Jia Sen was portrayed rather interesting though as a character some of his scenes were annoying simply because of his behavior. However, the actor did well in fact so there's nothing I would criticize about him since I've never met a person showing that behavior. (Note: As far as I remember we don't get to know what happened to Jia Sen or in which way his physical and mental conditions lead to his lack of development. I'd guess it's more of a mental health problem than physical health.)
Linda Liao as Chen Chu Chu was unbearable to me sometimes. Mo Mo's sister seems to love gossip, is noisy, a little shallow and worries about completely different things than Mo Mo but causes a huge problem but runs away. Regarding the fact she's supposed to be the older sister she's more of a teenager than Mo Mo. The acting was nice but then again I don't feel like it was extremely diffcult. Probably except for the fact that Chu Chu always seems to be really energetic.
The last person I want to name on here is Jin Qin as Ke Yi Zhi who was a supportive and incredibly cute friend even willing to risk his job at times. We all need a manager/ co-worker/ friend like him in my opinion since he's loyal and worries about what might be best for Mars and not only for economic purposes.

Soundtrack: I really liked the soundtrack after all, there's no song that really got on my nerves. But I loved the opening song as well as the ending song of this series, "越來越愛 (Love You More and More)" and "默默 (Silently)" by Fahrenheit. Especially the ballad, Silently, or also pronounced as "Mo Mo" was really nice and I loved Jiro Wang singing the song in the drama series himself.



So now that I've said a lot of positive things about the soundtrack and the actors, what's my rating? A 6/10 doesn't seem to low at first but I was really struggling on judging this.
Now there might be some spoilers included when I'm explaining what I personally didn't like about this series so if you don't want to read those, just skip this part now.
The first point was the chaos. I didn't really get the point of the first episodes and they just seemed randomly put together. I know that Taiwanese production companies probably can do better.
Secondly, certain characters disappeared at some point, and were never to be seen again. If there would be an explanation why it would make sense. But for example for Ivy she just appears and suddenly disappears though she signed a contract and is therefore under the same company as Mars. Same basically works for Ben.
Speaking of Ivy before, why did they even have to come up with the story of an ex-girlfriend? Things were complicated enough before and it would've been complicated enough without her as well so why did she have to appear in about two episodes (maybe? I'm not even sure anymore).
And what really got on my nerves that they could've ended everything with episode 10. But then again only to be able to produce a few more episodes they added a family story including cancer, a car accident and - oh, scandal! - an idol caught dating. Those are just things that appear in basically every second or third K-Drama at least. I don't know about Taiwan but it doesn't have a feeling to it that makes it that different. At some point I was just able to laugh it off because it was ridiculous.
Those are however things I need to consider when rating a series but that doesn't make it entirely bad.

Code Blue

コード・ブルー  ドクターヘリ緊急救命 (Code Blue - Doctor Heli Emergency Lifesaving) is a Japanese TV series consisting of 11 episodes that aired on Fuji TV from July 3rd to September 11th 2008.
The special was aired in January 2009.

Story: Code Blue shows the life of four interns in the Shoyo University hospital. Being responsible for emergencies, those four are flight-doctors-in training and work with Doctor Heli, a program involving a helicopter transporting patients to offer help as fast as possible. However, those four work under Dr. Shuji Kuroda, a senior doctor who's said to not really like young people. Mihoko Hiyama is a straight-forward young woman while Megumi Shiraishi seems to be more calm and doesn't want to hurt people with words if she can avoid it. Kazuo Fujikawa is a talkative young person but seems to lack skills sometimes while Kousaku Aizawa is extremely quiet and cold which is why he can deal with emergencies well.
While working together, those four experience difficult situations.

Cast: As I am not one of those who watched many J-Dramas I think it's something special when I can say that I've known a few actors. And well, those are actually two but nevermind.
Tomohisa Yamashita is a quite good as Kousaku Aizawa. Why exactly? Well, I don't really know about his acting in general but this cold character in this series just fits him perfectly, and also the emotional scenes with his grandma (not a huge spoiler I guess) seem to be fine.
Erika Toda is in this series as Mihoko Hiyama. Compared to the movies I've seen her in before (*cough* Death Note *cough*) her role in this one is strong and confident. While I found her sometimes to be the difficult type of person, I did like her acting overall as well and seeing two different sides of one actress is a good thing as well.
As Megumi Shiraishi we see Yui Aragaki. While her rather shy character sometimes was too quiet in my opinion (or just didn't say what she thought), I was a little frustrated with her being careless in the end. Nonetheless I think she was a necessary part of this series, mainly because they wanted to show completely different characters.
The same actually works for Yosuke Asari as Kazuo Fujikawa. While at some point you pity him because he's seriously not that good compared to the others, in the end it seems like he just needed to adjust himself to the team and the new surroundings while following his dream to become a flight-doctor. Since he doesn't seem to be blessed with extremely medical talent, he's working hard to make his dream come true.
My favorite character in this series was by far Haruka Saejima played by Manami Higa, a young and extremely beautiful flight nurse who seems cold at first but warms up in the end. She's an important part of the team itself and she's good in what she's doing, sometimes even better than the average doctor.
And lastly I feel like I need to name Toshiro Yanagiba as Shuji Kuroda. While at some point one might start to hate him he's a good doctor and wants to safe patients in the end. That's also the reason why he's strict when it comes to the interns.

Soundtrack: The music in itself is not bad. The opening, "HANABI" by Mr. Children isn't bad, as an opening song it's quite nice actually. But then again the music in the whole series sometimes missed the atmosphere. This might be only my opinion but especially during those emergency operations I would actually expect something more dramatic if it's about life and death.
That being said, the soundtrack is probably the weak point this drama has.


After all a 9/10 for the series and an 8.5/10 for the special are still a good and strong rating because of the interesting stories told in such a short amount of time.
While the worst part in fact is the music in general it's not that bad and didn't really make me dislike the drama, that was just something I need to say.
Also, something about the special in itself: I found the talk about separation alright. Yes, it was nice, but not nearly as exciting as that huge accident (should I feel bad for saying this?). The last part of this special episode (actually almost two hours long) was rather slow, there was no major action since emotions were most important then.

Takumi-kun: Rainbow Colored Glass

!Warning! This is a Boys Love movie - don't like it? Then ignore it.

虹色の硝子 (Rainbow Colored Glass), also known as the second part of the Takumi-kun series, is a Japanese movie that was released in 2009. The whole movie series is based on a manga series of the same name.

Story: Takumi Hayama and Saki Giichi are now an item at their all-boys school. However, Gii suddenly seems to be interested in Tooru Morita which makes things really difficult for Takumi. While the two of them try to solve their problem, Takeshi Suzuki, a friend of Gii, drops out of school.

Cast: As for this second movie, the main cast completely changed. If you're planning to watch this movie, you might be able to think for reasons by yourself.
Starting with this movie we have Daisuke Watanabe as Gii and Kyousuke Hamao as Takumi Hayama. Actually, those two have a great onscreen chemistry as well, and I remember watching a 'Making Off' as well. It seems the actors get along well and were able to transfer this into the story. (That doesn't mean that I really think they're gay, most likely they're something like friends, I don't even know.)
Though they're doing a good job I still have to deal with the sudden change of lead actors which makes it hard for me to identify with characters. The same issue appears with Kei Hosogai as Izumi Takabayashi. He rarely appears in this movie, so maybe it would've been better to just leave out his character? Especially since in the third movie, the actor switches back.
Yuta Takahashi can be seen as Takeshi Suzuki. I was quite impressed with some of his scenes. Yes, most of them were flashbacks quite at the end but I think he did a good job especially in displaying the struggles.
There's also Yuuki Hiyori as Tooru Morita. Despite of him having not that much display time either his character is just too adorable. I really loved some of the ending scenes just because of him.
And of course, once again last but not least, we have Yukihiro Takiguchi as Shozo Akaike. He's like the saving grace of all the characters, knows everything and gets involved only to help them out.

Soundtrack: Once again I can only say that I seriously loved the way silence was used, as well as some different classical instruments just to highlight the atmosphere.

My rating for this movie is 8/10 and actually that's only because I don't like the ending. Like not at all.
Actually the charming point about the first movie is the light and bubbly atmosphere - at least most of the time. It made me smile like an idiot because of the cute plot. Sure many people say it sounds like a fanfiction written by some 13 year old fangirl but then again they don't need to watch it.
As for a grown up young woman I understand that there are some difficulties when it comes to love but the actual charming point almost disappeared. It reminds me of a melodrama somehow and I'm not a huge fan of overly melodramatic stuff since I think some things are just way too common.
So as far as I remember this one is the weakest part of the series (I've watched either the first three or even four movies back in 2010/2011, I don't remember clearly) which I just didn't want to watch again because of the sad ending which made me cry back then but that doesn't work anymore for me.

Dream

드림 (Dream) is another drama that aired in the awesome year 2009, from July 27th to September 29th. It also has a length of roughly 20 hours.

Story: Nam Jae-il is a sports agent who once was really successful but when one of his clients gets involved in a drug scandal he gets fired by the company he's working for. When he lost everything he meets Lee Jang-seok who is a huge trouble maker. Because of his good fighting skills he wants to become a K1-fighter. With the help of Park So-yeon Jae-il tries to make that happen and also earn money and get back to the top once again.

Cast: Since I'm a huge fan of Kim Bum who's character Lee Jang-seok is one of the main characters in here I decided that it's a must-watch. I knew Son Dam-bi as a singer before but never were a huge fan of hers. However, she's doing a good job as Park So-yeon and was also one of my favorite characters. Joo Jin-mo as Nam Jae-il became almost a father to Lee Jang-seok. The deep friendship those three show in the series is actually awesome. Park Sang-won as Kang Kyeong-tak is the bad guy who's close to loosing everything because of Nam Jae-il and he's desperately trying to keep his empire.

Soundtrack: Let me just mention that SHINee sang a song called "Countdown" for the soundtrack. I liked that song a lot because it fits the drama after all. And Bobby Kim sang "죽기 아니면 살기 (Die or Live)". I admit that I don't remember a lot about the soundtrack so the lack of memorability is definitely a minus but at the same time I've never hated any of the songs so after all it's really good.

After all I enjoyed this one a lot though it was different from what I've expected at first. It's still nice. But took me ages to finish this, I don't understand why.
Rating? 8/10 please, just because some things aren't perfect but in the end it's still nice.

IRIS

아이리스 (IRIS) is another drama that originally aired in 2009 (and I start to believe I've watched too many dramas that aired then..)
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy love stories but as much as I like romantic comedies I need some more action in my life.
The first season aired from October 14th to December 17th on KBS and has about 20 hours of material to watch. It was also summarized within a movie - creatively called "IRIS: The Movie" but I'll talk about the movie later.

Story: Two close friends, Kim Hyun-joong and Jin Sa-woo, who are actually working for the military in the beginning are brought into a secret organization called NSS. Both of them fall for the analyst Choi Seung-hee. Hyun-joong is brought into a solo mission in Hungary which makes him a culprit so that a lot of people are after him. He then tries to find out who put him in that position and stumbles upon a top secret organization called IRIS and tries to figure out what they actually want.

Cast: The cast is actually incredibly well-known nowadays. The main cast consist of Lee Byung-hun as Kim Hyun-joong. Kim Tae-hee who is known as one of the most beautiful actresses in Korea took the role of the female lead Choi Seung-hee. Jung Joon-ho acted as Jin Sa-woo. Kim Young-chul joined the cast as Baek San whose intentions are a huge mystery to the viewer at first. And please, let's not forget about T.O.P as Vick.

Soundtrack: While after some time some songs might be quite annoying I have to admit that the whole soundtrack is at least alright. Especially the instrumental pieces are quite similar to those you find in action movies. As for the other songs I enjoy "잊지말아요 (Don't Forget)" by Baek Ji-young a lot nowadays but while watching the drama and it was played like every 15 minutes it was way past annoying. However, I am a huge fan of Big Bang's "Hallelujah" and that's pretty surprising since I'm not a huge fan of Big Bang after all.

In the end one could guess that I really liked this drama. Well, I did like it - but sometimes the balance between the love story and the actual political and economic issues is kind of.. weird. The political aspects are complicated enough. And I admit that those love story scenes were really boring compared to the rest so I started to skip it bit by bit. That actually influences the rating a lot. So my personal rating is 6/10.

You're Beautiful

미남이시네요 (You're Beautiful) is another Korean drama that aired in 2009, to be exact from October 7th to November 26th on SBS. Unlike Boys Over Flowers this one wasn't a remake but later, in 2011, a Japanese remake called Ikemen desu ne (美男ですね) was produced. In 2013 a Taiwanese remake followed.
I know that many, and I mean many, people loved this drama a lot. So actually I thought "Well, it has to be good". Obviously my expectations were too high and I've seriously thought about dropping this one a few times. To be honest I can't really explain why, but maybe after writing the full review I can understand myself what made me feel that bored.

Story: I've mentioned before that gender-bend stories aren't that uncommon and maybe this time I thought it was kind of boring because I've finished another drama with that characteristic not too long ago.
Basically a girl, Go Mi-nyeo, has to replace her brother, Go Mi-nam, in a band, A.N.JELL. Since they're twins it's possible but Mi-nyeo isn't a huge fan of the idea. Later she agrees anyways because that'd be an option to find their mother. Once again there's this bad and moody male lead, Hwang Tae-kyung, a nice supportive character, Kang Shin-woo, and the bright and cheerful Jeremy. As the story evolves Hwang Tae-kyung becomes attracted to Mi-nyeo but wouldn't admit it. At the same time Mi-nyeo likes Tae-kyung. Oh, and then there's Shin-woo who likes Mi-nyeo but unfortunately is stuck in the role of the second male lead and - therefore - the friendzone. Like you might notice there are many typical elements again.
While watching a lot of problems occur but what I really didn't understand: Though they're twins actually Mi-nyeo and Mi-nam would've different voices, especially because they're fraternal twins (Obviously, otherwise they'd have the same gender). Actually the fact that they have to be fraternal twins means as well that they would not look exactly the same. F**k logic? Yeah, true, one can be like this, sometimes it works for me as well but since I'm pretty much into voices I actually thought about that difference at first.

Cast: The cast consists of quite popular actors or singers, depending on whom we're talking about. First there's Jang Geun-suk who acted as the male lead Hwang Tae-kyung. Though I'm not a huge fan of his, mainly because of the characters he's playing, I think he did a good job in here. As the female lead we have Park Shin-hye as Go Mi-nyeo. No, I don't hate her, let me clear this up first but I think her acting is incredibly boring. Same expression all the time and she always gets those clumsy, helpless, "damsel in distress"-characters which I happen to dislike. It's not her fault, I know, but this is also just based on my personal opinion.
The other two band members are played by actual singers. Jung Yong-hwa as Kang Shin-woo and Lee Hong-ki as Jeremy. I was actually cheering for Shin-woo a lot, I would've hoped for a better ending for him but after all - you might know what happens to second male leads and if you don't you'll find out soon enough. Jeremy is less serious and an incredibly playful character which made it a lot of fun to watch him but sometimes he reminded me of a monkey (don't ask me why, I don't know myself and am laughing about it).

Soundtrack: Well, the soundtrack included tracks by all those named above. I only think it's quite sad Jung Yong-hwa didn't have any solo track while Park Shin-hye had two, Lee Hong-ki as well I think, and Jang Geun-suk had like three or something. To be honest I don't remember any song clearly and that is what I think is quite surprising since I'm a huge music lover. I only remember that Miss $ made a song called "하늘에서 내려와 (Descend from the Sky)" with Oh Won-bin and since it was performed by Miss $ it has to be good.


So, I was really wondering about how I should rate this since it has been one of the most popular dramas and maybe it was partly my fault to watch similar dramas like To The Beautiful You and Boys Over Flowers before but I think there might also be some things about the cast, the typical story and the soundtrack that just I simply can't remember.
I think 4/10 is still a nice rating compared to what I've just talked about. Though compared to most dramas that get quite good ratings it's actually not that good.

Boys Over Flowers

꽃보다 남자 (Boys Over Flowers or Boys Before Flowers) is the Korean remake of the Japanese dram Hana yori dango (花より男子) that aired originally in 2005 and 2007 in Japan. The Korean remake first aired from  January 5th to March 31st 2009 on KBS.
As far as I remember it's one of the most famous Korean dramas internationally and I think I haven't met anyone who didn't watch it.


Story: Oh, if you hear about the story now - believe me, it'll seem quite familiar to you. Why? Uhm, well, that's simple. In short a poor girl, Geum Jan-di, is delivering dry cleaning for her parents shop. One day she saves a student of the prestigious Shin Hwa High and gets a scholarship because of being good at swimming. Being the poor girl surrounded by rich students she has to deal with some issues. Soon she gets terrorized by the leader of the F4, Gu Jun-pyo. He and his friends are the most popular and richest boys in school. While bullying her Jun-pyo begins to realize he's attracted to Jan-di, but Jan-di has a crush on his best friend, Yoon Ji-hoo. And so the drama starts.
If you're looking for THE typical K-Drama - well, congrats, you've found it, though it's actually based on a manga and the Japanese series. Don't believe me? Well, look at this:

Please pay attention to.. well, almost all of those points explained on there. You'll understand when you've finished this drama.
Don't get me wrong, talking about Boys Over Flowers as THE typical K-Drama makes it sound worse I think. Because actually I really adored this one. I remember I had trouble with the first episode and had to wait a few.. well, weeks, until I started the second. But after watching the second episode I've finished the drama in around three days (which is a lot considering I've watched 23 episodes in three days, makes about 8 episodes per day.. now you can guess what else I did during that time except for sleeping and eating and watching this drama).
I admit there are a lot and I mean a whole freaking lot of misunderstandings and after some time you might feel like it's just a strategy so they can produce more episodes and therefore make more money - which might be true up to some point - but everything actually makes sense.

Cast: When I started watching this I didn't really care about actors at all. Sure I knew that Kim Hyun-joong as Yoon Ji-hoo was in it but that was basically everything. Oh, and I've heard about Lee Min-ho who took the role of the male lead Gu Jun-pyo here before but couldn't really connect him to any popular drama. However, this drama was the first one I've watched with Kim Bum who's my absolute favorite actor. As So Yi-jung his smile made my heart melt like.. icecream. This sounds weird but it IS actually really weird (and I'm embarrassed to admit that I was really squealing like a 12-year-old back then). Anyways, the last member of the F4 missing on here is Song Woo-bin played by Kim Joon. Sadly I couldn't find that much info on Kim Joon, the last thing I've heard was that he went to the army after his group T-MAX disbanded (they were good, I remember I've downloaded some songs).
Well, after mentioning all of the F4 now we can't leave out our Geum Jan-di played by Koo Hye-sun. I admit I've also become a fan of hers, I like those princesses who can protect themselves. Don't get what I mean? Watch the first few episodes of this drama and you'll understand that.
The last one I'll name on here would be Kim So-eun who took the role of Jan-di's best friend Chu Ga-eul.

Soundtrack: Well, the soundtrack.. While I sincerely loves some songs like Lee Jung-sik's Saxophone instrumental "I Know" and Kim Bum's "지금 만나러 갑니다 (I'm Going To Meet You Now)" there were some songs that seriously pissed me off after hearing them about 15 times per day just like T-Max's "Paradise" which is the title song. Listening to it now it's actually a good and cheerful song but used way too often. And that's weird because the actual soundtrack consists of two CDs with a total of 26 songs PLUS there's an F4 Special Edition which includes 10 tracks as well. Why did they have to overuse one song that much? I really don't know and I'm not sure if I'll ever find out.


So in total I gave 9/10. Like, come on, I've already told you how fast I've finished that. If that doesn't qualify as being addicted to a drama then.. I don't even know.