꽃보다 남자 (Boys Over Flowers)

In addition to the hideous amount of movies I watch on a regular basis, I've also sadly become obsessed with a certain Korean TV show. It began through a quest to find something to watch while I'm exercising and has just gone from there.

"꽃보다 남자" or "Boys Over Flowers" in English, is one of several TV incarnations of a Japanese manga by the same name. It follows the life of 금잔디 (Jan-di Geum), a middle class high school student who miraculously ends up attending a super prestigious high school for rich kids. Picture all the trash and ridiculousness of "Gossip Girl" without the sex. Sounds lame, right? It is, but for some reason I'm still watching it. The show is a veritable gold mine of cliches and bad acting, so I'll just highlight my favourite parts.

Over the Top Messages of Consumerism and Class Culture: Poor Jan-di is just the outcast of outcasts at Shinhwa High. Man, does she have a hard life. She takes a lunchbox to school instead of eating at the 5 star restaurant cafeteria, she has to work a part time job after school, she's not even going to inherit a multi-million dollar corporation from her parents, WTF? The amount of shopping and conspicuous consumption montages in an episode alone is crazy. Of course Jan-di's humble roots make her a target for her rich and bored classmates who constantly refer to her as commoner and dry cleaner. Which brings us to...

Slow Motion Bullying Scenes: I know I shouldn't laugh, but they're just too funny. Jan-di is regularly the victim of somebody's evil plan. She gets beat up and humiliated constantly. For some reason these scenes are always delivered in slow motion. I don't know why, but it's awesome. Add the fact that Jan-di is a glutton for punishment and ends up shouting "Is that all you got? More!" every time she gets beat up. Pure magic.

Wide Open Plot Holes: Jan-di goes to this prestigious school on a swimming scholarship, yet somehow on tropical vacation in one of the episodes she ends up almost drowning in about 4 feet of water because of "leg cramps."

A Chance to Learn Some Korean Slang: Since most of the characters are high school students, you can learn a lot of useful Korean phrases such as 죽을래? (Do you want to die?).

All in all I can't tell why I continue to watch this show. It really is awful. For some reason I think it was the most popular drama in Korea in 2008/2009 though. Bizarre. Worth checking out if you're desperate for entertainment.

Ashu