Kim Hyun Joong… [article] FIRST ACT

By: LazerKim              There was a time last year probably around this month, Kim Hyun Joong visited one of his member Kyu Jong in the practice room where Kyu Jong was rehearsing his stage play. The director of this play Song Byung Joon is the same director of Boy Over Flower and so the three of them met.

As I watched the video clip, talks about BOF came out from the three of them. This drama I think is one of the most unforgettable in Hyun Joong’s career life as his first acting project ever, as it is for me since this was the first time I was attracted to Hyun Joong and the first I have ever seen him.

I decided to share this video interview with you, that I think helpful for new fans in knowing more about Hyun Joong. Something caught my attention within the interview that I would like to discuss in this article. Here it goes:

KHJ VISIT KIM KYU JONG at the Practice room         ( Source: reena29shadow)

BOF Director:     No matter what, I still felt that you really date on Kyu Jong. You even came all the way here!

Hyun Joong:   He’s not as honest as he looks, we met once in a while, have some drink (drinking buddies when they have time)  We gradually met up more often like this, Kyu Jong’s limit is one bottle!

Kyu Jong:   When I was twenty, I learned drinking from Hyun Joong hyung, he was the first person who taught me to drink when I reached my legal age, that seems tough!

Hyun Joong:   When we were young, we thought that the more we eat the better it is, so we really eat a lot, but we don’t do that anymore.

Director:   Hyun Joong as a senior in acting, did he helped you in anyway?

Kyu Jong:   What I think was most helpful, before Hyun Joong went to meet up with the production cast, he reads his script very carefully, this left the deepest impression in me. This seems to become a kind of good competition for my current and future situation.

Director:   In F4 Hyun Joong was the first person to be confirmed during casting. The toughest F4 character when producing BOF. Kim Hyun Joong who’s the first person who received the role as Ji Hoo Sunbae.

Hyun Joong:   I’m not suitable for Yoon Ji Hoo’s character. But the character in BOF is very different from the real Kim Hyun Joong. I’m more easy going and prefers games that are out of the norm. Hyun Joong who is much easy going in real life loves to foll around. Doesn’t feel that innocent.

Kyu Jong:     Not really suitable for the role, character doesn’t suits him, but the outlook matches really well. Feels that even their habit is about the same. But when we watched the show together with other members, the character was very gentle not much of Hyun Joong’s character!!

Hyun Joong:   Once the drama ended, once it strikes at 11pm, I’ll switch off my phone!! My friends would send me messages asking me why I was doing that?? But in the end of the drama, the audience all got used to it. (with good ratings, Ji Hoo Sunbae that everyone loves)   If you’re going to film BOF 2 please contact me!!

Director:   This is recorded right? He will join the team if there is BOF 2, reconfirming it means he meant what he said!!

LazerKim View Point:

If there’s gonna be Boys Over Flower Part 2, and Hyun Joong would be on it again I would surely watch for it!! And if they’re doing it, I would wish to have the same casts and the same characters of course. Why not? They can put up another plot as the grown up F4, and I’m sure the drama is gonna be another block buster! Now let’s run an imaginary plot to connect the previous BOF, picking up from where the F4 left the story was actually hanging. Ju Gun Pyo proposed marriage to Geum Jan Di, whether she accepted the proposal or not was not stated. Yoon Ji Hoo was said to be Jan Di’s soul mate.

What if we twist the story a bit like, Yoon Ji Hoo met the love of his life? Which would mean another character as Ji Hoo’s lover, and this time the plot would be starred by Yoon Ji Hoo? And there goes another love triangle among Jan di, Ji Hoo and another girl to be Ji Hoo’s lover!! I wonder how would Hyun Joong change his image from the flower boy Prince to a real grown up man Prince?? Oh this must be interesting!! The F4 back again as grown ups!! I wonder who could produce such a good idea I think, for BOF 2!!

Hyun Joong felt awkward when Director Song Byung Joon was reconfirming Hyun Joong’s joke as he said  “If you’re going to film BOF 2 please contact me!!” I’m sure he just doesn’t want to go back to the flower boy image and back then he was up to portraying character in action drama which apparently he has it now for City Conquest. The director said Hyun Joong was the first actor to be confirmed to portray Ji Hoo, and as he mentioned it was the most challenging role among the F4. Yoon Ji Hoo has minimal lines delivered in the drama and the role was more on emotional display of being an autistic. No matter what others say, for me Hyun Joong played the role very well, and the character suits his outlook perfectly.

Watching the behind the scene of BOF, I think Hyun Joong truly enjoyed the company of F4, as Lee Min Ho mentioned, he’s the ice breaker of the group and that he’s cute! I can’t forget that scene when he was playing the violin and the string went off that caused his finger cut. As one of the production staff was putting a colored liquid that would looks like blood, Hyun Joong said to the staff, “it would be better if you really cut my finger so that real blood would come out oozing, that would look more real and convincing!!” The other staffs laugh at Hyun Joong!!

Then he was interviewed at the set, Hyun Joong was all dressed up in a suit, but he was wearing slippers, as he said, “it’s good I did not wear socks with holes!!” BOF was filmed in winter 2008, it was freezing cold as Hyun Joong said, “I hope summer heat would come in soon.!!” While watching this clip another clip just popped out and I came across a clip in Macau showing Hyun Joong with his family, he was eating some street food or something while walking on the street in a shopping area then some fans spotted at him. After eating he doesn’t know where to go to throw the wrapper of whatever he was eating, then a fan took the wrapper from him, he nod and thank the fan! That was such a lucky day for that fan!!

Anyway, other casts of BOF were interviewed asked their opinion about Hyun Joong as their co-actor for this drama, and said Hyun Joong was so down to earth, easy to get along with, and always cheerfully joking around! However, we all know how his health slowly deteriorated while filming this drama. Then most of the casts met some vehicular accident  during the filming. There were lots that happened during the filming not only to Hyun Joong and I could probably assume due to over fatigue and stress in filming.

There were three drama versions with similar plot but different nationalities, from Japan it’s Hana Yori Dango, from Taiwan it’s Meteor Garden, and from Korea Boys Over Flower. The drama was based from the Japanese manga Hana Yori Dango which is the original version but among the the three versions, it’s Boy Over Flower that I was really got hooked on, in terms of casting and production design.

What is attractive in these drama versions are the four young teenage guys, which for me I find the F4 of Korea more attractive among the three drama versions, if I compare the cast or actors of the drama. The casts of F4 are well defined that each actor suits their role and admittedly, the four of them are all handsome with different personalities. In my country Meteor Garden was shown first and gained good TV ratings but when BOF was aired it even gained higher ratings to the extent of airing the drama three times on different TV network.

In terms of production set up, BOF gave the most glamorous definition of richness in life as described by the drama. The choice of outfit worn by F4 were indeed very fashionable, and each of the members carry themselves perfectly, and acted on their respective roles very well. At first I was attracted to Lee Min Ho for obvious reason he played the lead role as Gu Jun Pyo but I was mesmerized by Kim Hyun Joong as Yoon Ji Hoo. Until at this time BOF is still airing in some parts of the world, and this is why I still bring this up in my articles.

I know nothing about Kim Hyun Joong back then but he gave me the impression that he was a model, maybe because of how walked and how he moved. Lee Hin Ho may be the tallest among the members but there’s something in Hyun Joong’s personality that is over bearing among the four regardless of the character they played but simply their physique. And given the second chance to watch BOF with the same cast, I would surely support the drama, if ever there may be BOF part two!!

For me, Boys Over Flower shall remain phenomenon, a drama that I shall never forget not only because the beauty of the entire production package, but also being a memorable drama where I found Kim Hyun Joong and being his First Act ever in the world of TV drama series.

There may be more chances for TV dramas in store for Kim Hyun Joong in the future that we can look forward for, and there’s his First Act to look back and see how he started as an actor….

                                                                                                LazerKim here writing

Photo credits as tagged, Ms.D, thanks!! reena29shadow thanks!!