Anastasialovesdrama
You are the cause of my Euphoria
This review may contain spoilers
Kim Bum is such a sweetheart...
Shinhwa Group is shown to be one of South Korea's largest conglomerates and is headed by the strictly arrogant Kang Hee-soo. Her son Gu Jun-pyo (Lee Min-ho) is the leader of F4, the most popular and powerful group of boys at the prestigious Shinhwa High School. Yoon Ji-hu (Kim Hyun-Joong), So Yi-jung (Kim Bum), and Song Woo-bin – Gu Jun-pyo's friends and rich heirs in their own right – are all members of the group. When F4 bullies a boy to the verge of suicide, the poor but vivacious Geum Jan-di (Ku Hye-sun) saves his life and receives a swimming scholarship to attend the High School. Geum Jan-di's family runs a dry cleaning business and she lives in a small home with her parents, Geum Il-bong and Na Gong-joo, and her younger brother Geum Kang-san.
Ku Hye-sun as Geum Jan-di, A dry cleaner's daughter, who is offered a scholarship to attend the prestigious Shinhwa High School. Her name translates as "lawn/grass". Headstrong, optimistic, stubborn, and kind-hearted, Jan-di readily stands up for her friends when they are being bullied. She gets on Jun-pyo's bad side when she stands up to him, but he soon professes his feelings for her.She also seems to initially like, fall in love with Ji hu.
Kim Hyun-joong as Yoon Ji-hoo, a member of the F4 and the grandson of a former president of Korea. He has a driving phobia after being involved in a car accident that killed his parents and left him the only survivor. He is initially in love with his childhood friend Seo-hyun, who helped him overcome his social anxiety. Calm and gentle, his musical talent catches Jan-di's attention and she begins to develop feelings for him.
Kim Bum as So Yi-jung (my fave), a member of the F4 and a skilled potter. His family owns the country's biggest art museum. After losing his first love to his brother, he becomes a womanizer. He eventually changes his playboy ways when he realizes that he likes Ga-eul, Jan-di's best friend.
Kim Joon as Song Woo-bin, a member of the F4, his family runs the country's largest construction company, which Woo-bin later admits has strong connections to organized crime. He also likes to mess around with girls since he was hurt by a previous woman in his life. However, he has excellent business sense and is very charismatic.
Kim So-eun as Chu Ga-eul, She is Jan-di's best friend who later develops romantic feelings towards So Yi-Jung.
There are a couple of side romances in this series as well. One of these is a gradual romance that is sweet. I enjoyed watching this romance unfold. The side romances add to the story and don’t detract from the main couples, which I enjoyed. But I also felt more invested to Ga-Eul and Yi-jung romance, they were perfect.
Another thing that made me question everything is the beginning of the relationship between Jan Di and Jun Pyo. She rejects him and he just tells the world they’re dating anyway – and so they end up dating. No, I will not get over it. Not only is it completely ridiculous and has no sense whatsoever but it is also once again showing how little the opinion of teenage girls in dramas matters. The guy makes a decision and the girl follows it because he said so. It might have been filmed in 2009 but it’s still the 21st century and women are now allowed to choose who they want to date.
Of course, feelings start appearing and growing further as Jun Pyo shows many times his efforts. In his own ‘unique’ way, he does feel love and it is shown more than once throughout the episodes. If you’re into characters overcoming their differences and worlds, I guess the efforts they both make are easy to appreciate, particularly when it comes to understanding each other and being a part of each other’s world.
The story is full of drama and suspense. While this can be a little overwhelming at times, I found myself wishing that they could just have a happy ending after all! I think this is because the characters are so likable.
Even Jun-Pyo, who is not my favorite character, had enough redeeming qualities that I couldn’t quite hate him. This might be because of the story, the actors, or a combination of both.
Ku Hye-sun as Geum Jan-di, A dry cleaner's daughter, who is offered a scholarship to attend the prestigious Shinhwa High School. Her name translates as "lawn/grass". Headstrong, optimistic, stubborn, and kind-hearted, Jan-di readily stands up for her friends when they are being bullied. She gets on Jun-pyo's bad side when she stands up to him, but he soon professes his feelings for her.She also seems to initially like, fall in love with Ji hu.
Kim Hyun-joong as Yoon Ji-hoo, a member of the F4 and the grandson of a former president of Korea. He has a driving phobia after being involved in a car accident that killed his parents and left him the only survivor. He is initially in love with his childhood friend Seo-hyun, who helped him overcome his social anxiety. Calm and gentle, his musical talent catches Jan-di's attention and she begins to develop feelings for him.
Kim Bum as So Yi-jung (my fave), a member of the F4 and a skilled potter. His family owns the country's biggest art museum. After losing his first love to his brother, he becomes a womanizer. He eventually changes his playboy ways when he realizes that he likes Ga-eul, Jan-di's best friend.
Kim Joon as Song Woo-bin, a member of the F4, his family runs the country's largest construction company, which Woo-bin later admits has strong connections to organized crime. He also likes to mess around with girls since he was hurt by a previous woman in his life. However, he has excellent business sense and is very charismatic.
Kim So-eun as Chu Ga-eul, She is Jan-di's best friend who later develops romantic feelings towards So Yi-Jung.
There are a couple of side romances in this series as well. One of these is a gradual romance that is sweet. I enjoyed watching this romance unfold. The side romances add to the story and don’t detract from the main couples, which I enjoyed. But I also felt more invested to Ga-Eul and Yi-jung romance, they were perfect.
Another thing that made me question everything is the beginning of the relationship between Jan Di and Jun Pyo. She rejects him and he just tells the world they’re dating anyway – and so they end up dating. No, I will not get over it. Not only is it completely ridiculous and has no sense whatsoever but it is also once again showing how little the opinion of teenage girls in dramas matters. The guy makes a decision and the girl follows it because he said so. It might have been filmed in 2009 but it’s still the 21st century and women are now allowed to choose who they want to date.
Of course, feelings start appearing and growing further as Jun Pyo shows many times his efforts. In his own ‘unique’ way, he does feel love and it is shown more than once throughout the episodes. If you’re into characters overcoming their differences and worlds, I guess the efforts they both make are easy to appreciate, particularly when it comes to understanding each other and being a part of each other’s world.
The story is full of drama and suspense. While this can be a little overwhelming at times, I found myself wishing that they could just have a happy ending after all! I think this is because the characters are so likable.
Even Jun-Pyo, who is not my favorite character, had enough redeeming qualities that I couldn’t quite hate him. This might be because of the story, the actors, or a combination of both.
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