East Meets West: Boys Over Vampires

Am I the only one who compares Boys Over Flowers to Twilight Saga? Yes? Well, let me plant the same seed in your brain. 

This is not a ‘Hey, could you imagine the F4 in Twilight’, because... that’s bad. Like what if Jun Pyo saved Jandi from the van with his vampire strength...

Two long white hands shot out protectively in front of me, and the van shuddered to a stop a foot from my face, the large hands fitting providentially into a deep dent in the side of the van’s body. I could hear Jun Pyo’s frantic voice in my ear.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Who stands still while a van is about to crash into them?”  I glared into his golden eyes. “Who asked for your help?   Huh? And just because you’re rich doesn’t mean you can  go damaging other people’s car!”  Tyler runs out of his van. “F4!!!! I got Jun Pyo’s hand print  in my van!” He started squealing. I became aware of a  throbbing ache centered above my left ear.  “Idiot. Stupid. Double-digit-IQ dummy. You hit your head!”  He growled.  “You’re the idiot! The moment I see your face, it feels like bugs are crawling all over my body. It’s because of you that my head is in pain! I would have been fine if you hadn’t-”

“Jandi, are you okay?” I look up to see topaz eyes and copper hair. 
“Sunbae.” I smile at Jihoo sunbae. “I’m totally fine thanks for asking.”
Jun Pyo glared at Sunbae, who dazzled me with his smile.

As you can see the stories are completely different, but they also have some similarities... have you noticed these? I have. Both titles are so big that even if you haven’t read or seen the actual material, you know about it and how popular it is. I mean let’s admit, both are not critically acclaimed pieces of media. For Kdrama newbies, think Boys Over Flowers as the Twilight of Kdramas. Cringe worthy moments and not the best actors/script but... sooo good and bad in the junk food way. And Boys over Flowers lovers who are shocked at me comparing the two, think of it as Twilight as the scale of how popular and addictive Boys over Flowers is in Asia. I mean, everyone knows who the F4, flower boys and Lee Min Ho are, just like how everyone knows about Team Edward/Team Jacob, sparkling vampires and Robert Pattinson.

So this will be my views of both Western and Eastern stories and which I had preferred.  So let’s begin... Boys Over Flowers meets Twilight.

Round 1: The Leading Man





How can we have an article about these stories without talking about the leading men? Both men were no-names when they were connected to the projects, however, they become superstars known for their characters. The two leading men are quite opposite. Robert Pattinson played the role of Edward Cullen, the timeless gentlemen. Edward was written as the Mr. Darcy of today. Tall, dark, handsome and a vampire. Lee Min Ho played the role of Gu Jun Pyo, the all time chaebol. You’re gazing at the perfect Edward Cullen from across the parking lot as he is staring into your eyes and then Gu Jun Pyo comes right in front of you jumping around... ‘Look at me! Look at me!’ and sadly, I loved him for that. Jun Pyo on the outside was this strong, mean machine, but inside he was like a little child trying to understand the new concept of feelings. While Edward was perfect, I did love Jun Pyo because he was imperfect. Lee Min Ho played the character perfectly and become my bias. 

Round 2: The Love Triangle





While Jan Di was in the middle of two best, chaebol, friends, Bella was stuck between a vampire and werewolf. However, I did prefer the love triangle in Boys Over Flowers. In Twilight, I never loved one over the other. While Edward was my bias, he would do douche moves, but Jacob was much more of a douche bag. Edward won... on default? Edward came back and I was like ‘Yay’, and then he acted like a douche. He would ‘kidnap’ Bella so she couldn’t see Jacob, follow her to make sure she was ‘safe’. I would get annoyed with Edward and want to see Bella with Jacob, and then Jacob would be a douche and get angry at Bella for being with Edward, and then I want her to be back with Edward, but remembered that he was also douche. It wasn’t a tug-a-war, it was like a hot potato. 

However, on Boys Over Flowers, while I was always team Jun Pyo, Ji Hoo kept trying to creep into my heart. I found myself in a real tug-a-war between the two of them. Jun Pyo would do something shitty and then you would see Ji Hoo would save the day, but really it kills Jun Pyo to push Jandi and Ji Hoo, his best friend, together. I actually understand Jandi’s tough decision, while I was wishing Bella would dumb the both of them and be independent or find a non-supernatural boyfriend. Boys Over Flowers won in the more compelling triangle.

Round 3: The Break-Up


Both of these stories had a break up scene, where the lead breaks up with the girl in order to protect her. While Jun Pyo broke up on a bridge, Edward did it in the woods. I must admit, though Edward’s reason was greater for breaking up with Bella, Bella’s reaction wasn’t so great. It is clear, as the reader, that Edward has broken up with her to save her yet Bella thinks it’s about her and that she’s no good enough for him. Not only that, she falls into a depression, hurts the people that care for her and then forgives him in a blink of an eye when he returns. Grrr. 


However, when Jun Pyo breaks up with you... it’s not him, it’s you and he makes it clear. He rips your heart out, reinforces all the things you’re insecure about and then tells you you’re a stain he wants to erase. There is no way you can misread that speech as Jandi, even though the audience wants to believe he’s lying. And when Jandi tells him to look after himself, he tells her to take care of herself. Not kindness only coldness. Thank you Jandi for the way you responded. No Jun Pyo, she’s not going to cry in front of you. Fine, you want to break up, she doesn’t need you. And when she’s alone, that’s when she’ll cry, but will put on a brave face for everyone else. She’ll then go to hang out with your best friend and smile and be happy. And when you come to see her at the airport she will tell you to stick it where the sun don’t shine... well she actually asks him what does he want from her now, but still... up yours! As you see I clearly preferred Boys Over Flowers again. 


Though all this seems very biased, there are some things I preferred in Twilight over Boys Over Flowers. First of all, Jandi was so passive to her feelings... Tell Jun Pyo you love him! She tells everyone else: her dad, his mum, her best friend, his best friends, Ji Hoo, everyone except Jun Pyo! Thank you, Bella for at least telling Edward and Jacob you loved them. Yes, tell people about your feelings! As a couple Edward and Bella were more... romantic. Seriously all Jandi and Jun Pyo did was break up, then get back together and then fight. And let’s admit that the kissing scenes are way better in Twilight. They were the steamy kisses that would make you faint... not lip presses. And anotherthing about Twilight that was better were the families. No gold diggers and no evil parents trying to break them up. Maybe Charlie didn’t approve of Edward and wanted Bella to be with Jacob, but at least he didn’t try to demolish Edward’s house while he was still in it. 



What did you think? Which craze did you prefer? Boys Over Vampires or Apples Before Flowers? 

--
More Jun Pyo being Edward...

“So the Lion fell in love with the Zebra.” 
“You mean, Lamb.” I rolled my eyes at him. He flipped his head back and laughed. 
“Lions don’t hunt for lambs. Think about it, it’s a Zebra,” he shone me his crooked smile. 
“What a stupid Lion,” I scoff at him. 
--
"W... what is it you hate so much about me? What are you not satisfied about me? I'm good looking, I'm tall, I’m impossibly fast,  my skin is ice cold, I'm rich and I sparkly in the sun. How...How can you hate Gu Jun Pyo? Are you really stupid?"