Another List of Men Who Make Me Watch Dramas Against My Will: Flower Boy Edition

This might be the last of this series... I can't think of any more editions, but the Flower Boy edition probably has the strongest motivation of all.  I used to have a huge weakness for flower boys... I still do, but not as much as I used to, and that lead me to watching some horrible, horrible shows, because sometimes even the flower boys can't make up for the silliness... (cough, Nail Shop Paris, cough cough).  Oh these Flower Boys...

I think that there might be more ridiculous shows with flower boys in them than any other handsome type man shows.  There is like a trend for dumb flower boys dramas that have super hot flower boys but no actual plot, or if there is a plot then it's ridiculously overly dramatic and over-the-top.  I mean, Boys Over Flowers is the king of flower boy dramas, so that should tell you something... but then again, all of the actual "flower boy" series are pretty good.  Such as Flower Boy Ramen Shop and Flower Boy Next Door...

75. Jung Yi, Goddess of Fire 불의 여신 정이 (2013) Korean

Moon Geun Young, Le Sang Yoon, Kim Bum, Lee Kwang Soo

Drama Rating: 4/10     Neck Score: A

I watched this for you, Kwang Soo Oppa!!!!  I sat through all that boringness just to see you in Joseon attire (which admittedly was super hot) but this was so boring!  Also, I need to admit that although Kim Bum is super hot, I really don't like the dramas that he is typically in, so that needs to stop being a factor of choosing dramas.  This was just a really long drama that made me learn more about pottery than I wanted to.  One of those sageuk/dramas where they start off as kids so you don't even get to the peeps you want to see until like episode 6-8.  Then it's more about politics and birth secrets and less about romance and happiness.  In fact there is not one kiss in this since the leading couple are a woman artisan and a prince, so it's basically about a forbidden love, but it's more about the woman artisan and that sort of thing.  Really boring.  I seriously had to force myself to finish it, but oh well.  Even though Lee Sang Yoon is not at his best in Joseon clothing, he is at his best when eating, so the scene where she cooks for him and he eats so happily is awesome.  He's got some good dimples so happy eating is a plus.  Also, Kwang Soo's character was a jerkish idiot, but he is so good looking with facial hair and Joseon clothing.  Rawr.  That made it worth it again.  Also Kim Bum as a Joseon warrior = yes.  So the show was boring and the evilness/annoyingness of the villians was lame and stupid so the only things that made this show worth it was the eye candy.  Ok, probably not enough.  Just look at pictures of Kim Bum and Kwang Soo from this show and you'll be fine.  Nothing more is needed.

35. The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry 아직도 결혼하고 싶은 여자 (2010) Korean

Park Jin Hee, Uhm Ji Won, Wang Bit Na, Kim Bum, Lee Pil Mo

Drama Rating: 4/10      Neck Score: B

Normally a fan of noona romances, this one was just awkward.  They dwelt on it so much and made it such a big deal that it was just awkward.  A fan of Kim Bum, I just have to realize that as pretty as he is, he is consistently in shows that I'm just not going to like as well.  Oh well.  I think his best role I've seen so far is Padam Padam.  So I liked the other, side romance better and it was only ok.  I guess I just like Uhm Ji Won, even when her character is annoying, in a classy way.  It's basically a story about three 36 year old women and their romance stories.  Then we have the awkwardness of the main girl being 12 years older than the main boy and 12 years younger than his mom... or was she only 8 years younger than his mom?  It was awkward no matter how young his mom was.  They dwelt on the age difference so much that I ended up not liking it.  It was just... meh.  Not my favorite show, definitely not my favorite noona romance.

15. Padam Padam 빠담빠담... 그와 그녀의 심장박동소리 (2011-2012) Korean

Jung Woo Sung, Han Ji Min, Kim Bum 

Drama Rating: 6/10      Neck Score: A

Kim Bum as an angel?  Yes, please!  This was hard to watch at first because Jung Woo Sung made crazy eyes all the time, but seeing what his character went though, I guess that's natural.  He was sort of channeling a mistreated dog that tends to bite or bark at anything after a while.  Really well acted, way interesting plot.  A man who was framed for a school stabbing murder stays in prison for 16 years and has a friend (also from prison) who claims to be an angel.  He keeps having miracles that rewind his life every time he dies so he has a chance to correct wrong choices and save people.  There are lots of interesting plot twists, a cute love story, but it starts to drag a bit at the end.  I took a long break from it before actually finishing it.  It's not like the action is drawn out needlessly, it's just very slow paced.  There is also a lot of hateful people in it, you just want to punch their hateful faces.  Still, it was very well made, very beautifully shot and Kim Bum with wings is hot!

2. Boys Over Flowers 꽃보다 남자 (2009) Korean

Lee Min Ho, Ku Hye Seon, Kim Hyun Joong, Kim Bum, Kim Joon

Drama Rating: 3/10     Neck Score: B+

Nearly killed dramas for me.  I guess when I was expecting 16 episodes and it wasn't... The only thing that saved me from a certain death was Kim Bum swooping in every episode to do something random with her friend.  Also there were 4+ really hot men with hot necks.  I guess the F4 is probably why everyone loves this show.  It's definitely something you need to experience if you want to understand all the references that will be made to it, since it's one of those classics.  Almost Paaaaaaradise!  I watched it a second time, only the good parts, and it took me 6 hours.  6 out of 25 is still decent, I 'spose. Having read the manga and watched the Japanese drama as well, there is not much I can really say against it, though.  The Korean version seems to miss the point a little more than the Japanese drama misses the point.  They make the girl too nice.  This is essentially a story about a girl, who is pretty much a bitca (Buffy the Vampire Slayer reference), who can't make up her mind who is being chased by a bad boy- a real jerk mind you- who will never change his mind.  They cute-ify it in the drama world, which makes the ridiculous mom drama parts seem more cruel than they would if they were all actually real jerks like they are in the manga, but maybe that's just me on my soap box.  But I could stand to see Geum Jan Di flip people off as many times as she did in the manga.  Just saying.