‘Boys Over Flowers’: Where’s the K-drama cast today, 11 years later?

Before Parasite, BTS, and “Gangnam Style”, Boys Over Flowers led the Hallyu wave to western culture. The K-drama premiered back in 2009 and quickly became one of the first K-dramas to gain international acclaim. Focused on Geum Jan-di and the rich group of boys F4, Boys Over Flowers still remains one of the best Korean dramas for newcomers to enjoy. 

Over the years, Korean culture has infiltrated worldwide thanks to streaming services, yet Boys Over Flowers is as popular as it was when it premiered. New fans find the show on streaming each day and fall in love with Geum Jan-di and the F4. Of course, the chemistry is all thanks to the leading cast. 

Eleven years later, and most of the Boys Over Flowers cast is still in the K-drama game, working on different shows. Whether you’re a long-time fan or just found the show yesterday, here’s an update on where the cast of Boys Over Flowers is today. 

Lee Min-ho (Goo Joon-pyo)

Arguably the heartthrob of the cast, Lee Min-ho won us all over as the leader of the F4, Goo Joon-pyo. The rich boy with a secret heart of gold, it’s hard not to love Joon-pyo and the way he cared for Jan-di left us dreaming of being Jan-di. 

Min-ho’s role in Boys Over Flowers made him an international star. The first Korean actor to get a waxed figure in any Madame Tussauds museum, Min-ho’s popularity only grew further after starring in the K-drama City Hunter. Starring in a variety of films and K-dramas over the years, Min-ho’s most recent project is The King: Eternal Monarch, which you can check out on Netflix or SBS TV.

Ku Hye-sun (Geum Jan-di)

The heroine of Boys Over Flowers, Geum Jan-di was a girl who never took “No” for an answer, and even when getting in with F4, she never changed who she was for them. While Hye-sun had some popularity in Korea prior to Boys Over Flowers, she became an international star like the rest of the cast. 

Since her time at Shinhwa High School, Hye-sun has become a singer/songwriter, a director, and artist. In the past two years though, Hye-sun has been focusing on her art, publishing two books in 2019 and putting on two solo exhibitions in 2019 and 2020. 

Kim Hyun-joong (Yoon Ji-hu)

The gentle soul of F4, Yoon Ji-hu’s tragic backstory left us all sobbing to begin with. Seeing him grow over the course of the series though really proved how great of an actor Kim Hyun-joong is. 

Not long after Boys Over Flowers, Kim Hyun-joong released two successful solo albums and starred in the drama Playful Kiss. Though Playful Kiss wasn’t successful in Korea, it was huge overseas. Unfortunately, much of his success is overshadowed by his assault charges against his ex-girlfriend, which he was eventually cleared of in 2016. 

Kim Bum (So Yi-jung)

A heart-broken boy turned womanizer, So Yi-jung found love again and changed his ways for Jan-di’s best friend, Chu Ga-eul. Plus, Yi-jung had mad art skills, and who doesn’t love an artsy boy?

After Boys Over Flowers, Kim Bum spent some time working on C-drama and Chinese films before making his grand return to K-dramas in 2016 and Korean cinema in 2018. Bum’s first K-drama in four years, Tale of the Nine Tailed, just premiered on October 7th on tvN as well. 

Kim Joon (Song Woo-bin)

Song Woo-bin is just the F4 member with ties to the Korean mafia, no big deal. In all seriousness, Woo-bin follows a similar path as Yi-jung, where his heart-break turns him into a bit of a womanizing jerk, but he finds peace again as he gets to know Jan-di. 

Kim Joon spent some time on a few different variety shows, but by 2015, Joon all but left the entertainment industry. It was revealed in 2019 Joon married a non-celebrity, and was a father. Joon did have a role in the 2019 Korean film Friday the 13th: The Conspiracy Begins.

Kim So-eun (Chu Ga-eul)

Geum Jan-di’s best friend, Ga-eul becomes an unofficial member of F4 through her relationship to Jan-di. As she becomes close to the guys as well, she ends up getting really close to So Yi-jung as the two develop feelings for each other. 

Arguably the biggest K-drama star out of the entire cast, Kim So-eun never really left Korean televisions. Most recently, So-eun starred in K-drama Love Is Annoying, but I Hate Being Lonely!, and the Korean film Are We in Love?