Kdrama Review: Flower Boy Next Door

Drama: Flower Boy Next Door
Genre: romantic comedy
Staring: Yoon Shi Yoon, Park Shin Hye, Kim Ji Hoon
Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤


In this adventure we have a girl who works as an editor from home. In fact, she pretty much never goes out. In fact, she has pretty much confined herself to her house due to, we later learn, some hard things she's had to deal with which has caused a fairly severe bout of depression.

One of the things she does to keep occupied is spy on the guy who lives across the way in the other apartment building. She's quite smitten with him. And then one day, when she's spying, another guy shows up in her binoculars and this guy catches her at it! Someone has moved in with her guy and he's determined to call her out!

Turns out this new guy is the other guy's brother and he's come Korea to do some stuff with his famous and popular gaming business. He's name is Enrique and through Korean, he's been living in Spain these past many years becoming a sort of gaming celebrity.

Well, doesn't he just come and upset this girl and her reclusive way of life? Yes he does! And wouldn't you know it but the guy next door to her has been crushing on her for THREE YEARS and has never said anything and now this new guy comes and upsets his hopes and dreams too!

But everyone can't help but love him because... dang, he is one happy boy!

The many faces of Enrique!
(Yoon Shi Yoon)

And now this reclusive girl is suddenly surrounded by flower boys (a Korean term for pretty boy) all wanting her! How does this happen?

All the flower boys in one shot!

Well. And so, let the crazy begin. So many subplots and love triangles/squares/pentagons! How will it all work out??

I was expecting a very silly lighthearted romance with this one, but in fact it dealt with a bunch of deep issues, as all these dramas seem to do. And had lots of profound things to say about love, life and friendship. Sometimes the dialogue blows me away with its deep thinking thoughts. Enrique especially, silly though he is, has a way of looking at life through awesome analogies and his love for life is contagious.

My only complaint about this one was that it felt like it took for freaking forever for everyone to work things out and then BAM it's all worked out in the last episode!

Working things out, finally!

Also, most dramas have this thing called the second leading man syndrome and usually (always?) this guy does not get the girl and is left with an achy breaky heart. Sometimes I can deal with it and sometimes it kills me. This time, it killed me. Ah, the angst! The agony! Please give the second guy a happy ending sometimes! Ah!!!

The sad second male lead.
(Kim Ji Hoon)

Bottom Line: Yep. Another fun one!
Swoon Factor: For me, not as high as some of the others. I would say this is high in cuteness, but not so much swooniness.

Here's a feel for what this one is like, a fan made video with funky  music and lots of crazy clips of Enrique:




And here's another one set to one of the songs sung by none other than Enrique (Yoon Shi Yoon) himself. Swoon.