TV drama ends amid lingering popularity, controversy

SEOUL, March 31 (Yonhap) -- Some loved it, some despised it. But no one will deny KBS TV drama "Boys over Flowers" became an unprecedented phenomenon in South Korea's television industry.

Since its first episode aired on Jan. 5, the series found itself at the center of a storm of rumors and controversy: one of its actresses committed suicide, all four main actors were injured in car accidents while rushing through a tight schedule and the show received several warnings from the media watchdog for excessive product placement and vulgar depiction of teenagers. To top it off, the series was repeatedly and harshly criticized for its "unrealistic and silly" plot.

But fans stuck with the 25-part series, which recorded an average 30 percent viewer rating at home and was sold to 11 Asian countries including Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines.

"We could do better if we were to make the drama all over again," said Bae Jong-byung, the drama's planning director, in a recent interview. "But we are quite satisfied with what we achieved the first time. We managed to create a brand ..... _{(article cut to save bandwidth)}

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