At a press conference for the upcoming SBS series "The Heirs," the drama's writer and director finally spoke up about the speculation that the drama would be similar to the kdrama classic "Boys Over Flowers."
It was only natural that people would compare the two dramas. They both take place in an upscale high school. They both concern the love triangle between two wealthy young men and a poor girl who doesn't belong in their world of luxury. They both star Lee Min Ho.
When asked if he was aware of such speculation and if it bothered him, director Kang Shin Hyo, said the topic did not make him uncomfortable.
"I am conscious of the similarities," said Kang Shin Hyo. "But the best person for the role and the only one who could pull it off was Lee Min Ho. We didn't take anything else into consideration when we chose him."
Writer Kim Eun Sook, who also wrote "Secret Garden," is not as comfortable with the topic.
"If I was going to write a drama to imitate "Boys over Flowers, I would not have cast Lee Min Ho in it," said Kim. "It's because I was so confident that this would be a completely different and more entertaining story that I asked Lee Min Ho to play a high school student again."
Kim is convinced that once the show begins to air the comparisons will stop.
Lee Min Ho has also said in the past that his "The Heirs' character Kim Tan is quite different from BOF's spoiled F4 member Goo Jun Pyo.
"He's more complex," said Lee. "He thinks a lot."
According to Kang, Lee Min Ho has a good grip on this complex character.
"He's doing even better than we expected," said Kang. "We were surprised at the depth of emotional acting coming from such a young actor."
But then Lee Min Ho has come a long way from playing Goo Jun Pyo. He played an assassin in "City Hunter," an ambitious architect in "Personal Taste" and a time-traveling warrior in "Faith: The Great Doctor."
The "Gossip Girls"-style drama about students in an upscale high school also stars Park Shin Hye, Kim Woo Bin, f(x)'s Krystal Jung, Choi Min Hyuk, Kim Sung Ryeong, CNBlue's Kang Min Hyuk, ZE:A's Park Hyung Sik, Kim Ji Won, Kang Ha Neul, Jeon Soo Jin, and Im Joo Eun. It begins Oct. 9.
