03 April 2016

꽃보다 청춘 Youth Over Flowers in Africa


Title:
  • 꽃보다 청춘 Kkochboda Cheongchun
  • 꽃보다 청춘 in 아프리카 (Kkochboda Cheongchun in Apeulika)
  • 꽃보다 청춘 in 아이슬란드 (Kkochboda Cheongchun in Aiseullandeu)
  • 꽃보다 청춘 in Africa (Kkochboda Cheongchun in Africa)
  • 꽃보다 청춘 in Iceland (Kkochboda Cheongchun in Iceland)
English Title:
  • Youth Over Flowers
  • Youth Over Flowers in Africa
  • Youth Over Flowers in Iceland
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean
Year: 2016
Season - Episode:
Cast:
  • 안재홍 Ahn Jae Hong
  • 고경표 Go Kyung Pyo
  • 류준열 Ryu Joon Yeol
  • 박보검 Park Bo Gum



SYNOPSIS
Actors Ahn Jae Hong, Go Kyung Pyo, Ryu Joon Yeol, and Park Bo Geum all work together in the drama 응답하라 1988 (Answer Me 1988).

Jae Hong, Kyung Pyo, and Joon Yeol are on their way back to South Korea after a much-needed vacation, when they are suddenly informed that they are going to Namibia in a few hours instead.

Fellow actor Bo Gum is in Seoul to fulfill a prior commitment of hosting a music show but as soon as his work ended, he finds out that he is scheduled to join his older friends who have traveled ahead of him.

They are going to several countries in the African continent, where they are going to stay for ten days on a really small budget. They go to Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe.



REVIEW
Youth Over Flowers is variety show about a group of friends traveling with the bare essentials. This time around, two groups composed of four friends are going to different countries on a very limited budget.

I think I should probably mention that I might not watch any future seasons of the '... Over Flowers' shows (꽃보다 할배 Grandpas Over Flowers, 꽃보다 누나 Noona Over Flowers, and 꽃보다 청춘 Youth Over Flowers) and if so, I won't be making any more posts about it. To be fair, the shows are still interesting, but I think I've just moved on.

Youth Over Flowers has a different cast for each destination, and I'm considering one set of cast as one season. I'm just a stickler for organization, and I just need to make a clear distinction in my mind.

Season one is 꽃보다 청춘 Youth Over Flowers in Peru, where singers Yoon Sang, Lee Hee Yeol, and Lee Juck go to Peru. Season two is 꽃보다 청춘 Youth Over Flowers in Laos where actors Yeo Yeon Seok, Son Ho Joon, and Cha Sung Woo or Ba Ro go to Laos.

Season three is 꽃보다 청춘 Youth Over Flowers in Iceland, where musical actors Jung Sang Hoon, Jo Jung Seok, Jung Woo, and Kang Ha Neul go to Iceland. Season four is Youth Over Flowers in Africa, where actors Ahn Jae Hong, Go Kyung Pyo, Ryu Joon Yeol, and Park Bo Gum go to several countries in the continent.

I don't like that this season is officially called after a continent, whereas the previous ones are officially named after the country destinations. Although the production staff explained it away as the cast going to several countries in Africa, I can't help but think they chose to call it Youth Over Flowers in Africa for instant recognition.

This season seems to be less planned than the previous seasons, and it doesn't seem to have a coherent narrative in place. It seemed the most scripted, but it also seemed as if it's all over the place.

The guys had several 'what-were-they-thinking' moments where they were too embarrassing and tactless. It's like the guys wanted to be spontaneous but they came off as careless instead, and it's like the production staff wanted to show the guys as youthful but they seemed immature instead.

Youth Over Flowers in Africa seemed less real because of the numerous behind-the-scene footage of the guys fixing the lighting or assisting with the cameras, etc. These scenes were probably included to show that the guys are very helpful to the production staff but this footage not only revealed that the cast is very conscious that they are being filmed, it also showed that everything is scripted.



Related:
꽃보다 청춘 Youth Over Flowers in Peru
꽃보다 청춘 Youth Over Flowers in Laos
꽃보다 청춘 Youth Over Flowers in Iceland
꽃보다 청춘 Youth Over Flowers in Australia

Alike:
꽃보다 할배 Grandpas Over Flowers (2013)
꽃보다 할배 Grandpas Over Flowers (2014)
꽃보다 할배 Grandpas Over Flowers (2015)
꽃보다 누나 Noona Over Flowers




###
꽃보다 청춘 Youth Over Flowers




Posted by at
Labels: , ,