In 2011, South Korean cable news network
tvN
began a series targeted at the teenage demographic called
"Oh! Boy" Project.
Flower Boy Casting: Oh! Boy , the first series, is a reality game show/audition for the next generation of "kkot-minam" (flower boy). Of the 200 contestants of rookie models and actors, the winner was Yoo Min Kyu who went on to star in
Shut Up Flower Boy Band.
The first scripted series
Flower Boy Ramyun Shop, which stared
flower boy actor
Jung Il-Woo
, was well-received. The series scored viewership ratings in the four percent range, the highest ratings amongst its cable competitors in the same timeslot, and later
licensed to a Japanese company
for $100,000 USD an episode. It was promptly followed by
Shut Up Flower Boy Band in 2012, and
Flower Boy Next Door in 2013. Plans are in the works (as of March 2013) for a fourth installment based on the Korean Movie "Cyrano Dating Agency".
Installments