Male Casting for Korean Hana Yori Dango Revealed

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On this unfortunate day where the headlines would be swamped with the untimely death of Choi Jin Shil, Group Eight has chosen this day to revealed the highly-anticipated casting list for F4 in the Korean version of Hana Yori Dango.

Actor Lee Min Ho is casted as Goo Joon Pyo (Tsukasa Domyoji), Kim Hyun Joong as expected is Yoon Ji Hoo (Rui Hanazawa), Kim Bum is So Lee Jung (Sojiroh Nishikado) while relatively unknown Kim Joon of T-MAX is Song Yu Bin (Akira Mimasaka). No mention of who is playing the female Makino yet.

Casting for the rest will be finalized soon and filming will commence in mid-October with an overseas shoot. The 24 episode drama will be shown after “The World That They Live In” in the Mon-Tue timeslot towards the end of December. Good luck going up against the mammoth “East of Eden”.

Comparison between Manga – Taiwanese – Japanese – Korean Versions

credit: gomdorii (partial translation) + jina (cast names)

129 thoughts on “Male Casting for Korean Hana Yori Dango Revealed”

  1. Can’t wait for this drama!
    Kim Bum <333
    He was awesome in East of Eden~

    Can’t wait to see who’ll play Makino 🙂

  2. waah! i wanna see hyunjoong act! i think i kinda sorta see him being sweet like rui….:)

  3. mehh… as usual, the guy who plays rui is better-looking than the rest. go HJ!!!

    OMG. has anyone noticed how much alike Hyun Joong is to Yamapi (Yamashita Tomohisa)? if they every make a korean kurosagi, he’d be the PERFECT actor for the role.

  6. finally they used their brains and made HJ Rui instead of Domyouji. Hmmm Min Young wouldn’t make a bad Makino.

  10. i was expecting that they would be casting mostly from idol groups.
    i still love the guys that they’ve picked!! i know all of them can really act except for the unknown actor. LOL

    i hoping too that min young would be picked to play makino

  11. HyunJoong and KimBum
    i love this cast
    just not so sure who the other two are
    i wonder who the girl would be

  12. OH MY!! KIM BUM <333 This boy is FLAWLESS. So far I think everyone is ok with the male casts…I hope the female cast wouldn’t disappointed us too much *pray*

  13. I’m just beyond happy that Kim Hyun Joong DID get the role of Rui because he would totally be PERFECT as that role =)
    KIM BUM!!!!!!! yay! he is SOOOOO cuteee .<!
    I aven’t heard of the other two but i’m anticipating their performances =)
    and whose is going to play Makino?!
    I vote YOO EUN HYE or GO ARA those two would be PERFECT.

  16. a bit disappointed with the lead =(
    i would’ve rather had kim bum play it, but oh well. he’s had the most acting experience, and he’s playing more of a minor role ><
    hyun joong = perfect for rui though.
    wasn’t really fond of lee min ho in i am sam, but who knows… maybe he’ll surprise me.
    now awaiting the highly anticipated makino….. i feel like i’m going to be really surprised!

  17. I love Kim Bum!!!!
    Kind of excited for this series, but it’s been remade so many times, hopefully it lives up to its predecessors.

  21. i dont know if i like lee minho as tsukasa ’cause i never saw his acting…but i think hyunjoong definitely has the look of rui & kimbum is freaking adorable…never heard of the other guy.

    i looooooooved the japanese HYD so this one BETTER be great. i loved all of the actors that were casted for the japanese one..esp tsukasa (jun mastumoto?) and makino.

    who is makinoooooo i wanna knowwwwwww

  22. I’m actually satisfied since I think having actors playing these roles are better then having idols although I wouldn’t mind seeing idols playing these roles haha HyungJoon is an exception I guess since he does seem to match Hanazawa Rui’s role hehe~

  23. I’m kinda dissappointed with the cast.. just a tiny bit though. cuz I was hoping for full-idol-cast but nevermind. with hunjoongie and kimbumie (after watching his awesome peformance in East of Eden..^^) I’m just excited. hopefully the heroine will be somebody i love.. ^^

  27. i am VERY pleased with the male cast!
    lee min ho makes a great choice for Tsukasa Domyoji. he was great in I AM SAM. Kim Hyun Joong as Rui is absolutely perfect.. i mean of course i would want him as RUI. a great match.

    So great to see Kim Bum more too. He has been doing so great and his acting impressed everyone in East of Eden..

    Kim Joon is from the group T-MAX and i like him as Akira. Akira seems quiet in the group but he is part of F4. I think it fits him too.

    The korean names for each character is as follows:

    Tsukasa Domiyoji- 구준표 [Goo Joon Pyo]
    Rui Hanazawa- 윤지후 [Yoon Ji Hoo]
    Sojiroh Nishikado- 소이정 [So Lee Jung]
    Akira Mimasaka- 송우빈 [Song Yu Bin]

    it will also air in DECEMBER on KBS 2

  28. i like the casting…
    also like the fact that two of them are practically unkwon…
    though I don’t think Ki Bum fits domyojo’s role…the rest fit well with me

  29. oops i must be blind…now that I read it again, it fits very well…that dude looks like he can pull off Domyojo… so i’m happy and looking forward to it

  31. good good! I’m happy Hyung Joong is Rui too! He’s looks so rui! And lol, who else thinks that Korean’s Domyoji looks like Jerry Yan in some angles? Whatever it is Hana yori Dango always gets crazy good ratings, so let’s hope the Korean one get them too

  32. i’m pretty disappointed.because KIM BUM is such an awesome actor, he’s already proven himself. and yet he just gets a supporting role. what a waste of KIM BUM.
    they better give him enough exposure.

    ill be happy if i like the main lead girl. she better be good!

  33. Wow, great cast, but I’m hoping for more development on each character and not biased towards Hyunjoong so much. :3

    I can already feel sorry for the lead role, Makino since netizens are bound to start rumors… :T

  34. khj! haha. always knew he would get the role. i’m pleased with the rest of the cast members. even though some roles are designed to be bigger than others, all four of them are going to have some pretty big exposure all over asia when this comes out. i’m hoping that go ara will get the role of makino =)

  36. Kim Bum!!! I’ve missed him since High Kick ended. I agree with some in that I’m kinda disappointed that he wasn’t given a heavier role…but everything happens for a reason so… I’m excited to find out who Makino will be though.

  37. maybe it was better if
    Kim hyun joong plays Tsukasa
    and Kim Bum plays the role of Rui.

    Wouldn’t it be better?
    but i’m still happy that my boys are in the cast.

    *..*

  38. Impressed 49% (168 votes)
    Disappointed 51% (177 votes)
    Total Votes: 345

    wow, quite even.

  39. im uber happy w/ the cast
    HJ obviously can pull of the role of rui and kimbumie is just to cuute!!!

    and i think min-ho can pull of the punk of Domuyoji
    the other idk who he is but he looks niiice :]

    GO GO Goarah for makino’s role 😀

  40. Ahh, I’m so happy. ^^ I totally want to know who’s gonna be cast for the girls. Somehow… I keep picturing one of the Kara girls. xD

  41. I still don’t understand what the hap is about this drama. Whats so great about it that it’s been just a controversy?

  42. hyunjoong looked the best out of all them in the pic hes soo cute ! (:
    the lead doesnt look to great uh yeah i dunt want to watch this :/ cause for thoes that have seen this rui doesnt have a happy ending omg that mean hyunjooong …. OMG WHY COULDNT HE BE THE LEAD !? im kinda upset but if the main girl is ugly than i guess ill be happy since hyunjoong doesnt have to be with her. but OMGOMGOMG HE LOOKS SOO CUTE IN THAT PIC ! (: i cant tell if leeminho is cute or not.

  44. Hm, I’m actually curious how Hyunjoong will fare, I mean, he’s kind of a quiet guy, but very professional when he does his job. It’s a tough call, but he probably fits the “beautiful” aspect of it.

  45. i didn’t expect to see T-max as one of F4. but TOTALLY delighted for the Rui choice. HyunJoong is a total prince~~~~ can’t wait to see him be Rui~~~

  46. im pretty happy with the cast. DEFINITELY happy with HJ playing Rui. Yeah i kind of agree with some people.. might have been nice if Kim Bum played Domyoji? I dunno, but we’ll have to see how everyone does!

    HIGH expectations for the girl playing Makino.. they better pick someone with good acting skills and the looks too :]

  48. IT’S SOO LONG~~~ Is it both seasons or the first one??? I was wondering if Hyun Joong was gonna be Domyouji

  49. uhm omg. kim bum is in this
    therefore i have to watch it

    cant wait to see whos gonna play makino
    hope its not going to be disappointing…

  50. …actually there’s only one lead role here, that’s the Makino Tsukushi character, all the F4 boys’ characters are supporting roles only…good choices though, but whosoever plays the role of the “Weed” is the one I’m most interested in right now…Thanks Coolsmurf!

  51. wahhhhhhhh omg this is the best!!! Hyun Joong is the best!! mwahahahahha 😀 thank you so much coolsmurf!!!!

  52. Personally I would like Hwang BuIn to take the role of Shizuka. She is Rui’s KHJ first love after all. And true to the real life situation, she is older than Rui. Perfect!!
    Depending on how the Korean adaptation will take shape, Korean Shizuka could have a sweet and everlasting relationship with Rui. In the Japanese Hanadan, there was a clear indication there is a promising ending between Rui and Shizuka. On top of that, think about it guys…if Hwang BuIn got the Shizuka cast, KHJ and HB will have proper lovey dovey scenes we so much want to see….:)
    Slow motion and alll la la la…
    Yay!!!
    Thanks for the news!!

  53. the guys for Domyouji Tsukasa and Hanazawa Rui are quite alright with me…but the other two guys who are supposed to be players aren’t quite convincing for me…they don’t have that look that would drive women insane!

    but i guess i’ll have to wait until i see their acting to make a final judgement…

    i do hope they pick an amazing young actress to be Makino Tsukushi… i just hope she isn’t freaking young!!!

  54. i can’t say i’m impressed or disappointed because..i really don’t know the other two very well besides hyunjoong and kim bum. i don’t even know kim bum that well, but more so than the other two. and i don’t know of hyunjoong’s acting capabilities. i think kim bum will do well. as for makino….i’m thinking go ara might be good. she’s pretty, has that spunk i’ve seen in her other dramas. anyone think that jang guen suk might have been good for one of the f4 roles?

  55. ahhhh! i can’t wait until it comes out!!!! omg, i hope they hurry up. and yaaay! i love all of the cast members esp happy about Hyun Joong and Kim bum! ….and ppl kept saying that hyun Joong was gonna be Duomoji. he will be great at being Rui!!!!!

  56. So… the rumor that KHJ and HB couple will be leaving WGM might be true afterall. KHJ will have to drop something in order to make time for that drama right?

  57. LEE MINHO AND KIM BUM??!!~

    *runs into a electric post~ — I want to watch it. I thought Kim Dongwook was going to play Domyouji.^__^

    ..not to mention. of course im 28679234xx happier because Kim Hyujoong is there.. eventhough i like jungmin and youngsaeng than him. The fact that he is SS501. I AM GLAD.:)

  58. OMG!!! Its finally confirm? Now i am wondering if Hyun Joong still continuing with WGM.. He will be sooo buzy now with this, WGM and SS501 new album..

  59. Hmmm…

    I’d rather have Kim Bum as Domyouji.
    As for HyunJoong, I really can not tell if he is the perfect cast for Hanazawa Rui. Not untill I’ll see his acting. Since his image in my head is really different from Rui.

    Oh well.. let’s see what the boys will bring (and I’ll be ready to judge it over).

    I love both “Hana Yori Dango” and “Meteor Garden”. Hana Yori Dango has really strong roles and plot consistency, while Meteor Garden left me with a very deeeeeeeppp feeling on what they actually fight for.

    If the Korean version can combine all the essences of previous two, the it’ll be BRAVO.

    So.. I’ll see.. I am expecting a lot now…

  60. In my opinion…Lee Min Ho has a baby face that can’t fit the role. But if he makes me thinks otherwise then i’ll support HYD KOREAN 🙂

  64. I’m so excited. I think they will do great and they all look handsome too. I’m definitely going to watch this.

  65. ok this is WAYYYYYYYYYY exciting!!! i’m really looking forward to this! 😀 thanks for the news!! Hyun Joong and Kim Bum ❤ But I hope Kim Bum will have enough screen time, cos the Japanese version of HYD, Sojiroh had quite little scenes D:

  66. i am really excited about kim bum and hyun joong but i wasn’t impressed that much with the actors casted for domyouji and akira…

    but oh well, i’m still looking forward to this drama. it’s been moved so many times that i expect it to be a very good one.

    thanks for the post!

  67. This is quiet exciting!! I loved the Japanese version and the Korean version better live up to it or I might have to hurt the producer/director. lol Makino’s role better be casted appropriately or else.

  68. I think I would prefer seeing Kim Bum as Domyoji…just to see whether he’s able to pull of the whole arrogance act lol

  69. HYUNNNNN JOONGIE!!! As long he’s in it, then me is gonna watchit! *jumps up and down*

  70. Actually I was hoping for Lee Jun Ki as one of the casts but well, the casts are quite okay though!

    So, if I may choose the female part should go to BOA!^^

  71. I’m exciting to know the cast, they are a young actors & this drama will be the big start for thier career, I was impressed with Ki Bum acting in EOE & I think he’ll continue his goos performance & as well for the other JH I loved him in WGM.. I don’t know about MH & KJ but definetly they’ll do well.. Finally we got to know the korean F4 ^__^

  72. omg yay all my fav hot actor!! hehe ^_^ soo happy for hyun joong!! cant wait for the actual drama to start! 😀

  74. The korean cast looks way hotter than the japanese one…cant wait to watch it..and the korean version wont be ott like the HYD(J)

  75. OMG…. I can not wait for this drama to come out… the male cast is perfect Hyun Joong Oppa Fighting!!!!

  78. Agree with “marille”.

    The guy who plays Rui is always the best looking.

    I hope this doesn’t get in the way of WGM!!!

  79. I think they will do good. I’m just looking forward to who will play Makino. Whoever plays Makino needs to be someone good. I’ll be really disappointed if it’s someone that doesn’t fit the role.
    KimBum as Sojiro hmm…i look forward to seeing how he plays the playboy type. I wonder who will be Yuki because I love Sojiro & Yuki’s budding romance.

    I hope the girl playing Makino isn’t from some idol group. I hope it’s a REAL actress.

  80. yay~ hyunjoong as my fav rui character~
    hopefully it’s finalized!
    then all the rui characters in all the different versions are all my fav singers/actors~
    cant wait cant wait~ ^^
    lee min ho~ cant wait cant wait too~
    hohoho~

  82. highly, anticipating now good looking cast indeed
    and i am really happy with all the cast and all that shitazzz!
    i really like rui just because of WGM! HAHAH but i hope it doesn’t ware him out of all these work… oh god i am super super super excited for this drama now. now, i am wondering who is going to play the girl 🙂

  83. LMFAO. at the comment, “as expected hanazawa rui/hua ze lei is the better looking than the rest.” this cast looks almost promising, and i do have to agree. KHJ really stands out (mainly because he’s popular but other than that he just really looks fit for the part) i dont really know the other people but i can see their resemblances to twn and jpn version. hehe. anywhooo … it would be cool to see hwangbo as makino/san chai. (i know feel free to disagree)

  84. Wow, that’s not a bad cast. I hope they don’t cast someone too glamourous for Makino. She needs to be plain-pretty looking, or else all the dialogue about how Makino is so “homely” wouldn’t work.

    I really can’t wait. When I found out about this, I pretty much drowned myself in all Hana Yori Dango related things so I could familiarize myself with the storyline. I hope they don’t mess it up!

  85. i really help that Eun Hye will the be leading girl actress though!
    even though there are more chance she might not
    i really hope she will be the LEADING actress

  87. I only know Hyun Joong… hahaha… and I only know the Taiwan version… so other than Tsukasa Domyoji and Rui Hanazawa… I don’t know who are the other 2 playing… I know there are 2 more fellas… but who’s who? Hehe! *hopeless*

  88. i relli wanted someone from SM to be in this show for some strange reason….>< but i love the whole projection about hwang buin being shizuka..it’d be PERFECT =)…. will definitely watch this..loved the manga and other versions too much to miss it!

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  93. omg THERES GOING TO BE SOOOO MUCH EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS DRAMAM AHAHAHHAHAAHA !~
    (TOTALY FLEW OUT OF HER SEAT !~

  94. no way hyunjoong as Rui T_T
    can’t imagine him as Rui at all!!
    btw kim bum and sojiroh – perfect match !:P

  97. OH MY GOSH 😀
    THis is so exciting. Only thing is the domyoji doesn’t look or feel domyoji-ish. then again, you never know:D
    I want Kim Tae Hee to be MAKINO 😀 but she’s a bit too gentle though, no?
    KYA. They better pick a good makino (:

  98. OK, as long as there’s HYUNJOONG i’m TOTALLY HAPPY TO THE MAXXXXXX!!!!

    😀 😀 😀

    I CAN’T WAIT ALREADY!

  99. i can’t really say that im disappointed it’s just that the cast were not the ones i expected…but who knows, ryt? im hoping for the best on this one…hope they’d all work hard so they could top hana yori dango or atleast give justice to the drama after all japanese version was intense so there’s definitely a lot of pressure on them since they’re the 3rd one to make a version…goodluck to them

  103. kibum is reallly a must for this role.. he´ll be perfectly fine in this.. and maybe the most appreciated actor among all those guys..

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  105. i think this F4 is the most handsome boys ^^, wonder who gonna play the main girl, i dont like the taiwanese version so childish

  106. Lee Min Ho as Domyouji ; I’ll just have to wait and see.

    Kim Hyung Joong as Rui ; PERFECTO. They couldn’t have chosen a better person.

    Kim Bum as Soujiro ; OMFG, I love him like no other ❤

    Kim Joon as Akira ; Great 🙂

    ROFL @noona,
    Hwang Bo SHOULD be Shizuka 😀

    And sorry to some of you, I do not want Go Ah Ra to be Makino.
    She tends to overreact, something that gets on my nerves.
    We need a girl who just screams SPUNK !

  107. I don’t find hyun joong good looking…kim bum is so much better 😀 ….he shud hav gotten the lead
    Disappointed with the cast

  109. ooh that comparison pic is lovely ♥

    meteor garden got me into this whole asian fandom so i’ll always have a fondness for the taiwanese F4 ^_^

    korean HYD is very promising and i look forward to it!

  110. oh my… HJ! hahaha… okay… all d actors looks good! Wonder who’s d female lead will be! Ah~ hope she is pretty… juz like d japanese version of HDY! Ah~ dun noe all d actors but i’ll surely watch dis cuz of HJ~ ^^

  111. Somehow the Jap version actors are the most similar to the comic, 2nd is Korean, the least is Taiwanese.

    I don’t expect highly from the Korean ver, as so far the Jap ver is very satisfying already.

    I’m more curious about the cast of Makino Tsukushi.

  112. omgsh hyunjoong fits that character so well…he doesnt really need to act just walk onto to set being himself and randomly saying things..

  113. Oooh… I see the comparison photos… now I know…

    DAMN!!! The Jap guys were… not very fortunate-looking…

    So far I only see Hyun Joong in character… maybe I’m biased.

    Lee Min Ho will need to prove himself… hehe! 😛

  114. somehow, i don’t really trust Group 8 to do HYD Kor. ver. justice. i hope they found the right actors & actresses, scriptwriters, and directors. we’ll see when the drama begins…

    aww, minki would’ve acted tsukasa to a tee. he’s such a great actor and this would’ve been the perfect chance…too bad we don’t have an age reversal ray.

    …altho hj looks the part, i’m still erged about his acting skills. just because he looks it doesn’t mean he can act like it. plus, i was hoping for someone else to be rui =( oh well, there’s always shun xD

    if hwang bo gets casted, i think she’ d be best as tsukasa’s sis. she would fit her so well (and much better IMO than shizuka). she’s got the domiyouji blood in her. 😉

  115. I can’t wait ’til desember!! T.T

    i REALLY wanna see kim hyun joong as RUI!!!!!
    kyaaaaaaaaaaa
    >,<

  116. cool, now that we know the actors of hana yori dango korean version, does anyone else have further information into when it will be aired or made into dvd’s with quality english subbs? plus, would anyone know where to get it if it did come out in australia? :L

  117. waah.. awaiting this series..
    i quite agree with #114 “shun”
    hwangbo wud be good as tsubaki in this one haha
    i remember watchin the taiwanese and the japanese one without knowing the actors and such and completely falling in love with them..
    seeing as i know the people in the cast, i hope that doesnt change for me…nehooz… aja aja HanaYoriDango!! [taiwan, japanese and korean!]

  118. Wah..that’s a nice comparison.. You forgot to add the 1995 Japanese version characters though.. Naohito Fujiki was Rui~~XD

    I can’t wait to watch the Korean version..XD

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  120. i really love KIM BUM and LEE MIN-HO..
    hope to see you in person…
    hope you can visit here in philippines..
    saranghae yo korean f4…
    mwaahhh……UU

  121. Halllooo… korean f4… amazing…..
    I just dont like the screen editors, coz i cant feel the love chemistry of jan di and jun pyu while ji hoo and jan di is perfect….. my gosh…..
    anyway… i still love the drama….

  126. hey kim hyun jung i mean ji hoo oppa !!!!!!
    don know wat 2 say ………
    i just wanna ask u…… something ….
    r u really like ji hoo oppa in real life i mean ji hoo’s so cool n quite n also so handsome ……. hope u meet a nice gal like me i m always here 4 u n if u sent a plane ticket 4 me then i’ll always b there……..
    wid lots of winks n flyng kisses
    khime ,manipur

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