By Kitchana Lersakvanitchakul

Thai fans desperate to see Korea's latest TV tale of high-school friendship and lust will have to pass their exams first

With the Thai craze for all things South Korean, it's not something of a surprise to learn that while TV Channel 7 holds the rights to the Korean version of hit series "Boys Over Flowers", Thai viewers are unlikely to see it in the near future.

That will come as a disappointment to the thousands of teenage fans of young actor and heartthrob Lee Min-ho who plays leading man Koo Joon-pyo in the series,which began airing on KBS on January 5 this year.

Based on Yoko Kamio's best-selling Japanese shojo manga series "Hana Yori Dango", "Boys Over Flowers" is the latest incarnation of a drama that first appeared on Taiwanese TV under the title "Meteor Garden" back in 2001.

Helping to propel it to the top of the rankings were its stars, the members of the massively popular Taiwanese boy band, F4, with Jerry Yan as Dao Ming Si, Vic Zhou as Hua Ze Lei, Ken Zhu as Xi Men, and Vanness Wu as Mei Zuo.

Before long, "Meteor Garden" was showing all over Asia and went on to spawn two sequels, "Meteor Rain" and "Meteor Garden II".

Japan followed Taiwan's lead and in 2005 came up with their own TV adaptation.

They cast Matsumoto Jun of popular boy band Arashi as Domyoji Tsukasa, Oguri Shun as Hanazawa Rui, Matsuda Shota as Nishikado Sojiro and Abe Tsuyoshi as Mimasaka Akira.

Joining Lee Min-ho in Korea's current version are Kim Hyun-joong of boy band SS501, as Yoon Ji-hoo, actor Kim Beom as So Ih-jeong, and Kim Jun of boy band TMax as Son Woo-bin.

So why is Channel 7 holding off?

"We're watching the evolution of the Korean wave as well as keeping an eye on when Thai students take their exams," explains assistant programme manager Krissada Trishnananda, who also heads up international programme acquisitions.

"The Taiwanese series ['Meteor Garden']drew the attention of many Asian countries including South Korea," says Ji Hee Hong, managing director of tour agency Happy Korea and the Korea Thailand Communication Centre. "But there were never any plans to promote it in Thailand.

"And when we brought Lee Min-ho to Bangkok recently, it was to promote South Korea's tourist destinations, which are also locations for the TV series - like Jeju Island and Seoul Tower," he adds.

That's why Lee Min-ho wasn't accompanied by other cast members on that trip,though he will be joined by his fellow actors in the series when the "Boys Over Flowers" roadshow heads to Japan.

"I'm pleased that I've become popular because of the series," says the young actor.

"It reflects Korea's culture and the life of high school students."

Min-ho lost six kilograms during the three months of shooting, much of it due to the exhausting schedule. His favourite part,he says with a grin, was getting to kiss costar Geum Jandi.

"Actually, I had a lot of chances to kiss her but her friend always turned up to get in the way. But I got there at last!"

His role in the series has led to several deals with advertisers, including Levi's Signature, LG Telecom, Samsung Anycall and Dunkin Donuts. He's also been named as the next presenter for Pepsi.

"That's an honour. The image of all Pepsi presenters is similar but the difference lies in their character quirks," he says.

Min-ho has his hairstyle, which is now the trendiest cut for young Korean guys.

"I didn't like it at first, I found it very old-fashioned," he says. "But when it got longer, I changed my mind and felt it suited me better."

He's not certain yet if he'll be asked back for the sequel to the series but says he'll accept the role if he's offered a contract.

"It's a lot of fun," he grins.