Editor's note: This article contains minor spoilers.
Imagine having the chance to travel back in time to *save* your favorite idol from an unfortunate situation, and then you find out that you—yes, you—are his first love. Shocking, right? Shocking but good. It would be everyone's dream come true. But then, you suddenly come back to your senses: you traveled back in time. How would all this work out?
That's how we felt when we began watching the buzzworthy K-drama, Lovely Runner. We are *floored* by how spectacular the show is. As a chronically online K-drama junkie, we've found a lot of interesting stuff about the K-drama. So here, we're giving you all the reasons to watch, fun facts, and everything in between about Lovely Runner.
All The Reasons Why We're Going Crazy Over Lovely Runner Starring Byeon Woo Seok And Kim Hye Yoon:
1. Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon's stellar acting chops.
Everyone is blessed to have Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon star as the lead cast of Lovely Runner. We just know that no one can portray Ryu Sun Jae and Im Sol aside from them.
Kim Hye Yoon gives life to the female protagonist of the story, Im Sol. She's the one who will travel back in time in a bid to save her idol from suffering a miserable situation. The story opens in the year 2023 when Sol, who became crippled due to an incident, finds herself fixating on the vocalist Ryu Sun Jae. She gains inspiration from him and becomes his biggest fan.
After the drama's first turning point, Sol time travels back to the year 2008—back to her high school days, back to when she could still use her legs. There she surprisingly finds Ryu Sun Jae as her schoolmate and her neighbor—who likes her romantically!
Byeon Woo Seok then plays the character of Ryu Sun Jae—who is viewed as a loser and an absolute lover boy for Sol and Sol only. The story begins with showing the depressing and sad emotions of 2023 Sun Jae, despite him being the energetic vocalist of a four-member band called ECLIPSE.
But when Sol meets him during their high school days, Sun Jae is surprised to know that his ultimate crush knows him. The drama progresses, showing a bright and enchanting Sun Jae who's down bad for Sol. Sun Jae and Sol will share significant moments together, making new memories and also changing the future.
What's important to note here is how the two actors captivated viewers with their acting chops. Hye Yoon, who has won several awards including Baeksang 2019's Best New Actress for Drama (Sky Castle), did not disappoint as always. She has managed to convey the emotions of a fan mourning for her fave idol and of a woman determined to improve the future of her greatest love at all costs.
At the same time, Woo Seok, who has embodied the persona of being everyone's "first love," showed viewers a different side of him in Lovely Runner. ICYDK, Woo Seok also starred in the films 20th Century Girl and Soulmate, as the protagonists' first love.
The actor has been in numerous dramas already, including Record of Youth and Strong Girl Nam-Soon, but this time around, Woo Seok successfully cemented his spot in the vast entertainment industry with Lovely Runner. Woo Seok is gaining popularity as we speak, and it looks like he's not stopping any time soon.
2. There's a fictional band called ECLIPSE!
While it may not be the first time that a fictional band has gained so much love and support from fans, it's jaw-dropping how the four-member band in Lovely Runner is taking over music charts!
No one can deny that it was an unexpected boom in popularity for ECLIPSE. The band exists thanks to actor Moon Xion, K-pop boy group OMEGA X's Yang Hyuk, N.Flying's Lee Sung Hyub, and of course, Byeon Woo Seok. ECLIPSE rose into stardom not just for their good looks, but more importantly because of their amazing songs.
The tracks released which were tagged as their songs are "Sudden Shower," "Run Run," "You And I," "No Fate," and "I'll Be There." The most interesting fact about their discography? Woo Seok sang as the main vocalist for all five tracks! Yup, the guy can *sing* and he's got an incredibly beautiful voice.
ECLIPSE entered the Top 100 of Korea's Melon music chart in May 2024 with their song, "Sudden Shower." As of writing, the group and their songs' rankings in the charts are all rising rapidly. Fans have also been clamoring for the band's live performance in any music show.
Over on social media, Lovely Runner viewers have been keeping themselves updated about the group's streaming status, and have been calling out tvN to send them to music shows.
On the music streaming platform Spotify, ECLIPSE has garnered over a million monthly listeners already and four of their tracks have over a million streams, too. What a success, right? Give them a listen!
3. The second lead syndrome is so strong in Lovely Runner.
We don't usually like the second leads who come between the protagonist's love story, but if it's rising star Song Geon Hee, then we'd gladly ask for more screen time.
Geon Hee plays Kim Tae Sung, Im Sol's first love in the original timeline (you'll understand the timeline part if you watch the drama). He's a baddie at first, but eventually falls head over heels for Im Sol, too!
Later on, his bromance with Woo Seok's character, Sun Jae, builds up as he shows his cute and charming antics. We don't want to drop spoilers, so you have to stay tuned because Tae Sung might have a vital role to play in Sol's time travel acts!
4. The script is sending us to absolute rom-com heaven!
Everything about Lovely Runner's script, cinematography, details, cast—everything—is *chef's kiss*! And we think that the two lead stars, Hye Yoon and Woo Seok, were born to do rom-coms. Even their co-stars believe that they perfectly portrayed their characters.
After all, Im Sol's character was heavily inspired by Hye Yoon. Although the drama was based on the novel, "The Best of Tomorrow," Lovely Runner's script was written with the image and acting prowess of Hye Yoon.
In fact, director Yoon Jong Ho revealed in a press conference that Lovely Runner would not have materialized if Hye Yoon declined the script. At one glance, everyone will know that Im Sol's character is what molds the whole story, thus the character is very significant.
"I heard that the writer chose Kim Hye Yoon to write it. She said that if Kim Hye Yoon said no, this work would not have been completed," the director noted before praising Hye Yoon for her efficient acting skills and vibrant personality.
Aside from that, Hye Yoon is also a chemistry magnet! She becomes a lucky charm to anyone paired with her because she can build pair chemistry so easily. Hye Yoon is that kind of actress, and it shows a lot in Lovely Runner.
5. Byeon Woo Seok might have been a Ryu Sun Jae in his real life.
You have to know that Ryu Sun Jae in Lovely Runner has yearned for Im Sol for a long time. To quantify, he's been yearning for Sol for 15 years. Yup, you read that right. Lovely Runner actually captures all kinds of love—from young to adult love. Sol and Sun Jae will travel across their high school, college, and adult lives and experience romance at different stages.
Although he revealed this during the promotions of his Netflix film, 20th Century Girl, we believe it's still applicable to connect it to his current role. Apparently, Woo Seok had an ~unrequited first love~ when he was younger. He said in a press event, "To be honest, my first love was unrequited in middle school. Just as Woon Ho liked Bora from the very start. My own experiences helped me relate to my character."
Woo Seok elaborated on their relationship, mentioning that the girl he liked for long was someone he was close with. However, he decided not to act on his emotions. "Thinking back then, I don't know why I didn't. At the time, I thought the fact I liked someone itself was special. I am not like that anymore. I try to express my feelings," he declared.
Reeling back to a 2019 interview as well, Woo Seok expressed his desire to play a memorable character for him. He noted that he wanted to portray a "character who loves only one person and is willing to risk everything for that love." The whole Lovely Runner nation thinks he found that memorable character in Ryu Sun Jae. *teary eyes*
6. It was an organic hit.
Just like the sudden craze over ECLIPSE, Lovely Runner's current prominence was quite unexpected. Lovely Runner's casting was made of fresh actors oozing with talent. It exceeded expectations.
The production team almost lost hope over the drama after the script was rejected by several actors. In a Koreaboo report, these actors thought it was "merely a story about a fan falling for her idol." Until they offered the script to Woo Seok, who kickstarted the engine and put the production team to work!
It took three years to officially start the production of the show. And now, they're dominating every chart there is—from music charts to brand reputation charts, and OTT rankings! For consecutive days, it ranked first in several countries via the streaming platform, Viu.
7. Lovely Runner has the loveliest cast.
After months of filming together, we can say that the Lovely Runner cast has gotten so much closer. From time to time, they share snaps from their filming and it's the most adorable photos we've ever seen. It definitely boosts everyone's happiness!
See some of the shared snaps here:
The drama is down to its last six episodes. Its finale will air on May 28, 2024 at 8:50 PM KST via tvN (that's 9:30 PM for Filipino viewers)
You can watch all episodes of Lovely Runner on Viu Philippines!