''Lovely Runner'' () is a 2024

South Korean television series Korean drama (), also known as K-drama or Koreanovela, refers to Korean-language television shows made in South Korea. These shows began to be produced around the early 1960s, but were mostly consumed domestically until the rise of the Korean Wa ...

starring

Byeon Woo-seok Byeon Woo-seok (; born October 31, 1991) is a South Korean actor and model. He debuted as a model in 2010 and walked the runway during the 2015 F/W Men's Fashion Show. Byeon transitioned into acting with supporting roles in dramas, notably '' ...

and

Kim Hye-yoon Kim Hye-yoon (; born November 10, 1996) is a South Korean actress. She gained recognition for her role as Kang Ye-seo in JTBC's Korean drama, television series ''Sky Castle'' (2018–2019), before landing her first leading roles in both televisi ...

. It is based on a

web novel Web fiction is written works of literature available primarily or solely on the Internet. A common type of web fiction is the web serial. The term comes from old serial stories that were once published regularly in newspapers and magazines. Unlik ...

titled ''Tomorrow's Best'', which was also serialized as a

webtoon Webtoons () are a type of episodic digital comics that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allo ...

by illustrator Doong Doong. It aired on tvN every Monday and Tuesday at 20:50 ( KST) from April 8 to May 28, 2024. It is also available for

streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

TVING TVING () is a South Korean subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service operated by TVING Corporation, a joint venture comprising CJ ENM Entertainment Division (CJ Group), Naver and JTBC by its JTBC Studios, now calle ...

in South Korea,

U-Next is a Japanese over-the-top streaming service. It is majority-owned by U-Next Holdings and minority-owned by TBS Holdings and Hakuhodo DY Media Partners. It was launched in 2007 as GyaO Next and is a large streaming platforms in Japan, with 4. ...

in Japan,

Vidio PT Vidio Dot Com (Vidio) is an Indonesian over-the-top subscription and FAST streaming television service established on 15 October 2014. Originally owned by Mediatama Anugrah Citra, now owned by Surya Citra Media, both are subsidiaries of ...

in Indonesia, and Viki and Viu in selected regions.

Synopsis

In the world of stardom, Ryu Sun-jae shines as a top-tier celebrity whose life, despite its public facade, is marred by exhaustion. Im Sol, an ardent admirer of Sun-jae, finds solace in his music after an accident in her teenage years derailed her dreams. When news breaks of Sun-jae's tragic death, Sol is devastated and was transported to fifteen years into 2008, when the duo were 19-year-old high school students. Seeing this as a chance from heaven, Sol vows to change the course of destiny for both of them while challenging their past.

Cast and characters

Main

as Ryu Sun-jae : A top star who has everything, from good looks to talent and charm. He is a former swimmer turned singer and actor, but his life as a celebrity doesn't go well, especially as he battles depression, ultimately leading up to his unfortunate death. *

as Im Sol : A well-liked young woman who gives up her dream of becoming a film director in 2008 when she injures her legs and becomes paralyzed. *

Song Geon-hee Song Geon-hee (; born August 14, 1997) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his role in the hit television series ''Sky Castle ''Sky Castle'' (; stylized as ''SKY Castle'') is a South Korean television series starring Yum Jung-ah, ...

as Kim Tae-seong : An

ulzzang ''Ulzzang'' (, ), also spelled as ''eoljjang'', is a popular South Korean term literally meaning "best face" or "good-looking". A person desiring ''ulzzang'' status would gain popularity on the internet through entering contests where their photo ...

with a flamboyant look. He was the

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

of the band Eclipse in high school, and is a police officer in the present time. *

Lee Seung-hyub Lee Seung-hyub (; born October 31, 1992) is a South Korean singer and actor. Lee officially debuted in 2013 and rose to prominence as the leader of the South Korean band N.Flying. He is best known for his acting roles in television series '' L ...

as Baek In-hyuk : A friendly guy who is easy to get along with. He is Sun-jae's best friend, as well as the leader and guitarist of the famous band Eclipse.

Supporting

;People around Sol * as Park Bok-soon : Sol's resilient single mother. She manages a struggling DVD store while raising her two children and caring for her elderly mother. * as Jung Mal-ja : Sol's warm-hearted and wise grandmother. * Song Ji-ho as Im Geum : Sol's older brother. He is an aspiring actor full of passion for acting, but he repeatedly faces rejection in auditions. *

Seo Hye-won Seo Hye-won (; born November 4, 1993) is a South Korean actress. She is notable for her roles in '' Cheongdam-dong Alice'' (2012–2013), ''Welcome 2 Life'' (2019), '' True Beauty'' (2020–2021), '' Nevertheless'' (2021), ''Business Proposal'' ...

as Lee Hyun-joo : Sol's best friend who is bold, sharp, and stubborn. ;People around Sun-jae *

Kim Won-hae Kim Won-hae (; born April 6, 1969) is a South Korean actor. Since his debut in musical in 1991, Kim Won-hae worked on stage in plays and musicals before joining the non-verbal performance Nanta as an original member in 1997. He is best known a ...

as Ryu Geun-deok : Sun-jae's father and the owner of the Galbit House. * Ahn Sang-woo as Representative Kim : CEO of Sun-jae's agency JNT. * Lee Il-jun as Park Dong-suk : Sun-jae's manager. ;People around Tae-seong * Park Yoon-hee as Detective Kim : Tae-sung's father who is a veteran detective with 20 years of experience. * Kim Hwi-gyu as Cha Yi-seul : Tae-sung's friend who has a weathered appearance that belies his pretty name. ;JNT people * Moon Yong-suk as Hyun-soo : The drummer of the band Eclipse. * Yang Hyuk as Jay : A

and the youngest member of the band Eclipse. ;Jagam High School students * Lee Chul-woo as Kim Hyung-gu : A member of the Jagam High School swimming club, and Sun-jae's self-proclaimed rival. * Kim Hyun-kyu as Choi Hyun-gu : Sun-jae's friend from Jagam High School swimming team. * Jung Kang-hee as Coach Ahn : The coach of the Jagam High School swimming team. *

Oh Se-young Oh Se-young is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in dramas such as ''Thirty-Nine'', ''Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adve ...

as Choi Ga-hyun : Tae-seong's ex-girlfriend. ;Others * Heo Hyeong-Gyu as Kim Young-Soo : A taxi driver with a grudge against Sol and Sun-jae. * as Choi Jeong-hoon : An employee of the cinema where Im Sol applies for an interview.

Special appearances

* Park Tae-hwan as himself : A swimmer who plans to showcase his swimming skills alongside Sun-jae. *

Kwon Yu-ri Kwon Yu-ri (; born December 5, 1989), known mononymously as Yuri, is a South Korean singer, actress, and songwriter. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation (and later its subgroup Girls' Generation-Oh!GG) in August 2007, which ...

as herself : A member of the girl group

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piec ...

. *

Han Seung-yeon Han Seung-yeon (; born July 24, 1988), known mononymously as Seungyeon, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is best known as the vocalist of the South Korean girl group Kara, and for her role in '' Hello, My Twenties!''. Life and caree ...

as Radio DJ * as Heavenly Granny *

Kim Min-gi Kim Min-gi (; born November 22, 2002), is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in '' True Beauty'' (2020), '' Racket Boys'' (2021) and '' Under the Queen's Umbrella'' (2022). Filmography Television series Web series Televisi ...

as Park Do-jun

Production

Development

The series was originally published as a

KakaoPage KakaoPage () is a monetized content platform optimized for mobile devices, launched by Kakao Corp. in 2013 and currently owned by its subsidiary Kakao Entertainment. The service launched on April 9, 2013, as a digital content marketplace, allowin ...

between July and September 2020, written by Kim Bbang. It was later adapted into a

by illustrator Doong Doong, which became available in September 2021. It is directed by Yoon Jong-ho, who co-directed other popular works such as '' Guardian: The Lonely and Great God'' (2016–2017), '' My Holo Love'' (2020), and '' Flower of Evil'' (2020). It is also written by Lee Si-eun, who is best known for her work '' True Beauty'' (2020–2021). It was previously titled ''Time Walking on Memory'' (). Writer Lee Si-eun stated that the character Im Sol was specifically created with actress

in mind. It was also revealed that the series took three years to produce and was offered to several other actors before the role ultimately went to

Casting

On March 28, 2023, reports surfaced stating that

and

were in discussions and actively considering taking the lead roles. Their appearance was subsequently confirmed on July 19 by the production team of tvN. On July 27,

was also confirmed to co-star alongside Kim and Byeon. On the same day, there were reports highlighting that

was in discussions to appear in the drama, and his agency confirmed his participation on July 31. In the following days, it was reported that Yang Hyuk would be also joining the cast.

Filming

Filming began in the second half of 2023.

Original soundtrack

Album

The drama's

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

is compiled in a three-part

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

released by label

Stone Music Entertainment Stone Music Entertainment (Hangul: 스톤 뮤직 엔터테인먼트), is a South Korean music distribution company under CJ ENM, as part of a partnership with the music streaming store Genie Music since 2021. It was one of the largest co-publish ...

on May 28, 2024. CD 1 contains Eclipse's song, CD 2 contains the drama's theme songs, and CD 3 contains the drama's musical score.

Singles

;Part 1 ;Part 2 ;Part 3 ; Part 4 ; Part 5 ;Part 6 ;Part 7 ;Part 8 ;Part 9 ;Part 10

Chart performance

Album

Singles

Release

The series was originally scheduled to be broadcast in the second half of 2023, but was moved to the first half of 2024 due to the changes in tvN's Monday and Tuesday lineup. During the

CJ ENM CJ ENM Co., Ltd (, CJ Entertainment aNd Merchandising) is a South Korean entertainment and retail company founded in 1994. CJ ENM was established as a result of the merger of two CJ Group subsidiaries, CJ ENM Entertainment Division, CJ E&M and ...

Meet & Grow conference on January 18, 2024, tvN officially confirmed that ''Lovely Runner'' was scheduled for April 2024. The series premiered on April 8, 2024. It was also available for

in South Korea,

in Japan,

in Indonesia, and Viki and Viu in selected regions. On July 15, 2024, it was announced that the series would also be available for streaming on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

in selected regions, starting from August 1, 2024.

Reception

Critical response

Despite its modest viewership ratings, ''Lovely Runner'' garnered positive reviews from audiences, contributing significantly to

's rise to stardom and solidifying

's reputation in the industry. Film critic Jung Duk-hyun, one of the prominent judges at the prestigious

Baeksang Arts Awards The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paeksang Arts Awards, are awards for excellence in film, television and theatre in South Korea. The awards were introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the newspaper ''Hankook Ilbo'', ...

, praised Kim for her exceptional acting prowess in her role as Im Sol. Singapore's national newspaper ''

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' (also known informally by its abbreviation ''ST'') is a Singaporean daily English-language newspaper owned by the SPH Media Trust. Established on 15 July 1845, it is the most-widely circulated newspaper in the country and ...

'' gave the series four out of five stars, stating that the love story between the characters portrayed by Byeon and Kim was captivating and the "multi-layered" plot got richer and richer with each episode. ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

'' praised the drama as one of the best K-dramas released in 2024, commending the series for its use of "familiar genres to craft a thrillingly unexpected, continuously moving story experience".

Viewership

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Honors

Listicles

Notes

References

External links

* * * * ''Lovely Runner'' on

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