Lovely Runner

Second chances don't come often.

A journey of life, love, and a little silliness.

Focusing on Im Sol, this drama follows her from the middle of her story and travels through time as she gets a new chance to save the person who saved her.

Lovely Runner was incredibly refreshing. Everything was balanced really well, the romance was sweet and angsty. If you're a sucker for leads who have complete loyalty to each other bordering on a (healthy) obsession like I am, then this has it in heaps, fits of laughter, and tears. All the side characters meshed well with the story, and there was neither too little nor too much of them. I loved watching the relationships grow and coincide with the story as it progressed, but this drama is about Im Sol and Sun Jae and they kept that focus for the most part throughout.

There was also enough plot to give everything in this meaning, and I really enjoyed how they paced it enough that with every change, it still kept us on the edge of our toes without being overbearing. Im Sol does get annoying at times with how sacrificial she is, but honestly both the leads share the burden of this mindset and it only helped to enhance how much they cared about each other. The humor in this was an absolute delight as well. If my heart wasn't hurting, I was laughing and it was a great pallet cleanser from more serious dramas.

All in all, I recommend this if you're looking for something refreshing, light but with plot, a great love story, and a little cringe in the best ways possible. This was a great watch and one I was unable to stop thinking about the entire time it aired.

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tell me why this has to end?

Now that we have two remaining episodes left I'm already feeling sepanxx over this and will surely feel this way for few weeks. The last time I got hooked by Kdramas is the year 2016 - 2017 where Kdramas are truly perfection you can binge watch one after another. It's the time when Kdrama is at it's peak.

Nowadays it's really hard to finish one I have so many pending Kdramas in my list and I can't seem to find my motivation to finish them but this came along and Lovely Runner ended my longing for a really damn good Kdrama. This drama gave me the same feeling once again, the thrill and excitement that I feel in every episode made me want to watch this in just one day. It's a masterpiece that I've been craving for so long. This is a romcom heartfelt drama with a mix-up of thriller, nostalgic coming-of-age story.

I am so happy that I finally watch this after ignoring this from my recommendation for so long and to every person who haven't watch this yet, you are missing out a lot. Lovely Runner may not be on Netflix and does not have the highest ratings on Television but you can clearly see it's popularity and how well-received it is by the fans like me. If ever they decide to hold a concert for the fictional band Eclipse, I bet the tickets would be sold out. The OST and cinematography is exquisite. This drama is not overrated at all, it even deserves more than a 10 rating. I'm not yet ready to let this go. I will surely miss SolJae dimple couple <3

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WE NEED MORE K-DRAMAS LIKE LOVELY RUNNER

**This is purely just my opinion and you are entitled to have your own opinion! :)**
If you're in the k-drama community, there's going to be hidden gems that you discover. These dramas are often underrated and not talked about. Many people's faves could be completely unknown to others but that's not the case for Lovely Runner. If you're in the community that watches k-dramas, you have most certaintly heard about Lovely Runner. I'd say the two biggest, most talked about k-dramas of 2024 are Queen of Tears and Lovely Runner. Literally 95% of k-drama watchers enjoyed atleast one of the two, if not both. Lovely Runner is going to become a name that everyone learns about, a drama that's going to be recommended to newbies. a drama that won't be forgotten for a long time.

Lovely Runner managed to pull many watchers out of their k-drama slumps, it managed to pull new people into k-dramas and it's probably the biggest loss for Netflix. People just can't get enough of Lovely Runner because each episode was beautifully crafted. We just need more. I hope writers and directors are taking notes..

Of course, there's going to be some people that don't like Lovely Runner and that's perfectly fine. I don't get why the community is hating towards these people? People have opinions and that's okay. This drama is not a 10/10 FOR ME, still very high up at a 9.5 but the majority enjoyed this and it has gone down as an all-time fave for many. Therefore, if someone wishes
create a drama that is successful in the eyes of the MAJORITY, they should produce it to have the same effect as LR. That's what I'm trying to say.

Anyway, onto my ACTUAL review.

The first episode was really cute and it kept me engaged which is why I watched the next episode straight after LOL. But I will say, I got second-hand embarrassment from sol's actions SO MANY TIMES. She really went up to a random ass man (technically), hugged him when he's half-naked and told him she loves him.

Also I don't get why people are dragging KHY for her looks, she's drop dead gorg?

I really enjoyed episodes 10-16, the comedy was PERFECT and I had a constant smile on my face. It was cliche yes but it was perfectly placed so it wasn't cringe, but funny.

Also I could have a whole drama of just sol and taesung. THE CHEMISTRY??? Their friendship dynamics are amazing and honestly he's a green flag.

DISLIKES (all fairly mild):
- i feel bad for taesung (SML), he really did love sol and even after everything had changed, he cared for her as a friend. it was unfortunate they didn't let him meet a nice woman in ep 16
- after time travelling multiple times, you'd think sol gets smarter, well she doesnt. she kept making stupid decisions when the obvious smart answer was right there!

i also noticed, idk if this was done on purpose as a sort of easter egg, but LR has a lot of similarities to 20th century girl. it's most likely because of BWS playing the lead role in both.
SIMILARITIES:
- female lead's family owns a movie/tape store
- female lead blames cramps to get out of class
- female lead holds item above head at school bc she's in trouble and BWS comes and takes it from her.

anyway, overall it's a 9.5 for me because it was insanely good but IDK it just didn't feel like a 10? but please, some of you need to stop harrassing others who didn't enjoy the show and STOP HATING ON KIM HYEYOONS LOOKSSSSS. she's gorgeous!! just as a reminder, this review is my opinion and you can have your own! you may hate this or really love it, it's up to you :)

if you watch lovely runner, i hope you enjoy it !

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Mesmerizing, emotional time travel drama

I’m adding my review because that’s one of the dramas that I have loved this year. English not being my maternal language, please accept the mistakes in this review.

Describing "Lovely Runner" as a rom-com is simplistic : this is a romantic drama, using time travel to tell a love story spanning 5 timelines. Kind of a « variation on the same theme ».

So it allows the viewers to follow the same story, but at the same time, not the same story. Like a « what if » drama with the same characters. What if one turns left instead of right ? But at the same time, fate plays a part because no matter what the changes brought by the different decisions taken by the characters, they are always a victim of it.

Add a mix of mystery, thriller and boulevard comedy, and voila, you have "Lovely Runner".
So the mystery is how the time travel is possible. Not going to answer that one, viewers will discover the answer quite soon, but at the same time, the mystery remains as to why, even if it’s easy to guess if you follow the drama.

The thriller is the dangerous part of this drama, one that unfortunately, can strike everyone at anytime, anywhere, leaving broken characters. The two main characters are emotionally impacted by the consequences of the thriller part : depression, suicidal thoughts, loneliness, handicap (I admire how the FL overcame that one !)… That doesn’t make LR a depressing watch : the FL is one of those excentric characters, always on the move and always causing catastrophes and humiliating moments, mostly for her but sometimes also for the ML. It made the drama hilarious, at least for me.

That was the comedic boulevard part I mentioned, although it’s even more accentuated with the FL’s brother and sister-in-law : those characters are clearly portrayed as actors in a comedy on stage, or in sitcoms. Their facial expressions are exagerated. I suppose it’s a directing decision. So don’t expect them to be more serious characters. But they don’t have a too large part in the drama.

I found the actors to have chemistry and to fully embrace the story, with all the twists and turns it brought. Kim Hye Yoon portrays in a wonderful way the FL, radiating warmth and « joie de vivre », despite everything and her impulsiveness. That's part of her charm.

The ML is more reserved, and so easily… enthralled by the FL, because she is so different from him, embracing life, always running right and left (hence the title). I was surprised at how easily Byeon Woo Seok's played the role of a fool in love. But I guess that’s because I had seen him in more serious roles before. Here, he doesn't hesitate to appear weak or an idiot to his entourage, leading to some funny scenes.

I was sad to see this drama end, because I had grown attached to it. I had watched it twice so far and I will rewatch it in the future. I will recommand to watch it in a few days, to enjoy it and to brainstorm about what could happen in the next episodes : it’s always fun to think about theories when watching a drama.

Plus, the OST is magnificent.

"Lovely Runner" was a huge success in South Korea despite the fact that the drama wasn’t heavily promoted and the success a surprise one ; and also a success with international audience judging by the well deserved rating on MDL.

To end this review, I would say that "Lovely Runner" is a succesful mix of different genres and I wouldn’t put it in the rom-com section because that would be misleading to compare it to a rom-com like « Business Proposal » (I loved that one, and it had a little of boulevard comedy in it).

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best kdrama ive ever seen

i love this drama so much. from the plot, to the characters, the acting and the music, visuals.. honestly everything was perfect.
i will rewatch this for sure. its so well written. I LOVE IT and enjoyed watching every single episode which is rare for me.

the fact sun-jae liked it sol from the start gets me everytime and his love for her?!
and i love how its not one-sided at all because sol shows how shes selfless as well and sacrisfies their love for his life although she missed him so much. i love how you can see how she went from fan to a lover. soo so so well written.
annnd honestly sun-jae is the standard. ill never get over him as ML. his love for sol is insane and made me giggle sm. mans loved her in every single lifetime and waited for her. and the things he does for her WOW. ill die alone.

the music as well WOOW. every time spring snow by 10cm played i got goosenbumps. it resonates so well to their love and dont get me started on their amazing acting and the actor's chemistry. i rlly enjoyed watching the BTS. both kim hyee-yoon and byeon woo-seok worked so hard you can tell by the outcome of this masterpiece. :)
i could write sm more but my fingers r getting tired... in conclusion ill def rewatch this kdrama!!!

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NON-STOP SWOONING watching the last 6 minutes of Episode 2

Non-stop swooning watching the last 6 minutes of Episode 2 helppppp needed asap

I was so sad watching Episode 1 😭😭😭😭😭
But Episode 2 is sooooo cuteeee I can't stop watching 🥰 what is happeninggg
why soo cuteeee 💞💞

Please tell me this swooning continues??? I'm scared to go further if it's going to be sad but I got a feeling it will all change.. The photo at the end.. ottokeee ottokeeeee

Will it change?? Tell me pleaseee
I mean don't tell me but tell me if I should continue?? I want a super happy ending for this cute lively character Im Sol 🍀 The actress is playing this role to a T 👏🏻💯

Please tell me it's more like Episode 2 going further and less like Episode 1??? 💞🌧

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A lot of repetitions in the story, depression and disability not explored enough

I have watched some amazing time-travel k-dramas hence comparisons will be made. Beginning episodes really captured my attention because it focuses on depression and disability. First episode was personally my favorite as it captured the struggles of a disable women. There is hardly any representation of disable persons in k-dramas specially as main lead so it was new to see a disable FL. But i was soon disappointed as the topic was cut out from the story. Don't get me wrong i was happy that FL saved herself from disability but her disability was major part of the show as it was the reason she tried to kill herself. Her disability was discarded too early in the show which makes it irrelevant later. Apart from that FL was making dumb choices in every timeline as if she didn’t grow up at all.
Same issue was with the Male lead as he dealt with depression at the beginning but the causes of his depression were not highlighted. We do see that he had to quit swimming because of his injury. Does that cause his depression or he was lonely! He wanted to retire! But why ! We didn’t get to know SunJae that deeply. He was a shallow character. Why put such topics in the show when they are not going to be explored and give us a deeper understanding of characters ? Both characters needed development based on the timelines as they were shown in different times.

Time travel was interesting to watch till they were in high school after that it become a drag as her going back into the past for the 3rd time didn't change the plot much. And what she wanted to prevent, happened. The purpose of this time travel was to just drag the story.
Sol was super annoying. It felt like she was not taking things seriously, it felt too convenient for her to go back again and again and mess things up further. Even the way she keep on avoiding sunjae made her look very mean. Sun jae's character needed development as well because he was focused on sol only and had nothing else going on for him.
Episodes 10 onwards were kind of a drag. The ending become kind of predictable . Anyhow i did enjoyed the music and the comedy.

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My favorite

This has become my favorite, over 25/21 because of the happy ending. There was so much tugging at my heart strings that the happy ending made it all worth it.

First of all, the lyrics and songs really made a difference for how the scenes brought out certain emotions that were hidden beneath subconscious for me. I lost a love partner years ago, and the lyrics from rain shower would have me in tears every single time. I would, really would, have gone back in time to protect him as well, in this lonely world. Our time together was a gift from heaven to me. 😭

I easily watched it for the second time after I watched another show in between. There were details I skipped over or wasn't paying attention to the first time I watched it.

The emoting of the ML is especially real. The female lead irritated me at times with what felt like a fake cute smile. She honestly does better without the high school bangs lol. No points taken off though, didn't affect the overall plot.

The last 2 episodes were so surprising. In fact the entire show is laid out with surprising scenes and story lines here and there. It was very entertaining and oftentimes hilarious.

This was a brilliant show and will be hard to top.

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Lovely Runner is my Roman Empire.

For nearly a decade, I felt like Kdramas are not as enjoyable as they once did. Maybe I've just watched too much Kdramas for my own good. However, Lovely Runner evoked those emotions again. Kim Hye Yoon did a splendid job as Sol. No other actress has made me cry and laugh like this. I don't usually like cringe stuff, but Lovely Runner has just the right amount of cuteness and serious moments. I particularly appreciate the parallelisms in every episode.

I don't understand why a lot of people are leaving bad reviews. They probably watched the drama with unrealistic expectations.

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