Lovely Runner

Lovely Runner is a bubbling triumph of a fanfiction-like romcom. The chemistry of the leads, or even just the whole cast was sizzling, the humor mostly great - the secondary couple were very grating to me. And the youthful, almost nostalgic vibes and the feel light and breezy that the drama managed to hold onto was delightful and echoes of longing and yearning tugged at your heartstrings. There was something quite old-school about this sort of rom-com that I could really appreciate.

Some stories do manage that suspension of disbelief just a bit more smoothly than others. And Lovely Runners seem to be able to introduce us to the logics of their little fluffy, rom-com universe quite seamlessly and therefor making the more unbelievable moments feel both earnest and earned enough that is just might work. Or you are willing to forgive it despite how much of a fan fiction this story feels like it is.

The drama has a tendency to use excessive amount of tropes in it's storytelling, like the clumsy heroine, noble idiocy, miscommunication and so forth. The amount of times the two leads fell into each other arms was way to excessive to become endearing after a certain point. It also does have a tendency to drag out the plot and the twists on a bit too long as we get further into the story resulting in some pacing issues.

Towards the end the story, the convoluted timelines and the murder mystery subplot does becomes more of a burden to the drama, causing it to lose some momentum - I feel like episode one and until around 10 is this dramas sweet spot. Things just seem to be happening to the characters without too much depth but the character have such a good emotional core within them, despite me wanting a bit more development from them as the timelines become more messy and annoyed as things are just happening to keep the plot going, no matter what you are rooting for them to get together in the end.

The actors certainly add more spunk and feelings into these characters than they have on paper and really sell the earnest of the story and keep you coming back for more. It's a fluff, it's tropy, but it's fun and bubbly and compelling enough and you never really get the sense that the drama is trying too hard to be something more than it is. It's a breezy, cute watch with very likeable leads and characters that you enjoy spending times with despite it's flaws - I just wish we could have gotten more scenes with the second male lead.

The drama manages to blending humor and cliché with heartfelt moments and I do think the drama does a good job making you feel very at home in it's world and therefor invested in it and so light and airy that you just enjoy these moments with the characters. The drama creates a narrative that is light-hearted yet earnest, as it finds the most absurd situations and gives the characters enough stakes that you want to cheer them on and make sure that they finally get their happy ever after.

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"Memories don't disappear, they're all smeared into one's soul"

"Memories don't disappear, they're all smeared into one's soul, the brain may forget, but one soul's been keeping every piece of it" - Im Sol's Halmoni

The above quote perfectly describes what this drama is about. What started as saving one's life ended up being created memories with that special person. Those memories will always be there in one's soul, trying to find its way back no matter what.

Although the 2 episodes before the final 2 episodes felt like a slow progress, this drama was written pretty well overall. I love how this writer always included events that happen in a previously timeline back to the current timeline. The development of Im Sol's feelings to Sun Jae from being a fan wanting to save him, to wanting to save him because of her love for him.

The only repetitive part that I found in this drama was Sol keeping pushing away or avoiding Sun Jae (during college and then Eps 13-14). I get why she did that but still, I'm not a fan of those kind of tropes as I prefer the leads just communicating with each other and not hide anything from each other. Still, it was great seeing Im Sol's love for Sun Jae grow each time she travels back in time and Sun Jae getting chance after chance to be with Im Sol since his love for her never changed.

A huge amount of comedy between the main characters and their friends. Even when the preview for each week shows seriousness, there's so much more laughter that occurs in me when watching each episode and a lot of romantic and cute scenes between the leads.

THIS DRAMA IS THE DEFINITION OF A ROMANTIC COMEDY!

Even though there was a killer/kidnapper in this drama, I'm glad the writers stuck with the idea of keeping his screentime at a minimum towards the very end. It would've been okay to find out his motive but at the same time, since they barely showed him, I'm glad they got rid of him quickly as well.

The whole cast was awesome! From the best friends to the parents. Great acting! I like almost every character in this drama, and I find that as a rarity in dramas.

The ending was great. Although I kind of wish there was a wedding at the end, I'm glad we got a glimpse of what their wedding look like as our leads both saw their future together. At least they ended it with a proposal. I'm satisfied.

We're about halfway through 2024 as I'm writing this, and I haven't found any k-dramas that I would consider rewatching again, but this one definitely makes the list.

THIS IS MY FIRST FAVORITE KOREAN DRAMA OF 2024

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I might be biased?

I might be biased towards this drama but I have my own reason. Ive stop in watching korean dramas long time ago, i mean in terms of fangirling and binge-watching but Lovely Runner blows my mind!

My fingers are all curl up during “Sun Jae-ya!”. I love Hyeyoon cutesy and Wooseok’s smiley eyes. I love them, i love my pawrents!

Time-travelled story is quite difficult to understand unless you are slowly into it and a lot of questions for sure will pop up here and there, I do find myself in that situation but I keep on watching as I want to know the ending and ya! a super great ending!

All the OSTs are so great and I am still listening to them. Byeon Woo Seok has a nice voice, very good in acting, and he is just a perf-

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Lovely Runner - #1 out of 417 KDramas

Contains Spoilers!!

Lovely Runner Review and why it has become my #1 KDrama out of 417 seen (so far).

This will contain a review of Lovely Runner (LR), and giving a few spoilers as possible, but will also provide data showing the uniqueness of this show, and its bombshell effect on the global audience which resulted in a first leading role catapulting ML Byeon Woo Seok (BWS) into a global superstar.

Other than seeing posts of excited fans on KDrama pages, I had no information on Lovely Runner (LR) when I started watching.

It still had several weeks of airing when I “thought” I would just pop in and check out Episode 1 to see what all the stir was about and then wait for it to finish to see straight through.

Ah…NO!

From the concert to the scene on the bridge, I was HOOKED

https://youtu.be/T_uVy8v9-S8?si=onMuDs1mn1vgy039

When we got to the time-travel back to 2008 and her run to “Sun Jae-ah!!”, I was enthralled.

The story is fascinating and fabulously executed by the cast and directors who all went far beyond the norm to make this 3 years in-the-making-story come to life.

https://youtu.be/76CbAftjgRQ?si=_1FDZmxSW5-8p0L4

Due to a challenge to her perspective in the darkest time of her life, Im Sol is Eclipse lead singer Ryu Sun Jae’s longest and most dedicated fan. Through a series of events. when devastating news about him hits, she is transported from 2023 to 2008 where she attempts to change his path to avoid the catastrophe.

This leads to a hilarious intersection of 30-year-old Sol with teenage Sol’s life, much of which she doesn’t remember, as she acts bizarrely for the teenage Sol in order to save Sun Jae.

What she learns is that what is done differently in 2008 has an effect on 2023, some unforeseen.

Since it involves multiple trips as she goes back-and-forth, she begins to understand the patterns of what is transferring between 2008 and 2023, and make adjustments accordingly, with her eye on the goal of saving Sun Jae.

However, Sun Jae has his own thoughts on the new Sol in each timeline.

This brings us laughter, joy, frustration, deep concern for their safety, desperately wishing for things to work out for the future, and ultimately a fabulous romance.

I am a retired professional singer and actress, so music with theatre is my bag. Anytime those two are put together with excellence, I’m in, and that was certainly the case for this show with BWS actually singing the lead for the five Eclipse songs, the majority of which ended up on real life professional music charts, one of which so resonated with the global audience that it broke and set records.

Hearing the behind the scenes footage between the actors and main director lets us appreciate the beauty of KDramas in building depth in a relationship through a directorial fine hand to make the romance heart-grabbing while specifically avoiding pushing it into being explicit.

https://youtu.be/IuF53Sw21UQ?si=zQmSpPiGr21qkkys

Result:

https://youtu.be/vY7AEc7OljY?si=dwM6cp7pPDCqA10q

I applaud that the villain propelled the story forward without overpowering the leads’ story and romance. Even as a very real threat, he was written as the impetus behind their story vs the leading couple’s story being back-burnered as disappointingly happened in the much anticipated KDrama Queen of Tears earlier this year.

I love a story that is intriguing, that makes you stay glued to the screen to keep up with the events happening to put the puzzle pieces in place instead of spelling everything out as it goes, one that requires some effort from the viewer and this one DOES - though in case you missed the clues, everything is put in place for you by the end.

We have comedy, time-travel with multiple trips back and forth, sports, music/idols - and a romance for the ages.

(Spoilers):

https://youtu.be/G273OX8r-bQ?si=FNrP06eer5G7GqAe

Sun Jae’s faithful and sacrificial love for Sol and her faithful and sacrificial love for “Sun Jae-ah” are exemplary of what true love should be. Each repeatedly put their lives and happiness on the line to protect the other.

https://youtu.be/Eh-ImBhwg7E?si=fOzOlHVzzb2Zvf-A

All KDrama fans quickly learn that S. Korea has some pretty phenomenal actors, even with K-Poppers turned actors.

Kim Hye Yoon (Im Sol) is well established as a FL and known for several roles including Extraordinary You which is set in high school (as is part of LR) where she had an even taller ML than BWS.

However for a first lead role, LR was a very ambitious and risky undertaking for novice ML Byeon Woo Seok. LR made Ryu Sun Jae a sink or swim career role for BWS’s first lead, which was a risky “make it or break it” move. The role covers swimming, singing, acting - and portraying the ML from ages 19 to 34, and he made the transitions beautifully.

In many scenes, his emotions are pouring out of his eyes, if you look. I refer you to the scene in Episode 8 right after he dumps his best friend in the bathtub and walks out to see Sol holding what he wanted to remain hidden.

As a retired actress and former university faculty in Theatre, I have to say that I pegged BWS for global stardom some time back from his appearance in another show

I am very impressed with him - not just his acting ability and talent, but also his tenacity and dedication to his craft.

Not only did he tackle a difficult and complex role as his first lead role and bear the responsibility of carrying the weight of the show as the ML, but he also had to learned to swim (he said he previously could only dog-paddle!) well enough to portray an Olympic level swimmer AND swim credibly against South Korea’s own real-life Olympic Gold Medalist in swimming Park Tae Hwan, which he DID.

Additionally, BWS mastered singing five songs to play an idol, with the majority of his songs placing on real life professional music charts, especially Sudden Shower (Sonagi).

Additionally, we have a wonderful second lead in Sun Jae’s rival for Im Sol, 2nd ML Kim Tae Sung (played by Song Geon Hee), who honorably steps aside when he realizes that it is not himself, but Sun Jae who holds Sol’s heart.

Sol’s goofy brother and her best friend provide many instances of comedic relief (as do the rest of the cast), as their awareness of each other and romance plays out.

We also have other great supporting characters in Sun Jae’s best friend played by real life S. Korean band N. Flying's Lee Seung Hyun, Sol’s not-so-out-of-it G’ma (Sung Byung Sook), Sol’s Mom played by veteran actress Jung Young Joo, Sun Jae’s Dad played by veteran character actor Kim Won Hae.

I shared LR with both of my adult daughters who are also KDrama fans, and for them it has also become the #1 KDrama they have seen, and we have all seen MANY.

Those who may not like LR will probably be those who love depressing, angst driven shows such as My Mister, My Dearest, Moon Lovers, etc.

However, those who liked positive, cute, comedic, music filled, uplifting shows with a happy ending, this one should be your bag.

LR has a great script, including a love for all time, incredibly talented actors, excellent direction, a fabulous OST, much of which was sung by the ML, award winning cinematography, comedy, pathos, intrigue, celebrity, off-beat families and a happy ending - what’s not to love?

_____________

Some of the awards and global response:

The Eclipse band (in the show not a real life band) has won numerous real life awards!

(To hear their #1 song, Sudden Shower’s Official Music Video - no English my subtitles):

https://youtu.be/fBB4MaBybyg?si=id6uGjBiKJaburq7

With English (no video):

https://youtu.be/Rx-R_qIYAiA?si=VCDuztOf02t5vkFL


The complete Lovely Runner OST is so well done it’s worth purchasing as well as being one-of-a-kind with the addition of fictitious band Eclipse’s songs sung by non-professional singer, ML Byeon Woo Seok as Idol Ryu Sun Jae. The OST has released Eclipse’s songs as a Bonus album to the show’s OST.

One of the unique qualities of Lovely Runner among 2024 KDramas showing it’s global fandom is that it brings a compilation of record-breaking and record making accolades including:

• LR script book becoming a #1 best seller BEFORE it hit the market

• LR OST recorded the all-time highest pre-release sales of any KDrama OST

• Sudden Shower sung by Byeon Woo Seok placed on the U.S. Billboard chart which has never before happened for a Korean actor

• Being the #1 show in over 130 countries on its original streaming platform Rakuten Viki

• Being Netflix’s highest rated KDrama to air in 2024 - even though it only aired for NF after the show ended airing on Viki and only aired on NF in limited parts of the world

• Its Fundex/Gooddata numbers showing that even not being originally aired on NF (for which NF viewers gave them major grief), tvN‘s OTT platform’s airing of LR beat NF in streaming viewership for the first time and LR (95,789,84) even beat NF’s Queen of Tears (71,412,39), which had just beaten the record held by Crash Landing on You a month before

• BWS and KHY won many unique awards including multiple fan voted popularity awards for their roles in LR

• And several more, listed below.

• Sudden Shower/Sonagi reached #3 on S. Korea’s professional music chart (Melon) AND placed on the US Billboard professional music chart at #199, ultimately reaching #167 where it beat Taylor Swift and even BTS. Currently, Sudden Shower has over 100 million plays on Spotify, alone.

Now add in the astounding number of awards Byeon Woo Seok and LR have racked up.

We’ve seen K-Pop singers turn into actors plenty of times, but BWS is the first actor to become a real-life professional music Idol - through a KDrama.

He is the first actor who by playing an Idol received:

.• A real life Global Music Award at the professional MAMA Music Awards (which upon winning, he acknowledged his Eclipse band members by their LR names).

• The first actor to sing at MAMA before 55,000 people - LIVE

• AND BWS’s Sudden Shower/Sonagi (소나기) just won S. Korea’s Melon professional music award for Best OST song

- All of which has never happened before.

And believe it or not, LR and its beloved leading couple have received even more awards, attention, applause, mentions and imitations than I have listed here, with even S. Korean celebrities taking selfies with BWS’s life-sized ad cutouts as the industry clamors to cast him or hire him for endorsements.

Obviously, LR hit a record breaking home run with S. Korean and the global audience.

Hats off to Byeon Woo Seok and Lovely Runner for giving us a great show with a love story for all time, fabulous music and for climbing new mountains in the industry and with the global KDrama fandom. 🫡

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He may be the most successful Stan in history

This started off pretty depressing. Based on the massive amount of love and fluff posted in socials, I was taken a back by the first scenes with our leads. While it was unexpected, I do wish they would have leaned more into that plotline. The first episode was a great foundation to open up the depth of the characters, especially Sol. I was disappointed by the lack of development in her character. Her logic matched that of her teenage self more than the 'grown woman' who was traveling back and forth in time. I think we were all annoyed at her attempts to help Seon Jae but push that poor guy away.

Seon Jae. The newest tree in the forest of green men. A cinnamon roll. As stated in the above title, he is the most successful Stan in history. This man not only pined after her as teens but held onto her (mentally) in just about every timeline. I would have loved to see more about his side of the world as things changed. He really provided the community with unrealistic bf expectations. From the hand scene in E4 to the apologizing to her when he couldn't remember, when SHE removed herself from the narrative.

The side characters didn't add much but I really enjoyed them. I would have loved some more screen time for Tea Sung, In Hyuk, and Hyun Joo (minus the husband, he was aggravating as all hell.)

I see a lot of people ranking this at a 4/5 or a 10. I'm somewhere in the middle. I liked the storyline and characters but they took an interesting idea and watered it down.

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Instant k-drama classic, Don't believe the recent low ratings

I watched this show 2 years late cuz I didn't want get caught up in the hype when it was airing. This show is one of the best k-dramas I've ever seen. And I've watched a lot as you can see from my watch history. This is not just another high school drama. The low ratings are because of people who wouldn't have enjoyed this drama anyways. They're not the target audience. If you want pure dopamine, great acting, cohesive plot and a gorgeous male lead who can sing like an angel, this is the show for you. No, I'm not exaggerating.

One of the themes is time travel. This isn't a spoiler because it happens pretty early on and it's literally mentioned in the episode blurb. This show reminds of the great shows of the past like While You Were Sleeping, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, etc. It's definitely it's own thing but is just as enjoyable. It will put a smile on your face and make your heart race like those shows did. Instant classic.

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I'm in love with the main couple and I will sure as hell be watching their other projects. I'm a big fan of them both. It was super cute, engaging and well-paced but the plot was at some point too frustating and took the easy path. It was always the same sh*t happening... Ending was really simple in the end so not very satisfying imo. That being said, Lovely Runner has one of the best last episode but not because of how things wrapped up plot-wise (with the Villain) but because we finally had our MLs happy without worrying about anything or breaking up or whatever !!! Liked it overall

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