Lovely Runner

A strongly decent and slightly overrated drama

Despite the title, I did enjoy this drama, I really did. I've had my doubts, throughout the course of my watch, mostly because of a few writing decisions, but I ended up liking it in the end. However, based on other people's perception of the drama, I don't think it's that good, as many people say it, some say that it is the drama of the year, which is a WILD statement, but then again, I feel like the dramas this year a bit lacking, so who knows. So let's go over this. I did enjoy the story, I was a bit vary at first when I learned that it is a time travel drama, It's not like I dislike them, but they tend to yolo some of the story elements quite often, and I also did see that here aswell unfortunately, but far less than what I am used to which is a good sign. I enjoyed the interactions, between the leads, and seeing their relationships develop, I especially loved the fact that this wasn't a fan and star story, but rather than a story about friends turned lovers, and I especially loved seeing both Pov's, because it made it even more wholesome. The time travel aspect of the story was a bit inconsistent, especially when it came to the rules of what our female lead could reveal to others in the past especially when the plot found it convenient, I was like, "WHERE DID THE TIME TRAVEL RULE GO?" The one thing I hated the most about the plot was the antagonist, if we can even call him that. It felt like he was a plot device, rather than a character, because we literally knew nothing about him except that he was a serial killer, we didn't even knew why he was obsessed with Im Sol and Sun Jae, so throughout my watch I looked as him as a plot device rather than a character. I also did enjoy the fact that the story jumped through different timelines, and time loops, it made things fresh, though towards the end, I felt like it was a bit overdone and got repetetive. There was also a love triangle, which thankfully wasn't the point at all, and had little significance. I also liked the fact that they made the ML engage with the time travel idea, I think they could've and should've done more with this, but I'm just glad they included this, because frankly, I wish more time travel dramas would. I also enjoyed the ending, I think it was a fitting one for the characters. I had a bit of a problem with the acting however, I found the female leads's acting especially cringe at times, and especially her brother and best friend, sometimes I hated when they were on screen. The one thing I loved the most about this drama was the OST, it was so freaking beautiful, and gave such a beautiful aesthetic to the scenes, and I found myself singing along sometimes, which was funny to see. Overall even though I enjoyed this drama, I really wouldn't say that it's the best one this year has to offer, but I still think you should watch it if you like the time travel concept (and don't mind the plot being messy sometimes), with a good romance.

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I’ll Never Stop Thinking About This Drama

Lovely Runner wrecked me in the most beautiful way possible. It’s not just a time-slip romance it’s a story about fate, grief, and the desperate ache of wanting one more chance. The writing, the acting, the music… everything hit like a slow-burn heartbreak you never want to end.

Byeon Woo-seok as Ryu Sun-jae is the blueprint for tender devotion, and Kim Hye-yoon made Im Sol feel so painfully real that I could feel her joy and loss through the screen. Every episode left me clutching my chest, smiling through tears, whispering, “please, let them be happy this time.”

It reminded me why I fell in love with K-dramas in the first place—that raw emotion, sincerity, and timeless magic that feels straight out of the iconic 2016 era. It’s been so long since a drama felt this alive, this fresh, this real.

It’s the kind of story that stays with you long after the final scene—not just because it was beautiful, but because it meant something.

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Memories don’t disappear, they seep into our souls

Lovely Runner is a show that hold a special place in my heart. A pure and heartfelt time-travel romance, which made it a masterpiece in the rom-com genre. It portrays unconditional love in the most beautiful way imaginable.

Starting with the positives, the plot was well crafted and layered that each episode felt really interesting. The cinematography and editing made each shot beautifully executed. Emotions were amazingly conveyed, romance was perfect and comedy was on spot. Perfect features of a rom-com. The pacing of the drama as a whole was also really good.
The OST was a musical treat, and it made the drama emotionally enhanced and even more enjoyable. The perks received by the songs are the evidences. They became one of my top favourites drama OSTs. I loved the effort Byeon Woo Seok put in taking singing and keyboard lessons, making Sudden Shower so amazing and adding to the quality of the show.
When it comes to acting, it was perfectly executed. Kim Hye Yoon became one of my favourite actresses. She is really talented and naturally beautiful. Each time she expresses emotions I was truly impressed and into it. Byeon Woo Seok also was so good and the efforts he put in was really amazing and it resulted into the best. His acting was subtle and simple but really striking in terms of conveying emotions.
The acting of other side characters was also considerably good.
I loved how Sol’s emotions towards Sunjae developed. At first it may look like a diehard fan of her favourite idol, but from the beginning Sol became Sunjae’s devoted fan as his words pulled her out of the most depressing situation of her life. Later their relationship develops into that of neighbours, friends and finally to lovers.
Sunjae’s endearing and unwavering love and devotion to Sol also stole my heart, making Sunjae one of the best green flags in kdrama land. He was charming and innocent. He always respected and cared for Sol’s feelings and tried his best to understand her. Sunjae is really an ideal type.
Both Sol and Sunjae endured a lot for their love for each other. They were willing to make any sacrifice for each other. I also loved the concept of fateful love between SolJae, that no matter what, Sunjae was fated to fall in love with Sol.
The chemistry of SolJae is top notch. It felt so real and pure that each spark between them gave me butterflies, no dull moments whenever both of them were together on screen. They are my top favourite drama couple💙💛❤️
The emotional dynamics between Sol and her mother was really heartwarming. Also loved the Grandma’s role in SolJae’s lives.
I also felt that Teasung received the positives of Sol’s good karma through her time travel, and I’m satisfied with the closure that he got as a second lead. In Hyuk also did well as a good friend of Sunjae.
The ending was one of the most perfect, memorable, satisfying and beautiful one I have ever seen in the hundreds of dramas watched.

In case of negatives, at first glance the plot holes may appear, like the serial killers motive, grandma’s deal and others, but it all gets answered if thought for a second time. Also I felt certain scenes between Im Geum and Hyun Ju a bit much exaggerated and overly hilarious. But the positives widely covers the minor negatives.

On the final note, Lovely Runner is a drama that engaged me from the beginning to the end. Worth the hype and recognition it gets. One of the best of 2024 and of all time. An unforgettable experience, an emotionally moving tale, my forever favourite and comfort drama and something that I come back to💙💛❤️

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10/10

It was perfect, the actors were so good they really did justice to the characters. This has been one of the best romcom drama I've watched so far. Hyeyoon was really amazing, I've watched her since extraordinary you, she did an amazing job on this one, Wooseok also shine the brightest here among all the dramas he starred in, I can say this is def one of his best. The story was well written also, I cannot determine how i'm feeling during some of the scenes, my mouth was open laughing, my eyes were full of tears and my heart aches. I felt a lot of emotions all at once, and it has been so long since I felt something like this. I cannot get over this drama, it was literally perfect.

jus want to say that all the actors did very well, even the supporting actors were really good!

this is a must watch for me. 10/10

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The drama that brought me back from my kdrama slump!!!

Lovely runner definitely of the most SATISFYING kdrama romcom, because let’s be real romcom is the genre that Kdrama thrives, and LR definitely delivers. 🥹🥹🥹

The intricate details, the comedic punch, and the poetic parallels they pull across different timelines. Like there’s nothing new under the sun but somehow this drama still feels extremely fresh 🥹🥹

Like any other time travel drama, of course it is not perfect, but it still exceeds way beyond expectations. Who would have thought that a drama about a parasocial idol relationship could pull your heartstrings.

It was still a perfectly cast drama, nicely paced, not trying so hard to be overly complicated, it is just enough for what it is, a beautiful, fun and nostalgic. Looking back at their iconic scenes (and their songss!! OMG), definitely going to be a classic K drama staple for a long time.

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In the track of my heart, you are the only runner.

Lovely Runner it's undoubtedly one of the best dramas of 2024.

It has all the elements that make a drama a mega hit: comedy, romance, time travel, well written characters (both leads and supporting ones) and an engaging plot line that never bores you. Starring Kim Hye Yoon and Byeon Woo Seok, adapted from the web novel The Best of Tomorrow by screenwriter Lee Shi Eun and directed by Yoon Jong Ho and Kim Tae Yub, the Lovely Runner team achieved a perfect execution in front and behind the scenes.

I think the true star of this drama it's the writing and on this I can't commend Lee Si Eun enough. I had already seen her potential in dramas like True Beauty but here she really manages to shine through a well crafted, smart and cohesive story with no loose ends. I'm incredibly impressed by her talent.

The writing was perfectly complemented by the directors's outstanding work in leading a film crew that was on every detail of each part of the story, in each timeline, never missing a beat. Always delivering their A+++ game. But there was also great work done from the directors part in helping the actors get the comedic timing exactly right, the more emotional scenes to deliver and the team work among cast and crew to be flawless.

This might be a big hit now, but it's actually a sleeper hit because the lack of promotion this drama had was embarrassing to watch and if it wasn't for the devoted fans, studio executives would have never realized they had a gem in their hands. So, Lovely Runner it's not only a great drama with a super fandom that really fought for this story, it's also becoming yet another prime example in the list of films and tv that achieved all of it by themselves because artists delivered nothing short of excellence.

On this point I can't ignore the incredible performances given by the entire cast. Kim Hye Yoon and Byeon Woo Seok are definitely the standouts, they stole the show, this is their story and the actors chemistry it's electrifying. But the way supportive actors would show up in a scene and push the story forward in a coherent way and even make it better, it's wild to me. The chemistry this cast had it's a rare feat for an ensamble cast and how they managed to transition seamlessly through different phases of their characters's lives and relationships when events, in each timeline, were changing because of the things our leads did they still remain truthful. So, not only the leads are well developed in this drama but also every single character that shows up, no matter how small the role is.

The best example of this it's actor Heo Hyeong-Gyu who has been working for sixteen years, playing very minor characters, finally having a breakthrough in the industry because of his role in this drama. And while his presence was prominent and important to the story, he barely had lines. So his entire performance is mainly based on micro-expressions or physical stunts.

I also fully expect the actors like Song Geon-Hee, Lee Seung-Hyub, Song Ji-Ho or Seo Hye-won to receive a lot of what korean entertainment industry calls "love calls" aka commercials, dramas and films, among other things.

Experiencing watching Lovely Runner alongside the fandom, waiting every week for a new episode, it's a big part of what made this drama so good. Healthy and good loving fun people, clowning, poking fun at our faves and crying at heartbreak. It's been a long time since I have been able to engage in this way with other fans and I am thankful for them, the cast and crew for all these amazing weeks of fun.

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A little stretched but ADORED

Starting of, the casting was perfect. the chemistry and skills of both Wooseok and Hyeyoon was top teir not to mention all the other actors, the production team rly nailed it on the spot. (BTS are adorable 🤭)

Overall I personally adored the storyline, the dive into it was smooth and had my heart running at a million miles for the both leads, but they still as always were able to keep it light and comedical at the same time to keep it from being a total emotional mess. (I did cry a bit still though 🧍‍♀️🙈

Many say that they went back and forth a little too much, But I personally think it's what kept the tension going and had you high on your toes – was quite exciting as you had no clue what to expect 🧐 but I do see how the repetitiveness could bore some people.

The music too.. LOVE LOVE LOVE the osts, really match the vibe, not to mention they just had to turn them on at the most emotional of times 😔💓💓


SO all in all I have no complaints, truly an amazing cast and the execution of all the story and how it flows I think was perfect. It made sense – you get to see amazing and adorable scenes from both the leads and support characters too, which I also think had such incredible chemistry. Truly no misses.

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Finally found my "the one" in dramas

To explain the title, my favorite dramas, besides this now, are probably SWDBS and AOS. But with SWDBS I purely liked the romance and nothing else (the serial kidnapper side plot is ok when watching just once). And with AOS the plot, the visual effects, the characters, everything was topnotch and it really is my favorite drama, but for me the romance was a little lacking (which is alright since it's more of a fantasy than a romance drama). But Lovely Runner managed to weave everything together and create an amazing masterpiece.

There's the right amount of everything: action, mystery, angst, comedy, romance, and of course Sunjae's loserism. For me with most kdramas, after episode 13/14 we kind of hit a slump and everything becomes predictable and boring, but I didn't feel that with Lovely Runner. Yes, I could easily guess what would probably happen, but it's the way they present the story. Most ppl are here for the ride than the destination, and if that's you then you'll most likely love this drama.

A 10/10 from me, and if you like romcoms, time travel, mystery side plot, and a lovely romance then this drama's for you.

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Romance and comedy

Lately, the recent wave of Kdramas left me feeling a bit underwhelmed, but this particular drama managed to capture my attention in a way that others haven't. It truly hit the mark for me. I found myself drawn into the storyline, enjoying every moment of the captivating romance unfolding between the main leads. The chemistry between the male lead (ML) and female lead (FL) was simply enchanting, tugging at my heartstrings and leaving me eagerly anticipating their every interaction. Even the second male lead (2ML) added an extra layer of charm to the drama.

What stood out the most for me was the perfect balance struck between humor and romance. While some recent releases may have veered too far into melodrama or relied on tired clichés, this series managed to keep things fresh and engaging. The genuine moments of laughter and heartfelt connection between the characters brought a sense of authenticity to the story, making it easy for viewers to get invested in their journey.

The dynamic between the ML and FL was a true highlight of the series. Their on-screen chemistry was palpable, radiating a genuine warmth and affection that made their relationship feel incredibly relatable and endearing. From their sweetest moments to their playful banter, every scene they shared was filled with undeniable passion and emotion. It was impossible not to root for them ❤️

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