South Korea · Drama · 2024
Lovely Runner
Binge Brief
- Lovely Runner aired 16 episodes on tvN from 8 April to 28 May 2024, every Monday and Tuesday at 20:50 KST.
- Its Nielsen Korea nationwide rating rose from 3.073% for episode 1 to 5.762% for the finale on 28 May 2024.
- The series adapts Tomorrow's Best, a web novel Kim Bbang published on KakaoPage between July and September 2020.
- Eclipse's Sudden Shower from the soundtrack won Best OST at both the 2024 APAN Star Awards and the 2024 Melon Music Awards.
- Lovely Runner earned 5 nominations at the 61st Baeksang Arts Awards on 5 May 2025, including Best Drama.
Synopsis
Lovely Runner is a 2024 Korean drama about Im Sol, a devoted fan who is sent fifteen years back in time after the star she admires, Ryu Sun-jae, dies. She lands in 2008, when both of them are 19-year-old high school students, and decides to change what happens to him and to her.
In the present, Sun-jae looks like a man who has everything. He has the looks, the talent and the charm of a top star, a former swimmer who became the singer of the band Eclipse and then an actor. Behind that public image he is exhausted. An accident in 2008 ended Sol's plan to become a film director, and in the years that followed she found comfort in Sun-jae's words and turned into one of his most ardent fans. When the news of his death breaks, she is devastated.
The jump back to 2008 is where the tvN kdrama really starts. Sol treats it as a chance handed to her from heaven. She knows what is coming for Sun-jae, and she knows what is coming for herself, so she tries to stop both his death and her own accident. The trouble is that every change she makes in the past has consequences she did not see coming, and she has to deal all over again with the relationships of her past.
Much of the story sits inside two households. Sol's mother, Park Bok-soon, is a single mother who keeps a struggling DVD store going while raising two children and caring for her own elderly mother, Jung Mal-ja, a warm and wise grandmother. Sol's older brother, Im Geum, wants to be an actor and keeps getting turned down at auditions. Her best friend, Lee Hyun-joo, is bold, sharp and stubborn. On the other side, Sun-jae's father, Ryu Geun-deok, runs the Galbit House, and his best friend Baek In-hyuk is the leader and guitarist of Eclipse. Kim Tae-seong is another figure in Sol's circle.
The tone mixes time slip, romantic comedy and fantasy. The comedy comes from a grown woman living as a teenager who already knows how the next fifteen years go, while Sun-jae's fate keeps the stakes serious. The story comes from Tomorrow's Best, a web novel by Kim Bbang, and screenwriter Lee Si-eun wrote the part of Im Sol with Kim Hye-yoon in mind.
Cast of Lovely Runner
Byeon Woo-seok plays Ryu Sun-jae and Kim Hye-yoon plays Im Sol. Song Geon-hee is Kim Tae-seong, and Lee Seung-hyub plays the Eclipse guitarist Baek In-hyuk. The families are played by Jung Young-joo (Park Bok-soon), Seong Byeong-suk (Jung Mal-ja), Song Ji-ho (Im Geum) and Kim Won-hae (Ryu Geun-deok), with Seo Hye-won as Sol's friend Lee Hyun-joo. Kwon Yu-ri and Park Tae-hwan make special appearances as themselves.
Casting took time. The project spent three years in development and the male lead was offered to several other actors before it went to Byeon Woo-seok. Reports on 28 March 2023 said both leads were considering the roles, and tvN confirmed them on 19 July 2023. Song Geon-hee was confirmed on 27 July and Lee Seung-hyub's agency confirmed his part on 31 July.
Why it still gets watched
Time put Lovely Runner first on its list of the 10 best K-dramas of 2024, and the South China Morning Post placed it ninth among its 15 best of the year. The audience grew while it aired: Nielsen Korea measured 3.073% nationwide for the first episode and 5.762% for the sixteenth, the highest figure of the run. Netflix added the series in selected regions on 1 August 2024, about two months after the tvN broadcast ended.
Lovely Runner cast
Filming locations
- Choongang High School, Seoul. Its exterior stands in for Jagam High School, where the 2008 scenes are set.
- A cafe in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do. The building used for Im Sol's family home and the DVD store sits in Suwon, where the production filmed many of its 2008-set street scenes.
- Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul. Its plaza doubles as the venue for an Eclipse concert.
- An Insadong restaurant, Seoul. A working restaurant in the Insadong district stands in for Ryu Geun-deok's Galbit House.
- Chuncheon Bridge, Gangwon-do. Sol and Sun-jae's later reunion scenes were shot on this bridge outside Seoul.
- Chungnam National University, Daejeon. The Daedeok campus was used for the drama's university-set scenes.
- Sapgyoho Amusement Park, Dangjin. The lakeside park in South Chungcheong appears in one of the pair's trips away from Seoul.
Visual design and costumes
Wikipedia's crew listing credits four cinematographers on Lovely Runner: Yoon Dae-young, Jeon Hyun-suk, Shin Gi-chang and Park Min-hyun. Two of that team, Yoon Dae-young and Shin Ki-chang, and PD Nam Tae-jin spoke about their choices in a 30 June 2024 interview.
For the kiss at the beach house, the crew shot from an angle other than the usual straight-on side view, which Nam Tae-jin said was done on purpose to give the scene a softer, more romantic look than a standard shot-reverse-shot would produce.
Themes and messages
Fate versus effort. Reviewing the series on 7 May 2024 for Relax Lang Mom, critic April Bewell wrote that the drama asks "if sheer determination can rewrite our destinies," and Sumedha's 12 February 2025 review for The Wordy Habitat made the same point from the other side, noting that Sol "tries and tries but she can't change both their fates drastically unless she takes a drastic measure."
Regret and a second chance. Bewell's review described the story as speaking to something universal, since "we've all harbored regrets, wished we could change something in our past," and Sumedha's review credited Sol's time travel with letting her improve several people's lives at once, even as the consequences stayed unpredictable.
The cost of fame. Bewell wrote that the drama "shatters the illusion of K-pop's glittery perfection" by showing the training, pressure and isolation behind Sun-jae's idol career.
Interesting facts
- The crew's favourite scene was not the umbrella. Fans point to the umbrella scene from episode 1, but cinematographers Yoon Dae-young and Shin Ki-chang said in a 30 June 2024 interview that their own picks were the long kiss at the front door of Sol's house and a shot of Kim Hye-yoon asleep at the video store while Byeon Woo-seok watches over her.
- A director's coaching note went public. Director Yoon Jong-ho said in an interview reported on 1 June 2024 that he had repeatedly pushed Kim Hye-yoon to work on her visuals for the role, a remark that drew a mixed reaction online once it circulated.
- Three discs, three jobs. Soundtrack label Stone Music Entertainment split the album released on 28 May 2024 into three parts: one disc for Eclipse's song, one for the drama's other theme songs, and one for its instrumental score.
Episodes
| Ep | Title | Air date | Status | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | After a car accident leaves her paralyzed, Im Sol finds comfort in a phone call from rising singer Ryu Sun-jae, and years later, on the night he is found dead, her watch drops into a river and sends her back to 2008, when he is still a student. | 8 Apr 2024 | Aired | 3.073% |
| 2 | Sol resolves to protect Sun-jae without revealing what is coming, learns that time itself seems to freeze when she tries, and pulls him from a car's path, while a flashback shows he has loved her since she lent him her umbrella in 2007. | 9 Apr 2024 | Aired | 2.710% |
| 3 | Sun-jae tears his shoulder at a swim meet and gives up competitive swimming, Sol keeps her mother from being burned in a fire she remembers from the future, and after a kiss she will not recall, her watch pulls her back to 2023 just as Tae-seong asks her out. | 15 Apr 2024 | Aired | 3.444% |
| 4 | Returned to 2008 ten days after her past self started dating Tae-seong, Sol tries to destroy a manager's business card and leaves Sun-jae self-help books to head off his death, and he saves her again after she falls into a reservoir. | 16 Apr 2024 | Aired | 3.378% |
| 5 | Sun-jae buries a time capsule with Sol and promises to meet her on Hangang Bridge on New Year's Day 2023, fills in as Eclipse's singer at a show his future manager happens to watch, and Sol overhears the old recording of his confession. | 22 Apr 2024 | Aired | 3.435% |
| 6 | Sol breaks up with Tae-seong after learning his real reason for dating her, watches over Sun-jae after he passes out on her grandmother's rice wine, and tells him she cannot accept his feelings just before being kidnapped on her way to see him. | 23 Apr 2024 | Aired | 3.377% |
| 7 | In the reshaped 2023, Sol can walk and works as a film director, Hyun-joo and Geum are married with two children, and after a stalking complaint mistakenly keeps her from Sun-jae's concert, the two finally meet again on Hangang Bridge. | 29 Apr 2024 | Aired | 4.459% |
| 8 | Sun-jae digs up their old time capsule and finds only a watch and a note, he and Sol finally share a kiss at his apartment, and the episode ends with a news report that her former kidnapper has attacked him. | 30 Apr 2024 | Aired | 4.095% |
| 9 | Learning that her kidnapper Kim Young-soo attacked Sun-jae in revenge after his release from prison, Sol takes her grandmother's watch back to March 2009 and reports her old kidnapping to the police, naming Young-soo in an unsolved murder too. | 6 May 2024 | Aired | 4.759% |
| 10 | Sun-jae prepares to leave for rehabilitation training in the United States, In-hyuk asks him to join his band for an audition first, and Tae-seong, now aware of Sol's old kidnapping case, checks on her before Sun-jae's flight. | 7 May 2024 | Aired | 4.752% |
| 11 | Sol and Sun-jae decide to stop hiding their feelings while she is still in the past, their parents learn they are a couple, and Kim Young-soo's arrest finally lets Sol relax as In-hyuk's band plays what is meant to be its last show. | 13 May 2024 | Aired | 4.735% |
| 12 | After Kim Young-soo escapes, Sun-jae stays close to Sol for her safety, the group travels to see In-hyuk at his family home to tell him Eclipse may get a real chance to debut, and Sol realizes the future has shifted again. | 14 May 2024 | Aired | 4.260% |
| 13 | Unable to stop Kim Young-soo from killing Sun-jae, Sol lives on in 2023 without him until a chase to retrieve a resignation letter puts her face to face with a Sun-jae who is now a famous actor with no memory of her, a result of her own choice to erase their first meeting. | 20 May 2024 | Aired | 4.568% |
| 14 | A mix-up of envelopes puts Sol's resignation letter on live television and her screenplay, a fictionalized account of her time-slipping romance with him, into Sun-jae's hands, and though he remembers none of it, he agrees to star in the film. | 21 May 2024 | Aired | 4.827% |
| 15 | Sun-jae looks after Sol when she collapses on a Ferris wheel ride, starts seeing unexplained flashes of memory whenever he is near her, and signs on to her film only to learn she has already quit her job, while Tae-seong tracks down Kim Young-soo. | 27 May 2024 | Aired | 5.297% |
| 16 | Sun-jae's memory of their years together finally comes back, Tae-seong's help clears the way for him and Sol to be a couple at last, and he looks for the right moment to propose while meeting her family at her nephew's first birthday party. | 28 May 2024 | Aired | 5.762% |
Soundtrack
Starting the player loads Spotify, which sets its own cookies.
| Track | Artist |
|---|---|
| Sudden Shower, Part 1 | Eclipse, 8 Apr 2024 |
| Star, Part 2 | N.Flying, 9 Apr 2024 |
| Like a Dream, Part 3 | Minnie ((G)I-dle), 16 Apr 2024 |
| May I Love You?, Part 4 | Umji (Viviz), 23 Apr 2024 |
| A Day, Part 5 | Jongho (Ateez), 30 Apr 2024 |
| I Think I Did, Part 6 | Yoo Hwe-seung (N.Flying), 6 May 2024 |
| Monologue, Part 7 | Jae Yeon, 7 May 2024 |
| Spring Snow, Part 8 | 10cm, 14 May 2024 |
| Gift, Part 9 | Ha Sung-woon, 21 May 2024 |
| Please Don't Leave Anywhere, Part 10 | Doko, 27 May 2024 |
Awards
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | APAN Star Awards | Best Couple | Byeon Woo-seok and Kim Hye-yoon | Won |
| 2024 | APAN Star Awards | Best OST | Eclipse, Sudden Shower | Won |
| 2024 | APAN Star Awards | Popularity Award, Actor | Byeon Woo-seok | Won |
| 2024 | APAN Star Awards | Popularity Award, Actress | Kim Hye-yoon | Won |
| 2024 | Asia Contents Awards and Global OTT Awards | People's Choice Award | Byeon Woo-seok | Won |
| 2024 | Asia Contents Awards and Global OTT Awards | People's Choice Award | Kim Hye-yoon | Won |
| 2024 | MAMA Awards | Favorite Global Trending Music | Byeon Woo-seok | Won |
| 2024 | Melon Music Awards | Best OST | Eclipse, Sudden Shower | Won |
| 2024 | Seoul International Drama Awards | Outstanding Asian Star: Korea Popularity Award (Male) | Byeon Woo-seok | Won |
| 2025 | Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Drama | Lovely Runner | Nominated |
| 2025 | Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actor, Television | Byeon Woo-seok | Nominated |
| 2025 | Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actress, Television | Kim Hye-yoon | Nominated |
| 2025 | Baeksang Arts Awards | Best New Actor, Television | Song Geon-hee | Nominated |
| 2025 | Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Screenplay, Television | Lee Si-eun | Nominated |
Frequently asked questions
What is Lovely Runner about?
Lovely Runner follows Im Sol, a fan who is sent back to 2008 after the death of the star Ryu Sun-jae, and who tries to change the fate of both of them while they are 19-year-old students.
Where to watch Lovely Runner?
Lovely Runner streams on TVING in South Korea, on U-Next in Japan and Vidio in Indonesia, and on Viki and Viu in selected regions. Netflix added it in selected regions from 1 August 2024.
How many episodes does Lovely Runner have?
Lovely Runner has 16 episodes of about 70 minutes each. They aired on tvN on Mondays and Tuesdays from 8 April to 28 May 2024.
Is the Lovely Runner kdrama based on a webtoon?
Lovely Runner started as Tomorrow's Best, a web novel by Kim Bbang on KakaoPage in 2020. It was later made into a webtoon by illustrator Doong Doong, released from September 2021, and the Korean drama builds on that story.
Who sings the Lovely Runner OST?
The Lovely Runner OST opens with Sudden Shower by Eclipse, the fictional band in the drama. Other parts were sung by N.Flying, Minnie of (G)I-dle, Umji, Jongho, Yoo Hwe-seung, 10cm, Ha Sung-woon and Doko, and a three-disc album followed on 28 May 2024.
Who is in the cast of Lovely Runner?
The cast of Lovely Runner is led by Byeon Woo-seok as Ryu Sun-jae and Kim Hye-yoon as Im Sol, with Song Geon-hee as Kim Tae-seong and Lee Seung-hyub as Baek In-hyuk.