Breaking the prejudice that it would be a predictable love story between an idol and a fan, ‘Lovely Runner,’ with the addition of time-slip elements, has successfully captivated female viewers’ hearts.
The term “Sun-chin-ja”, meaning obsessed with ‘Carry Sun Jae and Run’ (‘Lovely Runner’ title in Korean), became a new buzzword in Korea. There have also been viral talks like “To engage in conversations with women, you have to watch ‘Lovely Runner’.”
Despite its limited material, ‘Lovely Runner’ may not encompass all age groups like ‘Queen of Tears’, but it’s generating a fandom and producing viewers who engage deeply with the drama.
‘Lovely Runner’ revolves around the romance between top idol Ryu Sun Jae (Byeon Woo Seok), who tragically passed away, and Im Sol (Kim Hye Yoon), who travels back in time to save him.
With a total of 16 episodes, ‘Lovely Runner’ has aired up to episode 10. Although the viewer ratings range from 3% to 4%, the drama remains highly buzzworthy.
According to Good Data Corporation, ‘Lovely Runner’ topped the TV·OTT drama popularity chart for the first week of May. The lead actors, Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon, also ranked first and second in actor popularity. Episode 10 recorded a nationwide viewer rating of 2.9%, ranking No.1 in the simultaneous time slot across all channels, including public ones.
Initially, ‘Lovely Runner’ was not a highly anticipated drama. tvN’s previously aired dramas with similar themes didn’t achieve much success. Series like ‘Flower Band’ (2012), ‘Shooting Stars’ (2024), ‘The Heavenly Idol’, and ‘Twinkling Watermelon’ (2024) merely formed niche audiences. After the ‘Reply 1997’ (2012) craze, dramas depicting 1990s idol fandom mostly received mediocre reviews.
Writer Lee Si Eun employed the techniques she developed during the creation of ‘True Beauty’ (2020-2024). Unlike the original web novel ‘The Best of Tomorrow’, she took the story back to 2008 and incorporated nostalgic elements like Cyworld, Canmore, MP3 players, evoking nostalgia among women in their 30s and 40s.
Parodying dialogues and scenes from novels like ‘Temptation of Wolves’ (2002) and ‘Outsider’ (2005), along with adding background music like Younha’s ‘Umbrella’ and Kim Hyung Jung’s ‘I Think I Did’, enhanced viewers’ immersion.
While there’s a strong perception that it’s difficult for a drama to surpass the original webtoon, ‘Lovely Runner’ successfully harmonized script, direction, and acting.
The chemistry between the lead actors also played a significant role. With a height difference of 29cm, scenes where Byeon Woo Seok (189 cm) and Kim Hye Yoon (160 cm), stood together were enough to evoke excitement.
Byeon Woo Seok debuted as a model in 2014 and is now reaching his prime after ten years. If Suzy became synonymous with men’s first love through the movie ‘Architecture 101’ (2012), Byeon Woo Seok has now become the icon of women’s first love through ‘Lovely Runner’. Kim Hye Yoon’s solid acting also made Byeon Woo Seok shine even more.
‘Lovely Runner’ doesn’t feature an A-list actor or well-known writers or directors. ‘Lovely Runner’ isn’t released on global OTT platforms like Netflix, and can only be watched on Asian content platforms like Rakuten Viki, U-NEXT in Japan, and iQIYI in Taiwan.
Although Kim Hye Yoon had a certain level of recognition through ‘Extraordinary You’ (2019), just before the premiere of ‘Lovely Runner’, there were discussions among overseas stakeholders about “Who is Byeon Woo Seok?” It’s rumored that the production team focused more on finding actors suitable for their roles rather than casting top stars.
The ‘Sun Jae craze’ is spreading beyond Korea to the entire Asia. ‘Lovely Runner’ topped the Viu weekly chart in Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia for the first week of May (April 29th to May 5th). It ranked second in Hong Kong and the Philippines and third in Thailand. The song ‘Sudden Shower’ by the band Eclipse, which Byeon Woo Seok is part of in the drama, climbed the Melon chart, and there are even requests for Eclipse’s fan meetings.
Byeon Woo Seok is scheduled to start his first Asian fan meeting tour from Taipei, Taiwan, next month, followed by Bangkok, Seoul, and Hong Kong. Recently, Kim Hye Yoon’s fans protested to her agency, stating that her activities were relatively low compared to Byeon Woo Seok’s.
Fans are taking the initiative to promote the drama themselves, saying “Make sure no one misses ‘Lovely Runner’” and expressing confusion about why the ratings aren’t higher.
CJ ENM also welcomes the success beyond expectations. ‘Lovely Runner’ is the first drama presented by Kim Ho Jun CP, who is from MBC and moved to Studio S.
Kim CP said, “‘Lovely Runner’ is receiving so much love to the extent that it’s difficult to handle. There are hardly any anti-fans, and it’s receiving praise from many people, which is encouraging. From the marketing team to internal staff, everyone has become a fan and is caught up in the ‘Sun Jae craze’.”