Lovely Runner () is a 2024 South Korean television series starring Byeon Woo-seok and Kim Hye-yoon. It is based on a web novel titled Tomorrow's Best, which was also serialized as a webtoon by illustrator Doong Doong. It aired on tvN every Monday and Tuesday at 20:50 (KST) from April 8 to May 28, 2024. It is also available for streaming on TVING in South Korea, U-Next in Japan, Vidio in Indonesia, and Viki and Viu in selected regions.
Synopsis In the world of stardom, Ryu Sun-jae shines as a top-tier celebrity whose life, despite its public facade, is marred by exhaustion. Im Sol, an ardent admirer of Sun-jae, finds solace in his music after an accident in her teenage years derailed her dreams.
When news breaks of Sun-jae's tragic death, Sol is devastated and is transported to fifteen years into the past, in 2008, when they were both 19-year-old high school students. Seeing this as a chance from heaven, Sol vows to change the course of destiny for both of them while challenging their past.
Cast and characters Main Byeon Woo-seok as Ryu Sun-jae A top star who has everything, from good looks to talent and charm. He is a former swimmer turned singer of the band Eclipse and actor. Kim Hye-yoon as Im Sol Letting go of her dreams of becoming a film director after an accident in 2008, she becomes an ardent fan of Sun-jae and Eclipse after finding solace in his words. Song Geon-hee as Kim Tae-seong An ulzzang with a flamboyant look. He was the bassist of the band Eclipse in high school.
Supporting People around Sol Jung Young-joo as Park Bok-soon Sol's resilient single mother. She manages a struggling DVD store while raising her two children and caring for her elderly mother. as Jung Mal-ja Sol's warm-hearted and wise grandmother. Song Ji-ho as Im Geum Sol's older brother. He is an aspiring actor full of passion for acting, but he repeatedly faces rejection in auditions. Seo Hye-won as Lee Hyun-joo Sol's best friend who is bold, sharp, and stubborn.
People around Sun-jae Lee Seung-hyub as Baek In-hyuk A friendly guy who is easy to get along with. He is Sun-jae's best friend, as well as the leader and guitarist of the famous band Eclipse. Kim Won-hae as Ryu Geun-deok Sun-jae's father and the owner of the Galbit House. Ahn Sang-woo as Representative Kim CEO of Sun-jae's agency JNT. Lee Il-jun as Park Dong-suk Sun-jae's manager.
People around Tae-seong Park Yoon-hee as Detective Kim Tae-seong's father who is a veteran detective with 20 years of experience. Kim Hwi-gyu as Cha Yi-seul Tae-seong's friend who has a weathered appearance that belies his pretty name.
JNT people Moon Yong-suk as Hyun-soo The drummer of the band Eclipse. Yang Hyuk as Jay A bassist and the youngest member of the band Eclipse.
Jagam High School students Lee Chul-woo as Kim Hyung-gu A member of the Jagam High School swimming club, and Sun-jae's self-proclaimed rival. Kim Hyun-kyu as Choi Hyun-gu Sun-jae's friend from Jagam High School swimming team. Jung Kang-hee as Coach Ahn The coach of the Jagam High School swimming team. Oh Se-young as Choi Ga-hyun Tae-seong's ex-girlfriend.
Others Heo Hyeong-Gyu as Kim Young-Soo A taxi driver with a grudge against Sol and Sun-jae. as Choi Jeong-hoon An employee of the cinema where Im Sol applies for an interview.
Special appearances Park Tae-hwan as himself A swimmer who plans to showcase his swimming skills alongside Sun-jae. Kwon Yu-ri as herself A member of the girl group Girls' Generation. Han Seung-yeon as Radio DJ as Heavenly Granny Kim Min-gi as Park Do-jun
Episodes
Production Development The series was originally published as a web novel on KakaoPage between July and September 2020, written by Kim Bbang. It was later adapted into a webtoon by illustrator Doong Doong, which became available in September 2021.
It is directed by Yoon Jong-ho, who co-directed other popular works such as Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (2016–2017), My Holo Love (2020), and Flower of Evil (2020). It is also written by Lee Si-eun, who is best known for her work True Beauty (2020–2021).
It was previously titled Time Walking on Memory ().
Writer Lee Si-eun stated that the character Im Sol was specifically created with actress Kim Hye-yoon in mind. It was also revealed that the series took three years to produce and was offered to several other actors before the role ultimately went to Byeon Woo-seok.
Casting On March 28, 2023, reports surfaced stating that Kim Hye-yoon and Byeon Woo-seok were in discussions and actively considering taking the lead roles. Their appearance was subsequently confirmed on July 19 by the production team of tvN. On July 27, Song Geon-hee was also confirmed to co-star alongside Kim and Byeon. On the same day, there were reports highlighting that Lee Seung-hyub was in discussions to appear in the drama, and his agency confirmed his participation on July 31. In the following days, it was reported that Yang Hyuk would be also joining the cast.
Filming Filming began in the second half of 2023.
Original soundtrack
Album The drama's soundtrack is compiled in a three-part album released by label Stone Music Entertainment on May 28, 2024. CD 1 contains Eclipse's song, CD 2 contains the drama's theme songs, and CD 3 contains the drama's musical score.
Singles
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Chart performance
Album + Chart performance for Lovely Runner OST Chart (2024) Peakposition South Korean Albums (Circle) 6
Singles + List of singles, showing year released, with selected chart positions and notes Title Year Peak chart positions Notes KORPeak positions on the Circle Digital Chart: "Sudden Shower", "Spring Snow", "Run Run", "Like a Dream" & "Star": "I Think I Did", "You & I", "I'll Be There", "No Fate", "A Day" & "Gift": KORSongsPeak positions on the South Korea Songs: "Sudden Shower": WWPeak positions on the Billboard Global 200: "Sudden Shower": "Sudden Shower" 2024 4 8 167 Part 1 "Run Run" 38 — — "You & I" 99 — — "No Fate" 115 — — "Star" 85 — — Part 2 "Like a Dream" 65 — — Part 3 "May I Love You?" — — — Part 4 "Super Ultra Man" — — — "I'll Be There" 111 — — "A Day" 133 — — Part 5 "I Think I Did" 35 — — Part 6 "Monologue" — — — Part 7 "Spring Snow" 31 — — Part 8 "Gift" 135 — — Part 9 "Please Don't Leave Anywhere" — — — Part 10 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that region.
Release The series was originally scheduled to be broadcast in the second half of 2023, but was moved to the first half of 2024 due to the changes in tvN's Monday and Tuesday lineup.
During the CJ ENM Meet & Grow conference on January 18, 2024, tvN officially confirmed that Lovely Runner was scheduled for April 2024. The series premiered on April 8, 2024. It was also available for streaming on TVING in South Korea, U-Next in Japan, Vidio in Indonesia, and Viki and Viu in selected regions. On July 15, 2024, it was announced that the series would also be available for streaming on Netflix in selected regions, starting from August 1, 2024.
Reception Critical response Despite its modest viewership ratings, Lovely Runner garnered positive reviews from audiences, contributing significantly to Byeon Woo-seok's rise to stardom and solidifying Kim Hye-yoon's reputation in the industry. Film critic Jung Duk-hyun, one of the prominent judges at the prestigious Baeksang Arts Awards, praised Kim for her exceptional acting prowess in her role as Im Sol.
Singapore's national newspaper The Straits Times gave the series four out of five stars, stating that the love story between the characters portrayed by Byeon and Kim was captivating and the "multi-layered" plot got richer and richer with each episode. Time Magazine praised the drama as one of the best K-dramas released in 2024, commending the series for its use of "familiar genres to craft a thrillingly unexpected, continuously moving story experience".
Viewership
+ Average TV viewership ratings Original broadcast date Average audience share(Nielsen Korea)Nielsen Korea ratings:
Nationwide Seoul 1 April 8, 2024 3.073% 3.176% 2 April 9, 2024 3 April 15, 2024 3.444% 3.678% 4 April 16, 2024 3.378% 4.069% 5 April 22, 2024 3.435% 3.834% 6 April 23, 2024 3.377% 3.946% 7 April 29, 2024 4.459% 5.259% 8 April 30, 2024 4.095% 4.656% 9 May 6, 2024 4.759% 5.638% 10 May 7, 2024 4.752% 5.973% 11 May 13, 2024 4.735% 5.670% 12 May 14, 2024 4.260% 5.002% 13 May 20, 2024 4.568% 5.214% 14 May 21, 2024 4.827% 5.349% 15 May 27, 2024 5.297% 6.197% 16 May 28, 2024 Average In the table above, the represent the lowest ratings and the represent the highest ratings. This drama aired on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC, and EBS).
Accolades Awards and nominations + Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result APAN Star Awards 2024 Best Couple Byeon Woo-seok and Kim Hye-yoon Best OST Eclipse – "Sudden Shower" N.Flying – "Star" Best New Actor Lee Seung-hyub Best Director Yoon Jong-ho Best Writer Lee Si-eun Excellence Actress in a Serial Drama Jung Young-ju Global Star Byeon Woo-seok Popularity Award, Actor Popularity Award, Actress Kim Hye-yoon Top Excellence Actor in a Miniseries Byeon Woo-seok Top Excellence Actress in a Miniseries Kim Hye-yoon Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards 2024 Best Lead Actress Kim Hye-yoon Best Newcomer Actor Byeon Woo-seok Best Original Song Eclipse – Sudden Shower People's Choice Award Kim Hye-yoon Byeon Woo-seok Asian Academy Creative Awards 2024 Best Cinematography (Grand Final) Yoon Dae-young Best Cinematography (Korea) Asian Television Awards 2024 Best Theme Song (Grand Final) Byeon Woo-seok Best Theme Song (Korea) Baeksang Arts Awards 2025 Best Drama Lovely Runner Best Actor – Television Byeon Woo-seok Best Actress – Television Kim Hye-yoon Best New Actor – Television Song Geon-hee Best Screenplay – Television Lee Si-eun Brand of the Year Awards 2024 Actor – Hot Trend Byeon Woo-seok Actress – Hot Trend Kim Hye-yoon Actor – Rising Star Song Geon-hee Actor – Idol Lee Seung-hyub Actress – Scene Stealer Jung Young-ju KAA Awards - Korea Advertisers Association 2024 Program of the Year Lovely Runner Korea Grand Music Awards 2024 Best OST Yoo Hwe-seung (N.Flying) – I Think I Did MAMA Awards 2024 Favorite Global Trending Music Byeon Woo-seok Best OST Eclipse – Sudden Shower Melon Music Awards 2024 Best OST Eclipse – Sudden Shower 10cm – Spring Snow Seoul International Drama Awards 2024 Outstanding Asian Star: Korea Popularity Award (Male) Byeon Woo-seok Outstanding Asian Star: Korea Popularity Award (Female) Kim Hye-yoon
Honors + Name of country or organization, year given, name of honor/award, and nominee of the award Country or organization Year Honor/Award Nominee Newsis K-Expo Cultural Awards 2024 National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee Award Kim Hye-yoon Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards 2024 Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Commendation Yoon Jong-ho
Listicles + Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement Publisher Year Listicle Placement Cine21 2024 Top 10 Series of 2024 NME The 10 best K-dramas of 2024 – so far The 10 best Korean dramas of 2024 South China Morning Post The 15 best K-dramas of 2024 Teen Vogue 13 Best K-Dramas of 2024 Time The 10 Best K-Dramas of 2024
Notes
References
External links
Lovely Runner on KakaoPage