Lovely Runner (2024)

A total fan service!

Before starting the review, I'll share my experience while watching "Lovely Runner." For the first time, I followed a show from Day 1 to the last episode. I used to wait eagerly for each new episode to be released and would watch it immediately—not just to avoid spoilers, but because the show had me giggling, kicking my feet, blushing, and feeling stressed all at the same time ><

Let's start the review now?!

The story of the show “Lovely Runner” is centered on Im Sol, a hardcore fan who is heartbroken by the sudden death of her favorite idol, Sun Jae, as he tragically dies. As she is in the process of accepting his fate of death, Im Sol travels back in time to 2008 when Sun Jae is still a teenager. Not wanting to see her beloved one in his tragic ending, she attempts to alter his destiny.

Ryu Sun Jae?! WHERE do I start from, gosh?! HE is the need of the hour, for saving humanity and preserving human sanity HAHA. Byeon Woo Seok breathed life into Sun Jae like no other actor could. He was made for this role, setting a standard for male leads in the drama world. Sun Jae is such a refreshing character, brimming with expressions, energy, and excitement. From his giggles and blushes to his veins and vulnerability in love, I was in love with him 🤣And HE graduated from the University of Loserism with flying marks(⁠◠⁠‿⁠◕⁠)

Im Sol, the most adorable munchkin FL. Hye Yoon has captured my heart with her talent for portraying angst. Honestly, I did enjoyed her character. It made sense for her to hesitate, worry, and push away the ML to *some extent*. However, her decision-making lacked rationality. It's understandable that she often acted impulsively due to her circumstances, but when you are stuck in a never-ending cycle, it's important to take a step back and think logically, that's how I felt about it.

The chemistry between our leads was adorable, full of giggles and blushes, which might make you cringe (no, it is not! I'm just jealous because I haven't experienced this kind of love yet TT). They were a swoon-worthy couple that makes you want to experience a Wattpad romance irl, filled with countless little gestures, that gets you screaming externally/internally(⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)

Tae Seong is now added to list of my favorite second male leads. He's non-problematic and full of fun. There was never a dull scene with him. I enjoyed his dynamic with Sol a lot. I wished they had given us more of his bromance with Sun Jae. I appreciate that the writer's made Tae Seong likable yet he never over powered the ML, and thus no SLS in this one.

Im Sol's Brother and her friend's story was veryyy random and off for most of the time, like it was too RANDOM to have a opinion about it. I felt like I'm watching a different show altogether, I skipped their scenes at times ngl. NO BRAINER in simple words.

Supporting characters were very nice as well, like no unreasonably bitch behaviour by either parents of the leads. I love how loving and supportive they were towards their kids and bickering is fine with me♡

OST's that you definitely need to check out!
• Sudden Shower by ECLIPSE
• Like a dream by MINNIE
• Spring Snow by 10 cm
All these OST's were so soothing to hear, I listen to them ON LOOP, no joke!

So where it went wrong for me:
•The time travel elements were frustrating to watch at times, with decisions feeling impromptu and unplanned.
•Use of misunderstanding as plot developments
•The female lead constantly pushing the male lead away, repeatedly, was tiring to watch after a point.
•The murder mystery plot was initially engaging but became frustrating due to its lack of motivation and random developments.
•The repetitive flashbacks, showing the same scenes over and over, were also annoying.
•Tae Seong not getting enough screen timeರ⁠_⁠ರ

This was a plot-driven drama that started off fast-paced with many rapid development happening in the initial episodes. However, by episodes 10-11, it slowed down. Comedic elements took over, and some scenes felt like fillers to many of the viewers. I didn't mind personally because the comedic timing in this drama was extremely on point but there were many flashbacks and repetitive scenes, so I ended up skipping scenes here and there.

Overall, Lovely Runner is a fluffy watch (can't say that, mystery plot can be frustrating and too stressful at times). But it offers plenty of giggles and a refreshing take on the romance genre. With great comedic timing and some interesting plot developments, bits of dumb writing but remains an entertaining watch rather than a flawless one.

If you're looking for a solid, no-loopholes story, intellectual time travel drama, this isn't it. The time travel aspect is far from perfect. But if you watch it as a romantic comedy, you'll be entertained.

Thank you for reading my review ^^
END

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Made me want Mondays to come fast ❀

The last time I followed an airing kdrama where I’m up-to-date with the weekly releases (never missed and finished everything) was Twenty Five, Twenty One (2022) prior that is The Red Sleeve (2021-2022). After that I delve more into cdramas. Lovely Runner properly brought me back. Every week we get butterflies, fun stuff, and theories! Monday episodes for fluff. Tuesday episodes for angst and effective cliff hanger!

Chemistry and comedic timing are very vital to RomCom leads and fortunately, Hyeyoon and Wooseok have them! The director worked on Flower of Evil which is one of my favorites and another timeslip drama beforehand, and his expertise shows in this work as well. (But I have to mention the recent comments he made left a bad taste in my mouth)

The writer did an excellent job of keeping us on our toes. I was worried it will crash and burn after the strong second episode. I was hopeful but also wary. But she managed to keep it enjoyable until the end.

I also want to commend the details! From pop culture jokes of that time to props and set design, they are on point!

It felt like everyone involved in making this wants to create something real good and it unexpectedly became a hit!

I recommended this to my friends without second thoughts because I know they’ll have a good time. So if that’s what you want, you can hop in the Lovely Runner craze too!

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An Intriguing Plot Line and Acting

At first the drama started really smoothly and each episode unfolds everything so well. First of all the story line and the plot twists is so good that you never get bored. I'm watching it from the very first episode of its airing and I'm currently watching while its still being aired. It pains me to wait every week to see the next episodes of the drama but I love this drama like no other so I can wait. The 'Lovely Runner' has become my most favourite drama so far replacing 'Goblin'.

Next let's talk about the theme of love in this drama. It's a modern drama with a 'Classic Love'. We have seen in the classic love stories by Shakespeare 'Romeo and Juliet' where they love each other so much so that one's life is empty or incomplete without the other just like how Im Sol's life is without Ryu Sun Jae and Sun Jae without Sol. I will include this drama 'Lovely Runner' among the classic love stories. Also how they are able to sacrifice themselves for the person they love. Sun Jae saves Sol and Sol travels back in time to save Sun Jae. Sun Jae doesn't care if he loses his life to save Sol and Sol doesn't want a life without Sun Jae so she doesn't care if she loses his affection for her. This kind of love is the most Selfless and Pure love like that of classic love stories. This is what attracts the viewers most.

Then the most talked about thing in this drama is the acting of the main leads. The role Im Sol played by Kim Hye Yoon and Ryu Sun Jae acted by Byeon Woo Soek portrays all the emotions of the characters so well that it is praiseworthy. I have seen the drama ' Extraordinary You' it is also a really good drama worth watching. In 'Lovely Runner' I like the chemistry of the main leads (Kim Hye Yoon and Byeon Woo Soek) on and off screen. Their height difference is soooo cute and good together. I would really love to watch more of their drama together. One more thing I would like to mention is the pain of the female lead character, each and every painful side of the story of her is very well acted by Kim Hye Yoon's crying scenes which hits the sad side of the story perfectly.

After that let's discuss about the supernaturality in the drama. The 'willing suspension of disbelief' is well maintained. The theme of time travel and where ever Sol tries to talk about future the time stops. The medium through which she time travels is also make good reasoning in the frame of the supernaturality. The time Sol travel back to past and in the present is interesting , sometimes its funny and sometimes its sad. The supernaturality is well represented.

Next is the symbolism. The childish and full of bright personality Sol's colour is yellow which carries the meaning of happiness and enthusiasm with it , also yellow colour depicts the cheerful and energetic nature of Im Sol. Holding the yellow umbrella Im Sol comes running towards Ryu Sun Jae and at that time he falls for her. He says that he used to hate rain but he doesn't anymore because with rain the image of Sol holding a yellow umbrella will come to his mind whenever he sees rain again. His clouded life which is full of problems will still be full of happiness if Sol is in his life. And Ryu Sun Jae is represented by blue. Blue is a colour which symbolises stability, serenity, intelligence and loyalty. We can understand how much clam is Ryu Sun Jae but his life becomes chaotic and full of fun aspects with Sol in it. Then again it is admiring how much loyal Sun Jae is to Sol that he can not even watch Sol's mother scolding her and he is willing to to go any length for her just as Sol is willing to do anything for him. Moreover yellow gives a warm feeling and blue gives a cold vibe which is like Summer and Winter, contradictory but inseparable and irreplaceable to each other. When Sol was in wheel chair Sun Jae's umbrella is of black colour which tells us that his blue has turned to black with grieving and regretting that he could not protect Sol from that accident. And in later episode we see Sol's scarf is more of a white or cream colour now than the first episode where it was yellow conveying that her life has turned to something colourless white with her loss of hope and happiness of a life where there is no Sun Jae with her.


The concept of life and fate and its chances to change. There are things that you can not change even when you travel back in time and things that you can change it depends on the choices one makes. And if you change you have to pay a price just like Sol pays the price which is her and Sun Jae's love and affection to save Sun Jae. Whether it's a happy ending or a sad ending it's yet to reveal. But now it's a happy ending for Sol as she was able to save Sun Jae and it's a sad ending for Sun Jae as he lost the love of his life.


The villain is also a classic one because he seems scary and gives a strong impression. The actor portrays the character very well which that of a bad psycho personality.

This drama is a slice of life with School Drama, Campus Drama and obviously More than that. Beautiful cinematography and the ost Sudden Shower, Spring Snow, Run Run and Like A Dream and many others suits the drama very much. I like all of the drama but some of the scenes that I would like to specially mention is the scene where Sol comes running towards Sun Jae and the accident scene and the college trip and where they both enjoy cherry blossoms and make wish further more the sea beach scenes and amusement park all of them.

The cast and the crew did a very good job making 'Lovely Runner'. The directors and other crew members did a commendable job.
I would recommend this drama. It's totally worth the watch. 'Lovely Runner' "hwaiting".

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This is exactly the rom-com we needed

I have been anticipating this drama since they announced it. I honestly, watched the first episode after it's released without thinking about the consequence and pain having to wait for a new episode each week but we're here! Lol Never ever crossed my mind that they would give us THIS much chemistry and let alone be obsessed with SolJae couple. Seriously, this pairing is so GOOD and so cute.

Kim Hye Yoon deserves to be casted as she truly portrayed Im Sol. She shined so much here. Her versatility and her showing so many emotions all at once is remarkable.

Byeon Woo Seok, delivers Ryu Sun Jae's character as well. His dynamics and expressions are on point. I'm literally in awe of how talented he is?! Like, his vocals??? He could do KPOP/Band vocalist full time! So happy for him he's getting the popularity he deserves now. (Don't sleep on him! He might be the next rom-com king!)

This is exactly the rom-com I needed. I honestly love this so much as I have been looking for dramas that are light and not stressful. This is what I'm hoping for! All tropes that I like are visible here. I just hope they won't focus on the thriller/murder part because that's seriously a turn off. Lol

It's still early to say as we gradually go on with the episodes but 9.1 rating is so deserving!!!!

🧏🏼‍♀️Dimple couple🧏🏻‍♂️~~~!!! Fighting!!!!

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Amazing Youthful Entertainer - Clean Hit of 2024

I'm a big fan of time travel dramas; I watch time travel dramas most of the time." But after watching Some Day Or One Day," the time-travel rom-com caught me on the spot to explore these dramas. But I don't get enough dramas to freeze in those cute rom-coms, except for last year's "Twinkling Watermelon.". So I waited for this drama to breakout from the time-travel slump, as well as for the cast of Kim Hye Yoo, Byeon Woo Seok, and the trend of webtoon adaptations.


I watched all the episodes at once (I did not watch them when they were airing because I had exams), so I think I'm late to the party. The start is as good as I expected. The time travel aspect watch is another new element joined in the time travel mission. The synopsis tells the entire plot of the drama, so now it's up to the makers how they will keep the audience engaged with the plot, but it makes the drama watchable, like, Let's see how she will save him. Every episode is purely made as a youthful entertainer, especially the chemistry of the main leads, Kim Hye Yoon and Byeon Woo Seok, which makes the drama even more beautiful. The scene settings are impressive, and the use of the element "If the time traveler talks about the future or about the time travel, then the time will stop and no one in the past could hear anything from the time traveler '' made the plot engaging, but it will disappear suddenly from the drama. No love triangle; it has one but is not a complete one. The construction of a drama without a love triangle in a teenage love story is really something that we could appreciate from the from the director and writer because they focused on one story progression rather than love triangle points. With that unnecessary love triangle, sometimes the story progression is ruined. Emotional character development is pretty good. Kim Hye Yoon from funny lovable to emotional caring. Byeon Woo Seok a student with dreams to protective lovable. Song Geon Hee is a free-bird student and an understanding friend. The comedy plot is really a good entertainment aspect, and the execution of the comedy is also reasonable according to the story; there are no unnecessary side tracks, especially the comedy scenes of Kim Won Hae, Jung Young Joo, Seo Hye Won, and Song Ji, which will make the drama more enjoyable.

My only disappointment :-

This is not a thriller—time-travel—but they attempted a plot twist in the thriller zone by using a mysterious man (a killer), but the execution of that point is weak for me. If they try to give it some valuable scope and make it interesting, then the output is even better than this. Put the villain character only in boundary to show his face and drive a van or car. The director and writer got the friendship element to create a friendly environment around the male lead, but the protection point of the main lead was overshadowed. I agree; drama had the friendship moments between the main lead and his friends, but that's not enough for me. Even though it was a short time, it was good (male-led friendship).


ACTORS :-

One of the biggest elements of this drama's success is the chemistry between the main leads and the short girl tall guy troop. It was a classic troop in Kdrama Land, and we are missing it. So in the correct time this drama dropped their weapon, short girl tall guy love, it quickly gained the attention of every kdrama lover (also plot). Their acting is simply charismatic. Kim Hye Yoon I've been watching her dramas since "Extraordinary You," and she explored different genres, from dark to lovable, in every character she did an extraordinary performance. And in this drama, she really made me cry and laugh again, but this time more. She gave life to the Im Sol character; her superb emotional acting and ability to make you cry in funny scenes also contributed to her character development. The first half is totally funny, and the second totally emotional—multit character portrayal in a single-layer character—which is what made her one of the best actors in the upcoming generation.
Byeon Woo Seok, although this is my first main work of him, did great as Ryu Seon Jae. He caught me on the spot with his acting and I am now going to check out all his works (movies and dramas). And the supporting characters of Seo Hye Won, veteran actor Kim Won Hae, Jung Young Joo, Song Ji Ho, and Song Geon Hee gave complete decent acting performances in their respective character roles. They will make us laugh. Feel pain and emotion. What I found interesting is that, except for veteran actors Kim Won Hee, Jung Young Joo, and Seo Hye Won, no other supporting actors had a known face. Yet, this drama was a big success with them.

Writing - Direction - Screenplay - Sound Track Departments :-

Since it's an adaptation, the writer Lee Shi Eun's splendid script works very well. Attractive dialogues, lovely lines between the main leads, and hilarious conversations between supporting characters shine in every scene. Director Yoon Jung Ho, this is what made me excited because his previous masterpiece "Flower of Evil" is one of my favorite dramas, so I'm really excited to watch his other work, which is a Rom-com. He did pretty well his job as director. Every scene is stunningly beautiful, and no wonder I got thriller vibes with the killer plot in this drama. The scene settings are absolutely amazing, and his bold move for casting with limited big supporting actors and Byeon Woo Seok, Kim Hye Yoon is really appreciated. The screenplay in this typical drama is a really important aspect, to give the detailed drama structure from going in time backwards and forwards. There is not a lot of scope for the screenplay in this drama, but it is pretty good when it comes. One of the strongest pieces is the melodramatic sound track; it was amazing and fresh from the start to the end.

I would like to recommend this drama to every kdrama fan.

Note :- I’d like to notify that the following thoughts and words in my review are purely my own and not intended as criticism of any actor or drama.

Thank you - @Shinnosuke_Lee

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Casting is everything!

I'm a sucker for rom-com stuff, so, of course, I enjoyed this one. But I do have to admit that the best thing about this kdrama is the casting choices. I can just imagine that I wouldn't be as invested in this kdrama had they chosen other actors. Kudos to the actors because they did such an amazing job.
There were definitely lapses when it came to the plot. The taxi driver killer was so one-dimensional, in my opinion. We didn't have that much information on him aside from being a serial killer; he barely even talked. He was basically just there as an obstacle for the leads, nothing else. Speaking of the leads, I wish they gave them more substance, you know? I like them together, and I'm glad that BWS and KHY's chemistry had me wanting more, but their lives basically revolved around one another. Almost all of Sol's and Sun-jae's choices had something to do with each other.
Despite all that, I still quite enjoyed the drama. I don't consider this the best kdrama by any means, but it's somewhat of a feel-good and filler kdrama with a side of serial killer for me, and I enjoyed that.

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This drama will bring you joy and smiles from beginning to end. It's the kind of love story where fate will intervene no matter the time. A lesson in living in the moment while also fighting against fate. I truly enjoyed watching this and the beginning of my week is going to miss the giddiness this show brought me.

The story is pretty lackluster and not something overly new or exciting. Im Sol wakes up to find her entire life changed as an accident had caused her to lose the use of her legs. In her most desperate moment Ryu Sun Jae gave her the spark she needed to keep living. This spark carried her through her days and years as she fan girled for the one that saved her. But when Sun Jae unexpectedly dies her despair and a magic watch take her back in time where she can rewrite his history and save him. In the process of trying to save him she realizes things she did not know before and it takes her several attempts to try and change the fate they seem to be entangled in.

What this drama did best was the chemistry of the cast. I will never not fall in love with Ryu Sun Jae and Kim Tea Sung. Im Sol's interactions with both male leads are so much fun to watch and this cuteness is what attracted me each week wanting to watch them again and again. While the plot had its holes; such as no explanation for the stalkers obsession and no established rules for the time travel; this drama was a solid 9.5 rating for me until the last 4 episodes. In the final stretch this drama does lose its charm but still provides the happy ending fans were wanting.

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A masterpiece.

WHAT. A. DRAMA.

This is gonna stay in my memories for so long, I have grown emotionally attached to the characters, the playfulness of some scenes, there was never a dull moment... It will be difficult to move on from this drama.

Watching it was like a rollercoaster ride.
Some scenes were simply hilarious, I genuinely laughed so much, while some scenes were heartbreaking, I couldn't stop myself from crying and resonate with Sol and Sun Jae. 🩵💛

The plot was written by one of the best scriptwriters of South Korea, Lee Si Eun.
She depicted the whole time slip story so well, logically and without loopholes.

Do we wanna talk about the cast?
Byun Woo Seok, you are a gem, now the whole world will understand how amazing you are.
Kim Hye Yoon, you are so talented, I could feel your emotions through my screen every time.
Seon Geon Hee, another little gem, can't wait to see you rise more and more.
And the supporting cast? Everybody did so well, uri halmoni, Sol's eomma and Sun Jae's appa, Baek In Hyuk... I need a friend like you in my life.

I need some time to process the fact that I won't have any more Sol and Sun Jae in my Mondays and Tuesdays.
How to move on?!

Anyway, guys start this drama if you still haven't, you won't regret it. 🥰

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