Lovely Runner (2024)

Though I did not like how the story leads to, it was overall lovely and funny!

Lovely Runner delivers a true rom-com moments and up-beat-ness which I enjoyed for the most part. The characters are likeable, very bubbly with laugh-out-loud jokes a lot of times, especially the ones involving the friends and families. It was interesting and great to see the story through different timelines without it being confusing – which is essential for a time travel drama. I loved that the couple is cute and trusting of each other. Their romantic scenes were wonderful and were shot beautifully.

Well, at some point I started losing interest. I was expecting they eventually would address Sun-Jae & Im Sol's insecurities that we saw in the beginning, but they focus on the murderer involvement. This part of the story was so uninteresting. Every time the episode is about to end, this mysterious guy appear and whatever he does gives no tension. The accident and incidents happening were repetitive so they did not make me care or anxious anymore. Overall, still a fun watch, though, it gave me motivation to look forward to Mondays!

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My Favorite Love Story in 2024

Have you watched a time travel romance that is exceedingly amusing but also exhausting!

Adapted from the web novel “The Best of Tomorrow” (내일의 으뜸) by Kim Bbang (김빵), “Lovely Runner” was supposedly a fantasy comedy portraying the repeated attempts of a fan who travels back in time to save her favorite idol. Starring the fresh pairing of Byeon Woo Seok & Kim Hye Yoon, the show has become a global success, skyrocketing the actor’s popularity to new levels. Although it was tiring watching Im Sol (Kim Hye Yoon) frolicking back & forth to protect Ryu Seon Jae (Byeon Woo Seok), her strong sense of belief that she could save her loved one was truly inspirational. I have never seen a more committed character, even though her journey starts as a fan, it’s not long before they fall in love. The best part of this show was watching their teenage romance; the fact that Seon Jae fell first for Im Sol was shocking & surprising. And he remained true to his heart in every timeline; waiting or searching for her; shows how much they cherished & loved each other. “Lovely Runner” is an ardent love story, unlike any you have seen in recent times.

Read the complete article here-

https://kcdramamusings.wordpress.com/2024/05/29/lovely-runner-series-review/

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They are so adorable but what the fuck is going on with that killer!

Lets talk about the positive cause the ROMANCE is ROMANCING! I love the couple so much and everything about them! I was blushing and kicking my feet every scene the ml and fl showed up!!! The back in time thing was so interesting as well, filled with comedy and romance was so fun to watch!

HOWEVER what the fuck was going on with the mystery side cause it would have been interesting if we actually found out the motive behind the killer/kidnapper! Cause we know nothing about him apart from the fact that he is a killer on the lose... It really ruined the show cause the whole purpose of the show was to catch the killer and live happily ever after but we got nothing out of him apart from plot. It felt really dry and annoying and the ending irritated me and lowkey ruined the whole show for me...

BUT the ml and fl are so adorable and definitely raised my standards!

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Overall a good drama, I can’t watch it again tho my patience could never.

I want to love this so bad. Spoilers ahead. I was waiting for a different result with the many chances the main character was given to change things. However, with the exception of the first back in time, it was a repeat of almost the same thing every time after. It’s not that I didn’t like it, but it was hard watching Im Sol keep making the same mistakes trying to push Sun Jae away just to get the same result . It got tiring after the second time, buy the third time it was just annoying that she could treat him so bad. Sun Jae kept choosing her and again and again. Im Sol kept breaking his heart, acting as though she didn’t care. I was hoping at some point she would just say something! I was screaming at the tv if she would just communicate what she was doing or trying to do especially the last time around. I understand that she was trying to protect him, but she left him in the dark which could’ve saved them both some heartache. She missed the fate part of it & he would keep choosing her. I’d hoped for more romance between the two verses the bits and pieces throughout the episodes only when she let down her guard. Overall it was a good watch, I rooted for them and it paid off with happy ending. The two had great chemistry, there was plenty of humor, but I probably would not watch again, the storyline was frustrating until the last episode when it all worked out.

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I just can’t anymore with same old cliches

I watched lovely runner based on the ongoing hype around it and it wasn’t impressive. As much as i wanted to like this drama but more episodes i watched more i couldn’t take it anymore.
What put me off most was super annoying FL ,who is overly obsessed with ML and her actions had no justification. We get it, she wanted to prevent his death but she was acting too entitled like getting into his room without permission, hiding under his bed and showing up at his gym at night !! Like how was she trying to protect him by doing all this didn’t make sense. If she was providing him emotional support or having conversation with him it would’ve made much more sense. She completely forgot she was in a wheelchair or didn’t cared enough. Because she didn’t give much thought as to how she can prevent that from happening. She was more focused on saving ML and he wasn’t her lover at this point!!

And the same old cliches like ML being her saviour and all. I really want to watch a new, fresh story and this drama IS NOT IT. I don’t understand how people gave it a 10 rating.

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Romance is great, story is lacking

I think romance-wise these 2 actors may have some of the best chemistry I've seen in a minute! They carried as much as they could, but the story was a little all over the place plot wise, and im sol's whole shtick of hating on herself gets super old halfway thru. I also agree with some others that the drama didn't need to be as long as it was, and felt dragged out for an unmemorable climax. All in all though, i would still rate it fairly well since it gave me what i wanted out of it, which was an adorable romance, not a well-thought-out plot (though it was an intriguing and semi-original plot device/concept).

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Overall good but it has its shortcomings

I will say that I enjoyed this drama. I thought the cast was great and so was the chemistry. FL and ML had great chemistry, along with the FL family and ML friends and dad.

It has many funny moments too and I also liked the crime drama aspect of it. Even all the cringy moments, the puppy love stuff was good. The music was great too.

What I didn't like and what I think many people got tired of was the constant pushing the ML away. It got repetitive and tiresome and eventually made the drama seem like it dragged on too long . The last 4 episodes were of here pushing him away, trying for him not to remember, etc. I understand that she was trying to keep him safe but the way the went on about it was too much and I was already ready for it stop.

Again, I liked it and would recommend it to people. However, I will say that there could be stuff that they might not like but then again, since this drama is well loved, they might love it 100%.

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The defniton of mood swings

I started watching this on Sunday and I was hesitant to watch it due to the drama around but hey yoon is my favourite actress so why not, i really enjoyed it and that's the suppressing considering i don't really like unexpected twists in dramas it was very emotional ( i didn't cry though ) i enjoyed this drama however there are a few things that could've been different.
1. The chemistry I didn't think their chemistry was bad or awkward it just didn't feel natural, especially in the last few episodes

2. i felt like they could've gone in more depth like what does the grandma know? Why does she change time or world or whatever? which world or time is the real one? It feels like it needed more than 16 episodes and there were A LOT of things that were left unexplained

3. i understand why the fl was frustrated but why did she have to lie and pretend like she didn't like him or shout at him because he got her a gift... like girl be happy after changing time and dimensions about 100000 times you would think would realise there's no reason for her to lie or pretend to be okay.. or act like she hates him right? but no

but yeh watch it i haven't watched a drama without dropping it for months so it must've been good

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When the Idol is a fan of his fan (So many adorable scenes): This is Peak Rom-Com!

It is finally here! I love both the leads so it is damn good to watch this.

That phone call made me cry. Wow, what a powerful 1st episode. I especially like the meet cute part of the relationship, how the people first connected. With these two, the first connection was over phone call and it was anything but cute. It was a wake up call for our FL and uplifting one at that. The ML came across as such a caring person, saying something so beautiful to a stranger, and he didn't say it because he was on the radio but those were heartfelt words. The rom-com gods must love me right now, coz we did get a very lovely meet cute of them meeting in person. Aww.

During his live concert, he looked so damn good in the white shirt, black pants and the almost red lips, in the middle of the podium, playing his piano reminded me of Taylor swift.

Loved the first episode, I was always checking how much of it was left and wishing that there was more of it. If only they made 2 hours long episodes. It was so damn lovely! I loved it so much, that I'm gonna go watch it again

2nd Ep: I was bit worried that the 2nd episode might not follow through on the promise delivered by the 1st one, but it was in vain. These two are so adorable. I love the kind of comedy that Kim Hye Sun brings to this, love her in the "Extraordinary You" and I'm kinda sad that she doesn't do such roles more often. The last few minutes of the episodes were eye-opening. Here we thought that this was one sided fan crush, but he knew & liked her before she even knew that he existed. I also like our SML, he has personality. I do wonder what their photo appearing at the end means. The scene is still the same except for that photo, does it mean that he still dies or that more changes need to happen in the past for the result to change.

3rd Ep: It started with a round of flying kisses. Oh god, that was so damn hilarious and something a teenage boy would definitely do. Can we name this episode, "When the idol is also a fan of his fan." Such adorable moments. Like his friend said, it was all about the timing and every time he tried to tell her about his feelings, something happened. I love how the episode ended, I thought the majority of it would be in the past, this back to the present is great. Now, the picture on the table makes sense, but is that picture going to get our Im Sol in trouble? Will she be a suspect? That's kinda farfetched but you never know. Gotta wait another day to figure out what happens.

4th Ep: What kind of weird memory loss does Im Sol have? Even if she had forgotten the things she did when her older self took over her body what about Sun Jae's presence during the times she was just herself? How did she completely erase everything about him from her life? Maybe, its the accident that led to it. This episode felt so damn short. Now, it is looking like he somehow contributed to the accident that led to her becoming a paraplegic. They are giving us the hints. It could be that he like many leads just carries guilt even though he isn't directly responsible for it. With the lack of information we have on Tae Sung, we have to wonder what role he played in all of it.

5th Ep: It was another episode with cute moments with our lovely leads. I felt like they aren't trying to create a SML syndrome here. Since, the SML doesn't have much of screentime with the FL, not like True Beauty. Sun Jae-ya is so damn adorable, more so than Im Sol. The ending was perfect, but from the preview of the next episode, it seems like a sad one. With Im Sol probably rejecting Sun Jae.

6th Ep: While the episode was good, and Sol's misunderstanding about Sun Jae's feelings was a bit frustrating but the preview for next weeks episode is wow! It looks so good, thankfully its going in the direction, I didn't expect. I tried reading the translated webnovel but its just so poorly translated and missing pieces, it was hard to read it. But from what I have read so far, the drama is better written.

7th Ep: I want to thank the creators for giving us such exciting rom-com after a while. It just make me look forward to every episode and enjoy each & every moment of it. Im Sol is just amazing. And it is glad to the the future Sun Jae retain his corny ways in the changed future. Can't wait for the next episode!

8th Ep: We thought they were gonna give us another lovey dovey episode. We got that, but along with that we also saw that Im Sol couldn't prevent what happened to Sun Jae. The ending was so heartbreaking. Ever since the last episode, it was understandable that the guy who kidnapped her might have had a hand in harming Sun Jae. There's still more than half of the series left, what more do they have in store for us? Im Sol going back in time again? I'm for it. Or Sun Jae having amnesia after he wakes up? Not really a fan of that arc. Hopefully he doesn't die this time. I'm a bit worried about the ending now. I assumed that this one will have an happy ending, but with the ways things are going, it might have an ending where Im Sol will be learning a lesson that she can't really change some things no matter how many times she goes back in time. (Here's to hoping that Sun Jae stops dying)

9th Ep: Why was this one so short? Finally got to see Tae Sung again. I like him as a character, from the preview it seems like we'll be seeing more of him at least in the next episode. The preview has me so anxious. Love the soft curls Im Sol was rocking. They really pulled the Spiderman kiss for the Geum & Hyun Joo and it looked good. I'm always glad to see In Hyuk, who tries to pull Sun Jae back from his insanity. Although Sun Jae's a bit delulu, his delusion is fed by Im Sol's mixed signals. Poor guy, gets his head messed up with.

10th Ep: Love that everything is out in the open now, a big thanks to Tae Sung who helped Sun Jae realize what Im Sol wasn't willing to tell him. But the current story makes me think they are going to pull an amnesia arc in the future, where Im Sol forgets about Sun Jae and her time travel, with Sun Jae having to woo her again. Hope that isn't the case, cause poor Sun Jae needs to get his happy ending. I wonder what's with the ending, does that mean Sun Jae won't be an Idol in the future? Im sol might end up traveling back again.

11th Ep: Now we know why Sun Jae is such a goner about Im Sol. He poured all his passion into it, like he once did with swimming. He is such a silly goose in love that Im Sol silliness feels toned down. Loved the scene where their families find out. Poor guy has no idea where those packets came from. Oh God, that was so fun to watch. His phone conversation with his friend: "Con? What Con? Unicorn?" Overall, a beautiful episode. If it keeps up with the performance, this drama has such a high rewatch value. Every moment is precious.

12th Ep: After a good run, this was just an okay episode. With only 4 episode left, things are coming to head now. Sol needs to start making better decision. Trying to do it all on her own is going to get her or Sun Jae killed. I'm also worried that Tae Sung might die.

13th Ep: So Tae Sung is finally a police office, we finally got a confirmation that he is one. Missed Sun Jae in this episode. We got to see less of him compared to Im Sol. You gotta love Im Sol, always going out of her way for Sun Jae. At first, it was because she was grateful and now because she has genuinely come to care for him. So Sun jae never met her, he never wrote the song about her, and never became a singer. But the kidnapper just won't quit, he's here again. We only have 3 episodes left.

14th Ep: That was such a nice episode. What I like about this drama is that they have so many new beginnings. It is good to see them meet time and again, experience a new story. It's nice to see that Sun Jae hasn't lost his charm. I wanted to hear more about his dating history. I'm a bit worried about Tae Sung this time around. Can't wait for the last two episodes even though I don't want it to end.

15th Ep: The only distressing part about this drama is the leads not putting their heads together to come up with a serious plan to get rid of the taxi driver. I mean the leads also had supportive parents, friends, siblings, all of whom could have helped them anytime they asked. But not, they didn't learn. Especially, Im Sol, she didn't think strategically at all. Her emotions were running so wild all the time she made one bad decision after another. Don't blame her though, in her place my mind would panicking as well. Sun Jae is truly a terrific character brought to life by Byeon Woo Seok, who has done justice to the role. No a single actor could have done a better job or even come close to what he brought to this character. I laughed so much during this episode as well. This is the 2nd last episode. I'm gonna miss Im Sol & Sun Jae. They better not give us a sad or open ending!

16th Ep: This episode gave us and Byeon Ooo Seok the happy ending that he deserved. This is going to be my all time favorite drama. Everything was just about perfect. I can't believe that it has ended. I still feel like there's going to be another episode next week. Wow, I think half of the world was addicted to Lovely Runner, because the entire drama was roses and sunshine with one recurrent issue that we felt would be resolved by the end. I just felt happy throughout the drama, not a single episode failed to make me laugh. I'm gonna miss seeing these two together, here's to hoping they collaborate on another drama together & do a wonderful job at it.

Now that it is over, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to find a drama with the same vibes. There isn't a drama with the same vibe. The story might not be all that unique but the absolute charm these leads brought to it turned it into a powerful rom-com that might inspire everyone.

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almost but not quite perfect

From the promotional materials alone this series is anticipated to be nostalgic and heartwarming. I still don’t know how emotionally driven this will be, but the content of this story tells me it will be.

What I can say now is I am optimistic though, and that’s got to do with the attitudes of the main characters, specifically Im Sol. Played by Kim Hye-Woon, at first I thought she was too moody, but quickly her views on life are changes and she’s quite likeable. her character is optimistic and loving, with a new perspective on life because of a touching message she heard from a newly debuted idol, Sun-Jae. This drama is refreshing for me right now and is perfect for the spring and summer combined.

Sun Jae’s character is complicated. I wonder if this series will portray his character of being an idol well, it’s tricky. I have seen dramas that fall right down with this, but they had idols in the cast that made it clear it was pretty much just a cash grab. Here, I was surprised to see that the cast has few idols. I loved to see the idols it did have as Cameo’s, it fit the time so well and the SNSD song Genie was wonderful to here.

This drama has a very triggering main theme, I pray it pays respects to the theme instead of using it simply as a plot device. Mental Health is much more than a plot device and is very layered in terms of a persons complexity, emotional, situation, relationships, etc. The situations are kind of stupid, but for now it’s all in good fun, it’s fiction so it’s not going to be 100% believable. I just hope it doesn’t get to the point where too much or too little happens that I end up not caring. So far this drama is full of fun and it’s a lot more cheerful than I thought. That’s a very good thing though! I love the bright scenes and youthful atmosphere.

The first episode thought is actually pretty smart in a simple way. With how Im Sol believed she’s dreaming instead of living, it makes her actions make more sense. She’s not crazy or in love, she’s a fan who is dreaming.

In short, the visuals are very good. Byeon Woo Seok has the type of face that makes me wonder how he hasn’t stood out to me before. I hope he thrives with his career as well as all who are in this. particularly with him, he’s very good looking- he’s talented, and this role could be a pivoting point in his career. Hye Woon has already shown her career to be successful with her roles, and she’s very sweet and I love her dimples. The two of them are adorable with the visuals and height difference, so I’ll see if they have chemistry beyond that. They are fun together and a few episodes in and I’m buying into this drama.


The story is a lot more layered than I initially thought it would be. That’s all I can say without spoiling, but trust me and watch this drama. It really is the best I’ve seen all year and is right next to Queen of Tears for me and is reaching to be much better.

Everything in this drama is done so well and is thoughtful for the most part.. up until the last two episodes. It was then that I realized that the potential this drama had to exceed everything else was actually wasted. I'll explain a bit, but I know most people see this drama has no flaws, but it really does. The problem for me mainly resides in Sunjae's character not being consistent. I didn't get how he still became famous even when he was going to college to pursue a different path. The whole idea of time travel wasn't consistent because of this. I didn't get it because Sunjae's character once had such a passion for swimming and athletics, and even was going to become a physical education teacher. I wonder what happened and why he would want to become an actor? Even if he injured his shoulder so much, it would've been more consistent if he continued that path without any obstructions and if he wasn't going to become an idol then we'd see him teach what he actually was passionate for.

It really didn't make sense how he was an idol to begin with, but they showed some of that with his songwriting and passion for Im Sol. Soon he became a shell of a character, because even without Im Sol you would think his passion was swimming. It was what was shown and built up at the beginning. It was written off but could've came full circle if he became a teacher and taught kids to swim. He even could have met Im Sol again if she was taking her brothers kid to swim lessons and met Sunjae. I really don't get why in every timeline he had to be famous. That is what lost it for me. It was like the drama was so focused on creating this fantasy, when it was doing really well and building Sunjae to be a real and fully developed person when he was initially just was saw as a famous person. Unfortunately in the end he didn't have much growth himself and that was put all to Im Sol, which is fine... it just could've really stood out as its own individual thing if it had rounded both of the main leads.

So that tells me this drama wasn't as smart as I thought, because in the end it was pushing too much into the romance. I get it, that is what the drama wanted. To be 'perfect' it has to do more. The drama has to be nuanced and go deeper than the surface. I give the drama credit, it is fun and definitely going to be known for a long time. It was huge, but I think it could've been better. Ok it could've been a whole lot better. It really wasn't the best drama this year at all, it was ONE of the best but not THE best. So I take back what I initially said.

I wouldn't watch this drama again because of the wasted potential and that frustrates me ok. Sunjae deserved some development. They took the cheap way out with all of it, the memory erasure and the sudden remembering. It was a waste of the two last episodes honestly and I had to skim through it because I knew what was going to happen. I am just so frustrated because this drama is really good, but it could be so much better and didn't have to make decisions of constantly rewinding time and changing things just to end up in the same place? Like being rich and famous is cool, but it was wishy washy in the end because I saw what could've been done and what just wasn't done. Fanservice is the only word I can use to describe the last two episodes. Still it is so good and I'm glad it is this popular, but I'm not going to paint it out to be something it isn't.

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It's a good watch

First of all, I don't get why this kdrama got so many negative reviews. I just finished it and it isn't bad like some said. I just think that the people who gave bad reviews didn't read the tags at all. It wasn't mentioned in any place that this drama will focus on the mystery side that it is in it. I do understand where people come and I would have liked some answers at some questions but I also understand that the mystery part wasn't their main focus. They probably added that part to have a bit of drama in the series.

Second, I started this kdrama with the thought of watching some cute and lovely. And they indeed delivered that, and a few comedic elements. The relationship between Im Sol and Ryu Sun Jae was very cute and I enjoyed watching them together. I cheered for them so much. I wish they were developing their relationship more in the last few episodes though. The ending was feeling a bit short and rushed indeed.

This kdrama also reminds me of old kdramas back in the days of 2016-2018. It gives that nostalgia vibe and it really threw me back in time which was also a nice aspect that I liked.

The acting was very good from both Kim Hye Yoon and Byeon Woo Seok. I'll look forward to their other kdramas as main leads because they played their own part very well. You could really see the difference between their characters' young selves and their adult forms, as well as their emotions and feelings.

The music didn't stand out to me beside the main song that the series is focused on but it also didn't bother me. It was okay.

All in all, this kdrama is a good watch if you want just a cute and lovely drama to watch with the main leads and if you miss the old kdrama days, with their classic humor. It delivered what they aimed for. It isn't in my top kdramas but for sure it has its own place because of the nostalgic feeling. Instead of not giving this kdrama a chance because of the negative reviews, I say to watch it and then judge for yourself.

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