Lovely Runner
The following is just a review and my own personal opinions. I study film and have been watching K-Dramas through their rise in International acclaim over the past decade. With that said, please enjoy
Lovely Runner is a 2024 K-Drama directed by Yoon Jong-Ho and Kim Tae-Yeop. It follows Lim-Sol as she travels back through time in an attempt to save her favorite idol’s life (Ryu Seon-Jae). After traveling back to her senior year of high school, she learns that Seon-Jae had been her neighbor and she befriends him to try and prevent him from killing himself in the future. Through multiple travels to the past and failed attempts to save Seon-Jae, Sol falls in love with and realizes that he had loved her all along. Sol also learns that a psychopathic murderer has been trying to kill both of them through the various timelines. Sol has to do everything in her power to make sure that her beloved Seon-Jae can live a happy and successful life despite the interference that her presence brings.
Lovely Runner has quickly become one of my favorite K-Dramas, which says a lot considering that I’ve easily seen over 50 K-Dramas throughout the past decade. The plot is compelling and it has the perfect amount of conflict/stakes to keep the viewer sucked in. It’s also able to find a good balance between the intense thriller aspects and the sweet bubbly romance. The actors both do an amazing job of portraying the relationship. Their chemistry was undeniable and is part of what sold this K-drama to so many viewers. The love story of Sol and Seon-Jae is truly an epic one that spans time, life, and death. I also have to give props to the actor for Seon-Jae, Byeon Woo-Seok, as this is his first time portraying a leading man in a drama. He brought so much life and personality to this character and is of course half of the beautiful love duo. Another aspect that succeeded in this drama was the music. One of the main characters was an Idol so of course there’s a lot of music, but all the songs were enchanting and I found myself adding them to my personal playlist. I also appreciated the depth added to all the side characters, with each one of them feeling complete and real, The only thing I would’ve changed is adding in some more explanation with the final time jump, as I found myself slightly confused.
I think what I often enjoy about K-Dramas compared to other international dramas, is that they are usually only one season long. It makes the writing more purposeful, as they know exactly when/how their show will end. I also appreciate how everything is tied up perfectly, without any unnecessary loose ends. Lovely Runner handles its one-season run-time perfectly. When it ends, I don’t feel like it’s missing anything nor did it have an excess of fluff to fill runtime. As mentioned before, it handles the drama genre elegantly using many common K-Drama tropes to its strength- like a love triangle. It’s no wonder that this drama is beloved not only by myself but also by numerous others. I think using the cultural context of Idol culture and reworking it also gives the drama an added strength, as many are curious about the lucrative and exploitative industry. It shows both the positives and negatives of the way Korea handles celebrities, with an open conversation about the mental health of these performers.
I am looking forward to seeing what comes next from these directors, writers, and actors.
My final rating for this show is a 5/5. I picked this show as my first review on Substack because it is such a great show, and certainly is my favorite to come out of 2024. Going forward I plan on revisiting old shows I’ve seen before and watching new things as they come out, giving my insight and opinions. I’ll also finish off each review with a final breakdown and rating out of 5. Thank you for reading, and feel free to share your own thoughts on the Lovely Runner or Kdramas as a whole.
Plot: 5
Character: 5
Production Quality: 5
Drama/Comedy: 5
Memorability: 5
Final Rating: 5