'Lovely Runner' now most popular Korean drama after 'Queen of Tears' concludes

Television

Published: 08 May. 2024, 17:33

'Lovely Runner' now most popular Korean drama after 'Queen of Tears' concludes

″Lovely Runner” is a time traveling romance between Ryu Seon-jae, a band vocalist who has passed away, and Lim Sol, a devoted fan despaired by his death. [TVN]

Cable channel tvN's drama “Lovely Runner” fast climbed the ranks of popular Korean dramas since its April 8 premiere — and in its fourth week, it has finally reached the top.

"Lovely Runner" became the most popular Korean drama after taking the top spot from Tving's "Queen of Tears" after its April 28 finale, according to statistics K-content analysis agency GoodData Corporation released Wednesday.

The tvN drama’s popularity has been attributed not only to its storyline, but also its cast. Byeon Woo-seok, who plays male lead Ryu Seon-jae, was ranked Korea's second most-popular actor, as of Wednesday, by GoodData Corporation’s popularity aggregator, FUNdex. Kim Hye-yoon, who plays Lim Sol, the female protagonist, is currently ranked second.

The show revolves around protagonist Sol traveling 15 years back in time to prevent the trauma that leads to Seon-jae’s suicide. [TVN]

“Lovely Runner” is Byeon's third time playing a lead opposite Kim. The two previously starred in tvN drama “Record of Youth” (2020) and the third season of web drama “The Omniscient Viewpoint on Crushes” (2017).

“Lovely Runner” is a time traveling romance between Seon-jae, a band vocalist who has tragically passed away, and Sol, a devoted fan despaired by his suicide. The show revolves around protagonist Sol going back 15 years in time to prevent the trauma that leads to Seon-jae’s death later on. The 16-episode drama began airing on Feb. 8.

“Lovely Runner” received a viewership rating of 3.07 percent for its first episode, according to Nielsen Korea. Viewership has steadily increased ever since, reaching more than 4.75 percent for the two episodes broadcast this week.

Sol travels back 15 years in time to 2008, a source of nostalgia for many of the drama's fans. [TVN]

The show has been gaining popularity overseas as well. “Lovely Runner” ranked No.1 in 133 countries on streaming service Rakuten Viki, a U.S. platform specializing in servicing Asian content worldwide.

There are six episodes of “Lovely Runner” remaining; the final two will be air during the last week of May.

To find out more about them, visit Celeb Confirmed!

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]