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On May 6, 2024, the South Korean media outlet Hankook Ilbo reported that the production of Byeon Woo-seok's Lovely Runner had been delayed for three years due to various reasons. Several male actors reportedly turned down the casting offer due to the storyline of the time-travel and comedy series.
Lovely Runner began airing on April 8, 2024, and delved into the time slip story of an ardent fangirl, Im Sol, who traveled back in time to save the idol, Ryu Sun-jae, who died by suicide, from his tragic fate. The drama features Byeon Woo-seok and Kim Hye-yoon in pivotal roles.
Lovely Runner production kick-started after Byeon Woo-seok accepted the casting offer
Several prominent male actors were reportedly offered the role of the leading protagonist in the series, Lovely Runner. They rejected the role due to the storyline of the drama as they were reportedly of the opinion that the story was about a K-pop fan's unrequited love for the idol. However, as the drama premiered and progressed with each episode, the K-drama community realized it was about much more than that.
As the production team faced difficulties casting a male lead, Byeon Woo-seok decided to appear in the drama, after which, the production began, as per Hankook Ilbo. Due to the delay, several directors had to leave the production over the course of three years. However, after Byeon Woo-seok finalized the casting offer, things got better.
Lovely Runner showcased a variety of emotions and highlighted how an individual found comfort in someone's words when they were on the verge of death. In episode 1, Ryu Sun-jae (played by Byeon Woo-seok)'s words comforted Im Sol (played by Kim Hye-yoon) when she was paralyzed and lost all hope. At that moment, she gained courage and strength because of Sun-jae's inspiring words.
Byeon Woo-seok portrayed the role of Ryu Sun-jae in Lovely Runner. Initially, he wanted to make it big as a swimmer, however, due to his shoulder injury, he had to quit his dream and embarked on a journey to become an actor and idol.
The actor also sang the song Shower in the time-travel and comedy-drama Lovely Runner, cementing his portrayal as the vocalist of the fictional band Eclipse in the series. The track also entered the top 100 on the audio streaming platform Melon and garnered praise from fans.
Meanwhile, as soon as the K-drama community learned about the reported delay in Lovely Runner's production and about how the actor accepted the casting offer, they were filled with joy. Fans stated that they could not imagine any other artists playing the role of Ryu Sun-jae other than the actor.
Lovely Runner was helmed by Kim Tae-yub and Yoon Jong-ho. It was penned by screenwriter Lee Shi-eun, who also wrote the script of the webtoon-based drama True Beauty. The series is adapted from the web novel The Best of Tomorrow by Kim Bbang.
Lovely Runner airs every Monday and Tuesday and is available to stream on TVING and Viki.
