Byun Woo Seok’s Mega Breakout with Lovely Runner Leads New Fans to His Prior Works Like 20th Century Girl and Strong Girl Nam Soon
It’s totally a black mirror version of fact meets fiction with Byun Woo Seok‘s breakout in Lovely Runner. I watched it all with Park Bo Gum‘s male lead character in Record of Youth‘s narrative so it’s even cuter that it’s happened to Byun Woo Seok in RL since in the drama his character ended up getting the short end of the popularity lottery. New fans of his are now going back through his oeuvre to watch prior works the most popular ones being 20th Century Girl with Kim Yoo Jung and his charismatic and scene-stealing turn as the villain in Strong Girl Nam Soon. His rise now confirms that while he was definitely a more limited and greener actor when I first saw him years ago, he was always easy to watch and always had chemistry with his female leads. All of which is coming in handy now when he’s actually become a better actor all around.
Painful to watch him in his old works. He was so wooden. Good to know he got to improve
He never stood up in his past roles. In 20th Century, the story was cute bu KJY shined more. In SBDS, the ML character was pretty weak, the story too and the actor couldn’t elevate it, so his character was kinda more interesting.
I’m happy for him that he can shine in this role. They have a great chemistry with KHY.
Been rooting for him since his drama special with kang mina~~ im hoping for a third reunion
i’m not sure we’ve seen a more explosive breakout than this since park bogum. he’s trending literally everywhere, everyday. if he picks his next project wisely, we may be seeing the rise of the next super star. ryu seonjae is the role of a lifetime. let’s hope lovely runner sticks the landing so he can wrap it up nicely.
Yep… quite a feat to have 108k fans logging in to weverse trying to interact with him. Especially since that a paid feature. Wishing him all the best. Hes definitely been a pleasant breakout surprise for 2024.
Guilty. I rewatched Soulmate and 20th Century Girl. I like him, but poor guy is, basically, invisible in Soulmates when he is next to the much more passionate actresses. In 20th Century, the female lead gave him the boost, he is better there. Just like KHY in Lovely Runner. I hope all the sudden fame doesn’t get in his head and he keeps working on his acting skills. I will not watch Strong Girl just to see him, it was bad. But might try to watch the Record of Youth for him and the FL there. I’m sure she gave him the boost in that drama as well. Not only her, but I read that the ML Bogummy bonded with him too. Nothing wrong with that. Having great chemistry with your drama partners, female AND male, is a wonderful skill for an actor.
It sounded like he worked pretty hard for this role. He even hired a vocal coach in order to sing the songs. He candidly said that he had amazing chemistry with KHY and she really elevated his performance. I liked that he stayed humble and gave her credit for his success.
I tried to watch Strong Girl Name Soon because I was such a fan of the Minmin and Bongbong, but sadly I had to drop it. I didn’t like the infantilization of the female lead and the male lead was a bit boring all around. I also felt like Record of Youth was a big disappointment, but I’m sure some people might enjoy it. I also found his acting pretty green there and his character wasn’t very charming.
He was so annoying in record of youth, tbf that show was a mess. Yh I’m on the hype train, gosh im obsessed 🙈
Look at all the hype! LOL. Should I pick up the show again. I watched a few eps and thought the leads had really strong chemistry that was already rare in most of the romance dramas I’ve watched so far. But the concept of the plot isn’t anything near novel and the story is just one example of reprised time travel. H So, I dropped it to watch other interesting dramas like Beyond Evil and Hot Stove League. BWS is pretty solid in the first few eps I watched but not any more appealing than other popular young actors in their heyday. What is the obsession about? LOL. I don’t get all the craze and buzz around him, must thanks to cultural gap.
it’s bc of the character, seonjae.
here is a male lead, who falls first and falls harder. he tries to act cool but is a total fool in love. he accepts sol’s eccentricities and loves her unconditionally. he is literally ready to die if that’s what being with her means. not only is he a pure soul, who is relentlessly dedicated to sol, but he also repeatedly saves her life. he’s not just a green flag, he’s the whole damn forest! it’s the perfect romantic lead role, the kind of man that almost all women are bound to fall for. byeon wooseok has been able to bring this memorable character to life with remarkable charm and aptitude. this truly is a fateful instance of a potentially great actor meeting the perfect role, that allows him to flex some of that greatness. simply put, the synergy between the writing and acting has created this craze.
also, i don’t think it’s a cultural gap thing, bc it’s not just the korean audience losing their minds over him. ryu seonjae is universally loved, and so is byeon wooseok for portraying him.
and isn’t the dream of every girl to be loved this way ? The character of Sun jae felt in love at the first sight and never wavered . Sun jae has a side of some characters of literature or even of some myths .
Haha. Then I agree it’s not a cultural gap, but more of an age gap or generational gap. LOL. I think I’m too old to have my heart flutter for the kind of fictional love. LOL. I think it only exists in heaven.
This genre might just not be your cup of tea, which is totally cool! Stove League and Beyond Evil are significantly different. I enjoyed those two too.
For Lovely Runner, the plot is pretty straight forward time travel back to save her idol bias, which sounds kind of ludicrous. I liken this to Strong Girl Do Bong Soon, because honestly, there wasn’t a lot of logical plot in that one either and there was also a murder mystery. The reason I personally like Lovely Runner is the chemistry between the two leads really create a lot of comedic and heart fluttering moments for me. The time period she goes back also creates a lot of nostalgia for me also because I’m similar in age as the main characters. I also quite like the simple cinematography.
There’s a bit of noble idiocy, which I typically hate, but somewhat feel like it makes sense in this context. It’s by no means a perfect drama. I sound like a broken record because I keep saying this in every LR post, but I’m a big sucker for whipped male leads. I absolutely loved loved loved Ahn Minhyuk in SWDBS. Now I love Ryu Sunjae!
Totally just my perspective, and I’m cool with people who might not like the drama either. No one drama is going to be loved by everyone.
Yup! I may have grown out of romance genre. I used to love rom com and melo with princes charming. But I find myself very inpatient and easily get bored with dramas in these genres mostly focusing on chemistry between the leads without complicated and unpredictable plots. TBH, I don’t think a whipped partner or spouse exists in the world. But obsessed or psychopathic partners/spouses do exist and are more realistic. LOL. In real life, excessive attachment or protection in a relationship usually has negative and psychotic connotations. Anyhow, that’s my personal issue that I just have trouble rooting for rosy romance anymore. It must have to do with age! LOL.
I’m watching Good Manager/Chief Kim and greatly enjoyed Nam Gong Min’s wacky persona in the plot. I appreciate his CP with Junho way more than normal couples in romance dramas. LOL.
Nobody can explain the craze or buzz around an actor but when it happens one can become a star as Park Bo Gum ( still don’t understand what people see in him )by being lucky and chosing wisely the projects or being forgotten after a few flops . Even if i dropped his previous works i always find him attractive and like his eyes so i’m happy and i wish him the best . People tend to root for outsiders , they love to see someone succeed the hardest part is to be able to stay at the height and only a few ones managed to do that through the years .
PBG wasn’t popular just because he’s lucky. he also works since he’s young like other actors and took many supportive roles as well.The craze came from R88 with all cast but why only PBG became even more popular? Moonlight is actually manwha with simple plot but because it’s his own abilities (+with all cast & director) he then becomes the star.Not everyone can be good at historical drama. Also though encoounter and ROY didnt have good plot, he still in top gallop for each works? Like ppl can watch him even the role is so messy. it’s called starpower. and idk why you can say ppl forgot him while his new work is with imsangchun the Baeksang award writer + Goodboy, another drama with Beyond evil director.he seems silent for media exposure now but it doesnt mean he has no job.
@pink you misunderstood what i wrote, i said that PBG was lucky to be cast in a drama that became a hit, people loved him and he reached the stardom and was able to no fall . So it was a compliment, i was saying that i hope that BWS would be able to do the same which is hard as only a few managed it . But it’s true that i never understood why PBG is so popular because i don’t click with him but that’s my own preference , i’m ok with the fact that others love him . You said that he worked hard , didn’t you ever think that there are many others actors who work as hard as him but never got or will never get the chance to play in a hit drama ? Do you really think that the luck factor isn’t a part of the success of someone ? Even the greatest stars of the world admit that hard work isn’t enough and that luck factor is also part of the game . Pretty woman for Julia Roberts, La Boum for Sophie Marceau, Hunger Games for Jennifer Lawrence , Titanic for Di Caprio and Kate Winslet, Iron man for Robert Downey Jr, …and others failed as Daniel Radcliffe , Elijah Wood, Sean Astin , Why ? because they haven’t the looks of Pattinson , not because they aren’t hard working and talented , Elijah Wood was a child when Jodie Foster casted him as lead role, Sean Astin was a lead in Goonies . So hard working is needed but also the looks ! There is no such thing as “only hard work” in entertainment industry !
The producers said that it took them three years to get the drama off the ground because they couldn’t find a male lead. Apparently, a lot of actors turned the role down before Byun Woo Seok agreed to star. Truly serendipitous because it turned out to be a blessing for the drama, for Byun Woo Seok and for the audience. He worked so hard for this role and his efforts have paid off. He is the perfect actor for the character of Seonjae in every era. It’s impossible to imagine anyone else in the role.
honestly i do understand why most actors are declining this drama. Actors especially the rising one would avoid idol-ish drama due to the stigma that this might not enhance their portfolio.
I’m glad BWS did not underestimate the drama’s genre and plot.
It’s a win-win situation honestly both for BWS & the production team. And also thanks to KHY who won’t hesitate to take this drama although she can go for more serious projects if she wanted to.
Proudly to admit, I am part of this Sunjae-craze! I watch him everyday. Night and day!
I’m on that train with you. I actually rewatch cute scenes from LR. I have problems…
I thk luck played a factor. He peaked at the right time, he resonated with this drama, had a great leading lady in KHY and SunJae was a green flag character woman desire for. Reportedly he put in the effort to make sure he is believable as swimmer Sunjae or idol Sunjae. I thk up and coming actors benefit from good directing. The director sugested him after seeing him in 20th century girl. In bts we saw director was pretty meticulous.
I guess I’m the only one not on the hype train. Lol. I cringed every time he shouts and I found him to be stiff.