"Lovely Runner" Actor Song Geon Hee Nearly Quit Acting

TvN‘s Lovely Runner (also known as Run Away With Sun-Jae On Piggyback) concluded with its finale last week. This romantic-comedy time-slip show is by True Beauty screenwriter Lee Si Eun. Actors Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon star as Ryu Sun Jae (also romanized as Ryu Seon Jae) and Im Sol, respectively.

Ryu Seon-Jae (Byeon Woo-Seok) is a top star who has been in the spotlight since his debut. His life seems perfect, but being in the entertainment industry has completely worn him out. Meanwhile, Lim Sol (Kim Hye-Yoon) loves Ryu Seon-Jae as an adoring fan. When she was little, she had an accident. Due to that, she gave up on her dream, but listening to Ryu Seon-Jae’s song on the radio gave her comfort and she became his fan since then. One day, Lim Sol hears breaking news that Ryu Seon-Jae has ended his own life. She feels deep sadness over the tragic news. Miraculously, Lim Sol somehow travels back in time to 15 years in the past. There, she faces Ryu Seon-Jae, who is a 19 year old high school student. She struggles to prevent his tragic future.

— AsianWiki

Kim Hye Yoon (left) and Byeon Woo Seok (right)

The K-Drama’s second male lead, Kim Tae Sung (Song Geon Hee), whom Im Sol had a crush on in one timeline, dated in another, and became close friends with in another, became a fan favorite.

Despite his popularity on the show, Song Geon Hee revealed in an interview with The Fact that he had nearly stopped acting. He contemplated taking a break.

Song Geon Hee fell into a slump after filming the 2023 K-Drama Joseon Attorney: A Morality. Before this, Song Geon Hee had appeared in twelve projects, working since 2018.

After Joseon Attorney: A Morality, there was a period when I felt shattered. I think I experienced burnout and was caught up in many thoughts. So, I intended to take a break from work for a while. I had been working tirelessly for 4-5 years and thought it was time to take a break.

— Song Geon Hee

Yet, after being introduced to Kim Tae Sung, his Lovely Runner character, he had a change of heart. He said, “Tae Sung’s calm and flexible side seems to have influenced me a lot in reality.”

During that time, I met Tae Sung. And my heart changed. By the latter part of filming, I realized I was a rather relaxed person. The thought of taking a break also faded away. Every time I portray various characters, I also grow a little as Song Geon Hee. Among them, Tae Sung provided me with an opportunity to learn a lot.

— Song Geon Hee

Song Geon Hee gained lots of love, support, and inspiration thanks to Lovely Runner and its fans. So, hopefully, we will see more of him in the future.

If given the chance, I want to continue to work hard in the future. At the same time, I want to spend the time of 28-year-old Song Geon Hee well. If there’s one thing I want to say to the viewers who have given me so much love, it’s that thanks to all of you who loved and supported my friend Kim Tae Sung, I gained such great momentum. I may not know who I’ll meet in future projects, but I’ll strive to repay your support by embracing those characters once again.

— Song Geon Hee