The romantic drama has led the publication’s pick for the top series this year.
In a report published by Time, the media outlet shared their picks for the top 10 Korean dramas of 2024.
On top of the list is the popular romantic time-slip drama ‘Lovely Runner,’ which was led by Kim Hye Yoon and Byeon Woo Seok.
As per Time, “Lovely Runner was never supposed to become the year’s most beloved Korean drama. However, when the time-slip romance (adapted from a webtoon by True Beauty scribe Lee Si-eun) premiered on tvN domestically and Viki internationally in April, it steadily built on its weekly audience.”
It also noted that the story is reminiscent of another time-slip drama, ‘Your Name,’ and highlighted the strong presence of the series’ soundtrack.
“Most of the best melodrama filmmakers—including, presumably, Lovely Runner Yoon Jong-ho (Flower of Evil) and Kim Tae-yeop—understand how vital a tool soundtrack can be for heightening viewers’ emotional catharsis, helping us identify and empathize with what the characters are going through.”
“This is the power of a good melodrama soundtrack, and the many people behind the Lovely Runner OST understood the assignment,” it added.
“Lovely Runner was never supposed to be 2024’s best K-drama. It didn’t have the industry’s biggest budgets or its most high-profile stars. Instead, it had a good, well executed story—in the end, the thing that matters most,” it wrote in the last part.
The hit K-drama series was originally carried by streaming service Viu in the Philippines, before eventually making its global premiere on Netflix in August, a few months after its run ended.
Aside from ‘Lovely Runner,’ other Korean dramas in Time’s Top 10 for 2024 are ‘Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born,’ ‘Love In The Big City,’ ‘The Atypical Family,’ ‘Judge From Hell,’ ‘Pyramid Game,’ ‘Marry My Husband,’ ‘Death’s Game,’ and ‘Mr. Plankton’.
Also in the honorable mentions are ‘Doctor Slump,’ ‘No Gain, No Love,’ ‘The Trunk,’ ‘Wonderful World,’ ‘Queen Of Tears,’ and ‘Family By Choice’.