7 facts you didn't know about Lovely Runner's Byeon Woo Seok
"Let’s meet on the Hangang Bridge at midnight on January 1st"
By Chloe Loh -
Meet South Korea’s newest rising star, Byeon Woo Seok. While the actor has appeared in other K-dramas like Record of Youth and Strong Girl Nam Soon in the past, Byeon Woo Seok also recently starred in the highly-rated time-slip rom-com drama, Lovely Runner, alongside actress Kim Hye Yoon, capturing the hearts of many as the charming Ryu Sun Jae.
He plays a former swimming prodigy, who later becomes the vocalist of a popular K-Pop group Eclipse. The drama is based on a webtoon titled Tomorrow’s Best, and tells the story of Im Sol (played by Kim Hye Yoon), who, after realising her favourite singer Ryu Sun Jae has taken his own life, is given the chance to go back in time to change his fate and save him.
The drama gained immense popularity throughout the weeks it was airing, and ended on a high last week with its highest ratings yet (5.76% nationwide) domestically. Internationally, Lovely Runner has also been in the top 10 shows in multiple regions on streaming platforms such as Viu. With his sudden breakthrough in the South Korean entertainment industry, we can definitely expect Byeon Woo Seok to be cast in more upcoming movies or dramas. While we wait for good news, here are some facts you probably didn’t know about the charismatic actor which may end up making you fall even harder for him.
If we told you a K-Pop group has been taking over Korean music charts like MelOn and Bugs, and even entering Billboard’s Top 200 Global chart, you probably wouldn’t expect it to be a fictional K-Pop group. Yes, you read it right, the fictional K-Pop group Eclipse which “debuted” in the drama Lovely Runner is the one entering these charts.
Eclipse sang four songs as part of the original soundtrack for the drama, including the OST, ‘Sudden Shower’ (소나기). Of course, as the band’s lead vocalist, Ryu Sun Jae, or rather, Byeon Woo Seok, lent his voice to the songs and so the deep and soothing voice you hear is actually his! In fact, VARO Entertainment (Byeon Woo Seok’s agency) recently released a video of the actor singing ‘Sudden Shower’ live.
Eclipse’s songs are available on all music streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music so if you haven’t, you might want to give them a listen.
In case you didn’t know, Byeon Woo Seok is actually a model-turned-actor. The 33-year-old made his modelling debut in 2014 and was signed under YG KPlus, a model and actor management company. He only made his acting debut in 2016 and was officially cast in a leading role in 2019 in the drama Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency.
He is close friends with well-known actress-singer Kim Hyeri, and actors Nam Joo Hyuk, Joo Woo Jae and Jang Ki Yong
Something which shocked many fans is the close friendship the actor has with actress-singer Kim Hyeri, who was his former co-star in the drama Moonshine. He recently went on her talk show, Hyell’s Club, where they shared their first impressions of each other, and talked candidly about their experiences. You can watch the full video here.
As a model under YG KPlus previously, it is no wonder that Byeon Woo Seok’s close circle of friends also includes fellow YG KPlus models (who have also ventured into the acting scene) Nam Joo Hyuk, Joo Woo Jae and Jang Ki Yong. He still maintains close friendships with them – he recently posted a photo of him and Joo Woo Jae watching and reacting to his drama Lovely Runner together on his Instagram.
If you are a K-Drama fanatic, you would’ve probably watched or at least heard about the 2016 hit dramas Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo and Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo. Little did you know that Byeon Woo Seok made special appearances in both of them! In Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, Byeon Woo Seok played the ex-boyfriend of IU’s character.
In Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, he acted alongside his friend Nam Joo Hyuk, starring as Nam Joo Hyuk’s character’s college senior.
The one thing that fans of K-pop idols and K-actors all dread: compulsory military service, which means having to see our favourite Korean celebrities go on a hiatus for almost two years. However, fans of Byeon Woo Seok, will never have to go through that gruelling wait. In an interview with ELLE Korea, the actor revealed that he had already completed his military service back in 2013 before his debut. This means that fans probably don’t have to wait long for him to star in his next project!
Unbeknownst to everyone, the charming actor actually has a soft side to him – one which loves to act cute or do aegyo, to his parents. In his recent appearance on You Quiz on the Block hosted by Korea’s national emcee Yoo Jae Suk and Cho Sae Ho, Byeon Woo Seok told the hosts that when he meets his parents, they often hug or give each other kisses on the cheeks. He even mentioned that he would like to receive kisses from his parents and be showered with affection from them for the rest of his life.
In an interview with The Korea Times, Byeon Woo Seok revealed that his motto is to ‘enjoy life to the fullest’. The actor places a priority on doing things which make him happy, and in doing so, it led him to pursue a career in acting. He realised he had a fiery passion for the job and has hoped to be more ambitious and try out a variety of roles in different genres.