The tvN Monday-Tuesday drama 'Lovely Runner' has successfully completed a seven-day popup store event in Seoul and a group viewing event for the finale.

'Lovely Runner,' scripted by Lee Si Eun and directed by Yoon Jong Ho and Kim Tae Yeop, produced by CJ ENM Studios and Bon Factory, is a time-slip romance drama. In it, Im Sol (played by Kim Hye Yoon), a devoted fan devastated by the death of the famous artist Ryu Sunjae (played by Byun Woo Seok), travels back to 2008 to save her beloved idol. The series, known for its poignant 15-year romance and mutual salvation narrative, along with the actors' highly synchronized performances, has been popularly dubbed a 'Monday sickness cure' due to its high popularity.

The production team of 'Lovely Runner' announced on the 29th, "In response to the warm love and interest from viewers, we have successfully completed the specially planned popup store and the final episode group viewing event in collaboration with CGV."

On the 28th, a thousand fans nationwide participated in the finale viewing event of 'Lovely Runner,' which showed a high competition rate, marking it as the most attended event of the year. The gender distribution of the bookings showed women made up 87.9%, and the age distribution showed the 20-30 age group accounted for 84.1% of total bookings, proving the drama's popularity among younger audiences once again.

The event was attended by directors Yoon Jong Ho and Kim Tae Yeop, writer Lee Si Eun, and actors Byun Woo Seok, Kim Hye Yoon, Song Geon Hee, Lee Seung Hyub, Moon Si On, Yang Hyuk, Seong Byeong Sook, Jeong Young Ju, Song Ji Ho, and Lee Il Jun, who all expressed their gratitude. Overcome with emotion during the stage greeting, Byun Woo Seok tearfully said, "This theatre represents the staff who worked with us during the filming. I am very grateful for the learning and thank you all for creating Sunjae so wonderfully," showing his appreciation with a 90-degree bow. Kim Hye Yoon also expressed her thanks, "Thanks to everyone, I was able to watch all 16 episodes in one theater," and added, "'Memories do not disappear; they permeate the soul,' a line from the show, and I hope 'Lovely Runner' will be a lasting memory in everyone’s hearts."

Additionally, the popup store ran from the 23rd to the 29th at The Hyundai Seoul B2F Iconic Popup Zone. The attendance over the seven days was significantly higher than typical popup stores, with the saying 'early morning open run is a must,' leading to over a thousand queue numbers being issued each morning and early closures due to high demand. The total 17 types of merchandise (MD) sold at the popup store were inspired by the adorable characters of 'Lovely Runner' and actors such as Byun Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon. Popular items like the SolSun metal badge, Cheongsangari T-shirts, denim eco-bags, and SolSun couple key rings sold out on the first day. The 'Lovely Runner' popup store plans to continue with sales in Busan and online.

Since its first broadcast on April 8, 'Lovely Runner' has left numerous records, achieving a perfect end. Starting with a 3.1% viewership rating for the first episode, the finale reached an average of 7.2% with a peak at 8.7% in the Seoul metropolitan area, setting a new record high. As of the 26th, it surpassed 850 million digital views, demonstrating unprecedented popularity. It also ranked second in the number of paid subscribers contributed among tvN dramas on Tving since the service began, with a 2100% increase in paid subscribers up to the 15th episode from the first week of release. It also ranked first in weekly broadcast VOD and real-time channel combined viewer UV (unique visitors) for four consecutive weeks, and the combined viewing time for broadcast VOD and real-time channels exceeded 16 billion minutes (27.2 million hours). Furthermore, according to Good Data Corporation's platform FUNdex, as of the 28th, 'Lovely Runner' was ranked first in TV-OTT drama buzz for four consecutive weeks, with Byun Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon leading the TV-OTT actor overall buzz rankings for the same period. The first OST 'Shower' by Eclipse climbed from 305th to 5th in the Melon daily charts, marking yet another significant achievement for the drama.

SEE ALSO: Kim Hye Yoon reflects on 'Lovely Runner' journey, and shares about her experience working with Byun Woo Seok