The unprecedented surge in popularity of tvN’s ongoing time-travel series Lovely Runner is a must-read! Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Eun have cast their romantic spell on audiences worldwide in a way that’s unlike any other recent K-drama.
Despite the show airing on weekdays, this fantasy series has no plans of slowing down its pace of success. On the contrary, it has somehow made the impossible possible by making drama viewers go crazy on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Since the show surpassed tvN’s previous success story – Queen of Tears – in the first week of May, it has topped the Korean chart of ‘Online Buzzworthiness’ released by Good Data Corporation for the third consecutive week. The survey chart ‘Fundex’ was updated on Tuesday, May 21, once again proclaiming Lovely Runner’s victory as it continues to lead by example, maintaining a wide gap with other top-ranking titles.
In the third week of May 2024, defying all the proven laws of physics, this extraordinary love story topped the TV drama charts with a buzz score of 54.55%. On the other hand, it scored 47.42% in the TV-OTT list.
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Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Eun’s unbeatable and mesmerizing chemistry continued into the weekly competition as they took the first two spots respectively for the third consecutive week.
New K-drama premieres in top 10 headlines
Aside from Lovely Runner, Chun Woo Hee and Jang Ki Yong’s JTBC series The Atypical Family has become the weekend buddy for K-content viewers to beat the Monday blues. The series retained its position as the second most-discussed show on both TV and TV-OTT charts. Meanwhile, Woo Hee ranked third on the most-discussed artist of the week list, and Ki Yong ranked fifth.
Additionally, Lee Je Hoon reaffirmed his popularity with new episodes of Chief Detective 1958 released on Friday and Saturday.
Kim Myung Soo’s latest KBS2 romantic comedy, Dare to Love Me – streaming on Netflix – debuted on the TV list last week at No. 9. Another K-drama premiere on May 13 that caused a stir on the same list was ENA’s Crash (streaming on Disney Plus), starring Lee Min Ki, Kwak Sun Young and Heo Sung Tae.
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Although Chun Woo Hee and Ryu Jun Yeol starrer The 8 Show (streaming on Netflix) only made its TV-OTT debut last week, it gained a significant surge in popularity last week and ranked third. Song Kang Ho’s Disney Plus series Uncle Samsik, which premiered on May 15, ranked No. 6 as the actor himself made it to the top 10 actors list, joining the chart for the first time since the series launched.
Top 10 most talked about K-dramas in the third week of May
| actor | Drama |
| 1. Byeon Woo Seok | Cute Runner |
| 2. Kim Hye Yoon | Cute Runner |
| 3. Chun Woo Hee | Unusual family |
| 4. Jung Ryeo Won | Midnight Romance at Hagwon |
| 5. Jung Ki Yong | Unusual family |
| 6. Wi Ha Jun | Midnight Romance at Hagwon |
| 7. Song Gon Hee | Cute Runner |
| 8. Go Kyung Pyo | frankly speaking |
| 9. Lee Jae Hoon | Chief Detective 1958 |
| 10. Song Kang Ho | Uncle Samsik |
Top 10 Drama Actors Who Gained The Most Talk In The Third Week Of May
| TV-OTT | TV | |
| 1. Cute Runner | 1. Cute Runner | |
| 2. Unusual family | 2. Unusual family | |
| 3. The 8 Show | 3. Midnight Romance at Hagwon | |
| 4. Midnight Romance at Hagwon | 4. Chief Detective 1958 | |
| 5. Chief Detective 1958 | 5. Speaking clearly | |
| 6. Uncle Samsik | 6. Beauty and Mr. Romantic | |
| 7. Speaking clearly | 7. Exodus of the Seven: Resurrection | |
| 8. Beauty and Mr. Romantic | 8. Accident | |
| 9. The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection | 9. Dare me to love you | |
| 10. Accident | 10. The Missing Crown Prince |
