Byeon Woo-seok, who became the nation’s first love, mentions his real first love

On May 30th, Wikitree conducted an interview with Byeon Woo-seok at a café on Nonhyeon-ro in Gangnam, Seoul. During the interview, Byeon Woo-seok shared various stories about the recently ended tvN drama “Lovely Runner.”

During an interview with Wikitree for Netflix’s film “20th Century Girl”in 2022, Byeon Woo-seok had opened up about his first love experience. He revealed that his first love was someone he had known in middle school, but he never had the courage to confess his feelings. As an adult, he coincidentally ran into her on the street.

“In the drama “Lovely Runner,”Im Sol (Kim Hye-yoon), a devoted fan, is faced with a devastating crisis when her favorite idol Ryu Seon-jae (Byeon Woo-seok) dies under questionable circumstances, supposedly by suicide. However, an unexpected opportunity arises for Im Sol to travel back in time and potentially change the course of events, saving Seon-jae and herself from their tragic fate.”

In the drama, Byeon Woo-seok portrays Ryu Seon-jae at various stages of his life: a passionate 19-year-old student, a fresh-faced 20-year-old university student, and a successful 34-year-old top star. He effectively captures the essence of youth in each age and earned great praise for his portrayal. Particularly noteworthy is Ryu Seon-jae’s immediate infatuation with Im Sol’s smile.

Byeon Woo-seok was asked if the role brought back memories of his first love, to which he responded, “My first love was actually a one-sided love. In a way, it could be compared to Seon-jae’s high school emotions.”

“He admitted, “I haven’t stayed in touch with my first love and it’s possible she doesn’t know I had feelings for her. Or maybe she does. If she does know, it might be awkward.”

Byeon Woo-seok revealed, “I could relate to Seon-jae’s emotions because I have experienced unrequited love and have had feelings for someone in the past. However, I have never expressed my love in such an extreme way by saying ‘I’ll die instead of you’. I believe this is not a common sentiment for most people, and I have pondered on this aspect extensively.”

On May 28th, Byeon Woo-seok’s drama “Lovely Runner” came to an end. Throughout its airing, the drama garnered a lot of attention for its OSTs, ending, original webtoon, reruns, and filming locations.