Byun Woo-seok and Kim Hye-yoon Win Popularity Awards: Can the “Lovely Runner” Couple Score a Double Best Actor Victory at Baeksang 2025?
Actors Byun Woo-seok and Kim Hye-yoon, the beloved leads of Lovely Runner, have already claimed one major victory at the 61st Baeksang Arts Awards the PRIZM Popularity Awards. Now, fans are wondering if the duo can go two for two by winning Best Actor and Best Actress in the TV category.
The award ceremony, held on May 5 at COEX D Hall in Seoul, drew attention for its highly competitive lineup of nominees. Hosting duties were taken up by Shin Dong-yup, Suzy, and Park Bo-gum.
Record-Breaking Popularity
Byun Woo-seok earned the male Popularity Award with 2.4 million votes, while Kim Hye-yoon secured the female Popularity Award with a staggering 7.87 million votes. Her closest competitors were Lee Hyeri with 6.92 million votes and IU with 3.47 million votes.
Although the unusually high vote counts for the top female nominees sparked speculation of macro-assisted voting, PRIZM the organizer denied any irregularities. They stated that manipulated videos circulating online had artificially sped up footage and that all valid votes were verified using strict ad-viewing requirements and ID limitations.
Votes suspected to be cast through unfair means were disqualified.
Head-to-Head with Korea’s Top Stars
Now, the spotlight turns to the Baeksang’s most coveted honors Best Actor and Best Actress in the Television category.
Byun Woo-seok is up against heavyweights like:
- Park Bo-gum (When Life Gives You Tangerines)
- Lee Joon-hyuk (Dongjae, The Good or the Bastard)
- Joo Ji-hoon (The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call)
- Han Suk-kyu (Doubt)
Kim Hye-yoon competes with:
- Go Min-si (The Frog)
- Kim Tae-ri (Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born)
- IU (When Life Gives You Tangerines)
- Jang Na-ra (Good Partner)
The Lovely Runner Phenomenon
Despite starting with modest ratings (3.1% nationwide), Lovely Runner surged in popularity, ending with a high of 7.2% in the Seoul metropolitan area and dominating its time slot across all channels for eight consecutive weeks. The show’s emotionally rich story and Byun-Kim chemistry helped drive it to cult-hit status.
Byun Woo-seok has since become one of the most in-demand actors in Korea. His fan meetings crashed ticketing sites with over 700,000 users logging in simultaneously, and his media appearances draw massive fan turnout. Kim Hye-yoon is also riding the wave, having secured leading roles in SBS’s upcoming series Human From Today and the film Salmokji (tentative title).
If both stars win the Best Acting awards, they would become the first pair since Lee Jun-ho and Kim Tae-ri at the 58th Baeksang Awards to take home both Popularity and Best Actor/Actress titles together.