Kim Hye-yoon, “Didn’t Expect ‘Lovely Runner’ Popularity, Byun Woo-seok Is Considerate & Caring”
After tvN’s “Lovely Runner” ended, Kim Hye-yoon participated in an interview and shared various behind-the-scenes stories.
For Kim Hye-yoon, “Lovely Runner” has given her unexpected luck. She shared, “I don’t often go outside so I didn’t know the drama was popular. But I did watch reaction videos on social media. It was the first time my production team rented a whole movie theater to watch the last episode together and we even had a pop-up store event. That’s how I realized the drama was receiving so much love. I didn’t expect to be this well-loved”.
Many people think the character Im Sol, who grows up overcoming hardships with Ryu Seon-jae (Byun Woo-seok), resembles actress Kim Hye-yoon a lot. In this regard, Kim Hye-yoon said, “My future dream kept changing but after hearing my mother’s advice, I decided to go to an acting academy”. She started acting with a minor role in SBS’s “The Great Seer” (2012) and made her official debut in KBS2’s 2013 drama “Samsaengi”. Despite the long period of being an unknown actress, Kim Hye-yoon worked hard by shooting films every year while completing her studies at Konkuk University. She confessed, “Looking back on my past, I feel proud of myself for continuing this job silently and steadily. I have no regrets”.
Kim Hye-yoon began to gain attention after playing Kang Ye-seo in JTBC’s “SKY Castle” (2018) and Eun Dan-oh in MBC’s “Extraordinary You” (2019). With the 2022 movie “The Girl on a Bulldozer”, she even won Best New Actress at the Blue Dragon Film Awards and Grand Bell Awards. The common thing about all those successful projects is that Kim Hye-yoon played student roles. In this regard, the actress said, “I’m grateful that I’m still able to wear school uniforms. I don’t think I’ll be able to do these roles when I get older. If producers cast me for student roles, I’d love to wear school uniforms again.”
Born in 1996, Kim Hye-yoon also expressed her excitement about shooting a drama that was set in the 2000s and recreated many popular culture items of that era, such as Cyworld, MP3 players, etc. Regarding the most challenging thing during the filming, she emphasized that it was fighting against the cold.
Revealing that she met Byun Woo-seok on the set of a web drama in the past before they became co-stars in “Lovely Runner”, Kim Hye-yoon said, “He’s very considerate and caring. We had no difficulties getting to know each other”. As for her reunion with Song Geon-hee 6 years after “SKY Castle”, Kim Hye-yoon shared “He’s a friend full of ideas, passion and energy”.
After completing “Lovely Runner”, Kim Hye-yoon has not yet decided on her next project. She said, “I hope they can just send me offers. I’ve never played a role with a specific job and I want to get one in my next work”. She added, “These days, I’ve been looking for happiness as Kim Hye-yoon myself, not as an actress. I sleep well, play games and eat a lot. I want to be busy while seeking happiness in that way”.
