If dramas and movies about time slips, romances that traverse the boundaries of time, and love stories between K-pop idols and their adoring fans are your thing, you’re in luck. These titles have a lot in common with “Lovely Runner” – and that’s why we’re sure you’ll love them as much as we do!

More Like "Lovely Runner"

Huang Yu Xuan (Alice Ke) is a woman who appears to be living a very fulfilled life. Married to a wealthy man, she is pregnant, and looks forward to building a happy family. But everything changes when she has an accident and falls into a coma. Li Zi Wei (Greg Han), a young man who thinks she may be someone else, comes forward with a cassette tape that he claims could help Huang Yu Xuan recover. Her husband agrees to let her listen to it.

But the tape appears to have special powers – and sends Huang Yu Xuan on a journey through time. She finds that she is actually living in a series of bizarre time loops that also involves Li Zi Wei and another young man named Mo Jun Jie (Patrick Shih). In these time loops, Huang Yu Xuan and Li Zi Wei meet again and again – sometimes “reborn” as totally different people. They struggle to save one another again and again in events that stretch back to 2001. Can love help these time travelers break the loop – or is tragedy on the horizon?

“Someday or One Day: The Movie” is a 2022 Taiwanese movie that was directed by Huang Tien Jen.

Someday or One Day: The Movie

Dan Oh, a high school girl who is the only child from a wealthy family, has congenital heart disease. One day, she wonders why her memory keeps disappearing. She finally realizes that she is a character in the cartoon and decides to find her real life and love. Meanwhile, a character that doesn't even have its name, Seuli High School's Student Number 13, lives like a background of the other characters, but his life slowly changes after meeting Dan Oh. They begin their mysterious adventure to find out the secret of the romance cartoon world, and they try to get their independent lives back.

Extra-ordinary You

📖 Extra-ordinary Team 📖

Hunan TV

University freshman Xia Miao Miao (Zhao Jin Mai) is a real fish out of water in her new campus settings. Quiet and awkward, she finds socializing difficult and keeps her head down.
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But on one emotional day, she opens up to a group of classmates who eventually decide to take her under their wing. Xia Miao Miao’s new friends convince her to join the university drama club – where the dashing Liang You Nian (Lai Kuanlin, formerly of K-pop group Wanna One) is the star performer.
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Smitten with Liang You Nian’s charms, Xia Miao Miao resolves to change everything about herself in order to win his attention. As she does so, she discovers much about who she really is – and learns a new appreciation for Liang You Nian, the object of her affections.
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Will Xia Miao Miao eventually become as popular as Liang You Nian? And can he learn to love his quirky new admirer?
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This series is based on the hit Thai film “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” (2010).
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“A Little Thing Called First Love” is a 2019 Chinese drama directed by Qi Xiao Hui.

A Little Thing Called First Love

The Crazy Little Team 💕

Kakao TV, SERIES ON

Gong Ju Young (Park Ji Hoon) is a 17-year-old high school student who thinks he has found love at school when he falls in for Wang Ja Rim (Lee Ruby) at first sight.

But winning her heart won’t be easy. Wang Ja Rim has earned a reputation for being cold and aloof – and, at first, seems totally unimpressed by Gong Ju Young’s garish displays of affection.

But Gong Ju Young won’t be deterred so easily. Persistence is the key, he thinks – and, over time, Wang Ja Rim starts to open up to her classmate.

Gong Ju Young’s best buddy since elementary school is Lee Kyung Woo (Young Hoon of The Boyz). Will he prove to be a help to Gong Ju Young in his quest for Wang Ja Rim’s heart – or a hindrance?

And could Wang Ja Rim’s closest friends, including the popular Oh Ah Ram (Dayoung of WJSN), also play a role in bringing the duo together?

This drama series was based on a long-running web-hosted cartoon (webtoon) series written by Lee Yong Ka. The webtoon began its run in 2013.

“Love Revolution” is a 2020 South Korean Viki Original drama series.

Love Revolution

Teenage Love Team

WOWOW

In middle school, Yoshioka Futaba (Deguchi Natsuki) fell in love with her tender-spirited classmate Tanaka Kou (Sakurai Kaito). For a while, they were inseparable, enjoying the thrills of first love. But this happiness-filled relationship was not to last. One day, Tanaka Kou was gone, and Yoshioka Futaba was left alone, nursing her broken heart.

Three years later, Yoshioka Futaba is approaching the end of her high school days when Kou unexpectedly transfers to her class. Things have changed, however. Kou’s surname is now Mabuchi. And his personality has totally changed – the kind boy she once loved now has a hard, frosty exterior. Over time, Yoshioka Futaba starts to piece together what happened to Kou to change him so in their time apart. But could they rekindle the flames of love? Or will further disappointment ensue?

This drama was based on a hit manga series of the same name by Io Sakisaka. Its sequel is named “AO HARU RIDE 2.”

“AO HARU RIDE” is a 2023 Japanese drama series that was directed by Kimura Mahito.

AO HARU RIDE

The Blue Spring Ride Team

Yoshioka Futaba (Deguchi Natsuki) was once a middle school student who fell for her warm-hearted classmate Tanaka Kou (Sakurai Kaito). But young love proved to be cruel, and the duo was separated due to circumstances beyond their control – with Kou moving to Nagasaki. Fate reunited them in high school, however. As her school days are about to draw to an end, Kou transferred to her class. But the Kou she once knew changed – adopting an unfamiliar surname and an unexpectedly cold and aloof personality.

Now, with the end of their academic year in sight, Yoshioka Futaba and Kou begin to draw closer to one another again. But things get complicated when she learns that a classmate (originally from Nagasaki) also had her heart broken by Kou during her middle school days. Is a love triangle in the cards for them, or could other classmates confuse the situation yet further? And will Yoshioka Futaba and Kou’s reunion lead them to love...or fresh heartache?

This drama is based on “AO HARU RIDE,” a popular manga series written and illustrated by Io Sakisaka.

“AO HARU RIDE 2” is a 2024 Japanese drama series that was directed by Kimura Masato.

AO HARU RIDE 2

Tencent

Adorable and bubbly, Zhou Xiao (Liu Ren Yu) is a favorite among her peers. A university literature student with a penchant for detective novels, she spends her days lost in the pages of her favorite mysteries, always eager to find out what happens next. With such a devoted love of such stories, it comes as no surprise when she finds herself falling for one of the university’s forensic science majors.&nbsp;

A seriously dedicated student in the forensic science department, Zhao Fanzhou (Gong Jun) has little time for anyone or anything, other than his studies. Cold and detached, he is the last person anyone would ever expect would fall in love. But when he meets Zhou Xiao, that’s exactly what happens. Wooed by her many charms, it doesn’t take long for the two to become a couple. But nothing lasts forever.

Eventually going their separate ways, it would seem their brief but happy love story is over. Or is it? When fate brings the two together, they find themselves wondering if it’s possible to achieve their dreams, in both their careers and in love.

Adapted from the novel “Sailing Round and Round in Circles” by Zhao Qian Qian, “The Love Equations” is a 2020 romantic drama directed by Xing Xiao.&nbsp;

The Love Equations

The Love Detectives Team

A dedicated professional, Sung Deok Mi (Park Min Young) lives for her work as an art gallery curator. Devoting herself to her work, she is exceptional in every way, save one. Beneath that cool, professional facade, Deok Mi carries a dark secret. A secret she desperately wants to keep from the world. A secret that has driven lovers away. A secret that rules every moment of her personal life...

Sung Deok Mi is the ultimate Cha Shi An (Jung Je Won) fangirl.

The devoted manager of a Shi An fansite, Deok Mi eats, breathes, and sleeps for Shi An. He is her sun, her moon. Her entire universe revolves around him. 

This is the secret Deok Mi must hide from the world. 

And hide it she does. At least until Ryan Gold (Kim Jae Wook), the art gallery’s new director, saunters into her life. A once famous painter, the former-artist-turned-director considers himself an indifferent being, unconcerned with the lives of others. But when he uncovers Deok Mi’s secret, everything changes. 

Based on the webtoon, “Noona Fan Dot Com” by Jeon Hye Jin & Kim Jin Hee, “Her Private Life” is a 2019 romantic comedy-drama directed by Hong Jong Chan.

Her Private Life

The Undercover Sasaeng Team

Oh Ha Rin (Yeri) is a 28-year-old woman whose heart still yearns for her first love and closest friend Ji Seo Jun (Hongseok). They were once as close as could be, and both had strong romantic feelings for one another. And exactly a decade ago, on the fateful day when she turned 18, she had resolved to finally come clean about her the way she felt about him...only to discover that he had taken his own life. She later discovered a note where he too confessed his romantic feelings for her.

Now, 10 years on, she looks back at the tragic day. And while looking through his belongings, she happens upon a pile of eight imperviously unseen photos Ji Seo Jun had kept hidden away. Distraught by the painful memories, Oh Ha Rin burns one of the photos – only to find herself back in high school at the exact moment at which the photo was taken. Realizing that she has been gifted the power to travel back in time, she resolves to find a way to save Ji Seo Jun. But she must be prudent: With every photo she burns, she loses another chance to save his life!

“Blue Birthday” is a 2021 South Korean Viki Original drama series that was directed by Park Dan Hee.

Blue Birthday

💙 Blue Birthday 🎂

JTBC

At eighteen, Choi Jun Woo (Ong Seong Wu) has solidified his position as a perpetual loner. Unable to adequately express his emotions, he often comes across as unsympathetic or aloof, when in reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Underneath his lonely exterior lies a cute, goofy young man who just needs the right people around to bring this side out more often.

When Jun Woo transfers schools, he meets Yoo Soo Bin (Kim Hyang Gi), a top student who has spent her entire life being controlled by her overbearing mother. Suffocated under her mother’s care, Soo Bin spends most of her life dreaming of the day she becomes an independent woman. 

Meanwhile, Ma Hwi Young (Shin Seung Ho), seems like the perfect gentleman. Strong and confident on the outside, Hwi Young seems like he has it all, but on the inside, he’s just a timid eighteen-year-old boy trying to find his place in the world.

Each student has their own set of struggles but when they come together, they find their lives slowly begin to change.

“Moment of Eighteen” is a 2019 Viki Original drama directed by Sim Na Yeon.

Moment of Eighteen

Eighteen Staff

School bullies have made life hell for Im Ju Gyeong (Moon Ga Young), who torment her relentlessly for being “ugly.” So when she transfers high schools, she decides to turn over a new leaf by using tips she learns from social media to transform her appearance! Donning a new look and carefully maintaining her "ugly secret," she slowly gains confidence in herself while making genuine friends including Lee Su Ho (Cha Eun Woo), the most popular boy at school, and his close-friend-turned-rival, Han Seo Jun (Hwang In Yeop), a troublemaker with a kind heart. Caught in a love triangle and constantly at risk for having her secret exposed, what will happen if Ju Gyeong's new friends learn about the "real" her? Will she find true love with either of her suitors? This 2020 South Korean series was adapted from the viral 2018 webtoon "True Beauty" and directed by Kim Sang Hyub.

True Beauty

True Beauty Team

Baek Ho Rang (Jung Da Bin) is the most popular girl in high school. Everybody wants to be her friend, and all of the boys dream of winning her heart.

Although she is famously aloof, she is also a star on social media – with the whole school seemingly following her every post.

But when a mysterious individual arrives online, she is caught off-guard.

This person seems to know all of Baek Ho Rang’s deepest secrets, and is seemingly armed with all sorts of information about her that she’d rather was kept a secret forever!

Desperate for answers, she seeks out the help of Go Eun Taek (Hwang Min Hyun), the meticulous, right-minded head of the school’s broadcasting club.

However, in order to gain his assistance, she discovers that she will have to become a regular club member – a fact that eventually brings her together with a group of students she never thought she’d consider friends.

Can she solve the mystery of the online poster? And could joining the club eventually lead to romance?

“Live On” is a 2020 South Korean drama series that was produced by Kim Sang Woo.

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