“We had to go to the ER for IV drips” — Lovely Runner’s Jung Young-joo reveals the show’s actors enduring brutal filming conditions

Lovely Runner, starring Byeon Woo-seok and Kim Hye-yoon, gained worldwide popularity for its unique story, stellar cast, and charismatic onscreen chemistry with the leads. Meanwhile, South Korean veteran actress Jung Young-joo, who played Im Sol's (Kim Hye-yoon) mother in the tvN drama, gave an interview to Zum as reported by SPOTV News.

The actress revealed in her latest interview how the cast braved harsh weather and brutal filming conditions on the set of Lovely Runner. Jung Young-joo shared how they used to film till 2 am every day and come back to work at 6 am again without proper sleep. Often, all the actors would have to go to the hospital to get IV drips due to the exhaustive filming schedule and conditions.

On June 5, 2024, SPOTV News reported that the filming of Lovely Runner took over 11 months to complete. South Korean actress Jung Young-joo further shared that often the schedule took a toll on all of them. She added that they would mostly end up crying due to exhaustion.

"Filming ended every day at 2 AM and then we would have to be back at the shop by 6 AM. It was a repetitive process. There was no time to rest, so sometimes we had to go to the ER for IV drips. Sometimes, we would literally be out of tears because we cried so much."

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"I feel so proud of them" — Lovely Runner's Jung Young-joo speaks about Byeon Woo-seok and Kim Hye-yoon

Jung Young-joo—well acclaimed for Netflix's Badland Hunters and The Fiery Priest, among others—shared an anecdote about filming the lake scenes from her hit drama Lovely Runner. In the scene, Sol (Kim Hye-yoon) accidentally falls into a lake while trying to escape from her kidnapper at night and is saved by Ryu Sun-jae (Byeon Woo-seok).

She lauded Byeon Woo-seok and Kim Hye-yoon for filming the lake scenes in the middle of winter and under treacherous weather conditions.

"They filmed swimming scenes, went into a lake in the middle of winter, and shot in the rain. They really went through a lot. It’s not like I birthed them or raised them, so I don’t know why I feel so proud of them. I support them a lot."

SPOTV News reported that she recounted being questioned if Byeon Woo-seok and Kim Hye-yoon actually dated while they were filming Lovely Runner. She claimed that because Byeon Woo-seok and Kim Hye-yoon looked out for one other, many people on the set concluded that they liked each other in real life.

According to Jung Young-joo, it is hard to pretend differently when someone adores someone, especially in Woo-seok's case because of his amiable and kind personality. However, the two main leads were nothing more than good friends. The actress also shared that she is still in contact with both the drama main leads even after the project ended.

"The most people ask me if they are really dating. They say, 'You dated. It would have been fine if you dated there.' People around me keep asking me to ask them personally. “I joke and say, ‘If you find out, you’ll get hurt.""

Jung Young-joo continued,

"I thought the two of them really liked each other on set. We could see that they cared for each other. In fact, it's impossible to lie about liking people. Especially in the case of Wooseok, it's obvious because he's nice, but we felt like we could see them caring and caring for each other, whether it was Sol-i or Hye-yoon. It was nice."

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Lovely Runner also stars Lee Seung-hyub and Song Geon-hee, along with Byeon Woo-seok, Kim Hye-woon, and Jung Young-joo. The drama is available on Viki for global streaming and Viu in select regions.