New youth K-drama touted as next Lovely Runner hits 0% ratings after just two episodes

Indian Express

09-05-2025

Following the success of Byeon Woo Seok's Lovely Runner, K-drama makers saw a surprising uptick in audience interest in stories based on boy bands, a trend that grew even stronger with shows like Twinkling Watermelon, which was both a commercial and popular hit. However, SBS's attempt to recreate the magic with its newly released Spring of Youth fell short of expectations, blame it on poor promotion or the failure to land a deal with OTT giants like Netflix or Prime, which now play a major role in making K-dramas successful thanks to their vast global reach. Youth of Spring premiered on May 6 and, after a brief period of traction, lost its footing in the domestic market.
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Starring Ha Yoo Joon, Park Ji Hu, and Lee Seung Hyub, Spring of Youth follows the life of a popular boy band member, Sa Gye, who is the lead vocalist of Crown. The show opens with the band performing at a concert, along with an announcement that their new music recently made it to the world's top album chart. A private celebration with the members and the CEO follows. The next thing we know, a video surfaces early the next morning showing a drunk Sa Gye punching the CEO of his label, someone he once said he would never dream of hurting, given he loved and respected him the most after his father. The show then takes a dramatic turn after Sa Gye's encounter with Kim Bom, a girl with a mysterious tune attached to her necklace, the same tune that often plays in his dreams.
What follows is Sa Gye being kicked out of the band, with all his assets seized to pay for the damages. On the other hand, the frustrated CEO seems to be hiding something and suspects Sa Gye knows what really happened six years ago. The show premiered to a 1.4% viewership rating, but the very next day, the numbers dropped dramatically to 0.7%, according to Allkpop. For international viewers, the show is streaming on Viki.
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Spring of Youth tries to keep Lovely Runner's essence intact by introducing a storyline with strings attached to the past. But the audience reaction on social media seems to be more focused on the visuals rather than the story. The K-drama is directed by Kim Sung Yong and penned by Kim Min Chul. Ha Yoo Joon plays the titular character of Sa Gye, Kim Bom is played by Park Ji Hu, and Seo Tae Yang by Lee Seung Hyub. The story from here follows the trio setting up their own music band. The K-drama has its obvious romantic elements after Sa Gye starts sharing the same house as Kim Bom, following his fall from stardom. Later, he tells her that he seems to have some kind of connection with the melody, Bom claimed to have written herself, as he keeps hearing it in his dream.
However, according to the Korea Times, Spring of Youth is being seen as a new version of the 2009 hit You're Beautiful, another musical romance that was a huge hit. To add a more real touch, Spring of Youth features actual FNC band members. Ha Yu Jun, who is the vocalist of AxMxP, and Lee Seung Hyub of N.Flying. The latter also got a lot of love last year for his role as Baek In Hyuk in Lovely Runner.