'Spring of Youth' joins band boom in dramas: Will it be the next 'Lovely Runner?’

'Spring of Youth' poster (SBS)The youth band romance "Spring of Youth" is set to hit the small screen.SBS’s new drama "Spring of Youth" tells the story of Sa-gye, a top K-pop band star who is expelled from his group and embarks on a turbulent college life where he meets Kim Bom and stages a brilliant comeback. The project brings together director Kim Sung-yong of "The Veil," the "band powerhouse" FNC Entertainment, and SBS, known as the "drama kingdom.

""Spring of Youth" is expected to continue the legacy of the 2009 sensation "You're Beautiful," another musical romance drama. "You're Beautiful" starred FT Island's Lee Hong-gi and CNBLUE's Jung Yong-hwa, both from FNC Entertainment, and achieved explosive popularity at the time.Adding to the authenticity, real FNC band members appear in "Spring of Youth.



" Ha Yoo-joon, vocalist of the band AxMxP, and Lee Seung-hyub of N.Flying are part of the cast.Lee Seung-hyub also gained attention last year for his role as Baek In-hyuk in the tvN drama "Lovely Runner.

" "Lovely Runner" depicted the story of passionate fan Im Sol (played by Kim Hye-yoon), who, devastated by the death of ECLIPSE’s lead singer Ryu Sun-jae (played by Byeon Woo-seok), travels back to 2008 to save him. Lee portrayed Baek In-hyuk, the leader and guitarist of ECLIPSE.The original soundtrack "Sudden Shower," performed by Byeon Woo-seok as Ryu Sun-jae in "Lovely Runner," ranked high on major domestic music charts, highlighting the drama’s widespread appeal.

Similarly, the band featured in "Spring of Youth" has participated directly in the OST. At the "2024 SBS Drama Awards," the drama’s fictional band performed "SEE YOU LATER," one of the OST tracks, in a special preview performance.Attention is now on whether the youth band-themed "Spring of Youth" will capture viewers' hearts as powerfully as "Lovely Runner" did.

"Spring of Youth" will premiere with special back-to-back episodes on May 6 and May 7, and continue airing every Wednesday at 10:40 p.m. (The Korea Times).