Shawols Call to Boycott THIS Drama Due To Plot & Release Date Referencing Late SHINee Jonghyun

[Trigger Warning: Mentions of suicide]

SHINee's fandom expressed fury as this upcoming K-drama allegedly references the life of the late Jonghyun.

On March 6, tVN's official SNS dropped the poster for its upcoming drama, "Lovely Runner," starring Kim Hye Yoon and Byeon Woo Seok.

While drama fans are anticipating, SHINee's fandom Shawols flocked to the post and called out the writers and the broadcasting network for allegedly referencing the late Jonghyun's life story.

Shawols Furious At 'Lovely Runner' Poster

Shawols voiced out their anger upon learning about the plot, which allegedly matches Jonghyun's life.

Adapted from the 2020 published novel, titled, "Naeilui Euddeum," by Kim Bbang, "Lovely Runner" focuses on the story of Ryu Sun Jae (Byun Woo Seok) a top K-pop idol and Im Sol (Kim Hye Yoon), his fan.

Sun Jae becomes the hope and light of Sol as she experiences an accident when she was little, leading her to give up her dream. Thus, when the male star decides to end his life, Sol falls into deep sadness.

With this, Shawols didn't think of it as problematic as it shows a top star who is cherished and loved by his fans and the raw emotion of a supporter after losing her idol.

What Shawols can't accept is the plot twist of the drama, wherein the fan time-travels back to 15 years ago in order for Im Sol to prevent Ryu's tragic future as a 19-year-old high school student.

Shawols emphasize that it feels like the drama is "mocking" and "disrespecting" the "beautiful existence" of the life that the idol led for a plot that can be executed differently.

Shawols are also irked after finding out that the release date is on April 8, Jonghyun's birthday.

In the poster, Kim Hye Yoon is seen wearing a mint green sweater, a color that is close to SHINee's official fandom color, pearl aqua green.

Fans think that this isn't a coincidence and that the channel purposely chose the date for marketing purposes.

Shawols Call for 'Lovely Runner' Boycott

The fandom clarified that they are not against the actors and staff behind the show, although they pointed out that they are worried that the K-pop icon who left a meaningful legacy in the world of art and music would be seen only as someone who "ended his life" and ignore his works.

As a result, fans called for help from K-drama and K-pop fans to boycott the series and to receive an apology from the broadcasting channel.

What are your thoughts on this situation?

READ MORE: "It's Okay To Not Be Okay" Slammed For Allegedly Plagiarizing Late Jonghyun's Letter

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Written by Eunice Dawson.