My favourite variety show: Running Man

Running Man(RM) is a South-Korean variety show, which has been airing since July 2010. The show has been sparking interest from domestic audience as well as international audience due to its unique genre, classified as "Urban Action Variety", which is a never-been-seen genre of variety shows. 

Most viewers, like myself, initially started watching this programme due to the guests appearance from popular Korean idols and Korean actors. What really reels the viewers into watching the whole episode and leaving positive impression about the show is the intriguing game plot with unexpected outcomes/results, which often leave viewers to be on the edge of their seats. The outcome of each episode is unpredictable since it is not scripted and it totally is the consequence of how the players, running man members and the guests, play the game/mission, which is cleverly and creatively designed by RM's production team. Hats off to them! 

The stage after being intrigued and entertained while watching the show is the after-effects of the show, which normally leave the viewers wanting more! This is where the running man members play their roles! Each of  the member has a unique game-character, which is the reflection of their own personality, that viewers can't help but has grown to love ! The members are hilarious and the group dynamic between them is priceless! The running man members definitely play an essential role in getting viewers hooked to the show and anticipating it every single week; at least they do in my case. 

Even though I started watching the RM episodes, guest-starred with the popular K-idols, I am currently at the stage where being more than happy to watch and fully entertained by RM members alone. Guest-starring of the K-idols and K-actors is just icing on an already-extremely-delicious cake!


Without further ado, I would like to introduce you to RM members below:

• Yoo Jae Suk- MC of the RM. He is one of the most popular national MCs in South Korea. He is very funny and kind! He is also known as : Youce Willis, named after "Bruce Willis" after the episode where he was the main lead that saved the game; "Youce Bond", named after "James Bond" in the episode where he was the spy against other RM members and "Grasshopper" since he likes wearing green and his face resembling a grasshopper .

•  Kim Joong Kook - is known to be the strongest member both physically and intelligence-wise. Aka - "Sparta" since he's the hunkiest and all the members are intimidated to come face-to-face with him during the game. During the games, they animate him with -- "this is sparta" sound and fire animation effects! Occasionally aka "Kookie ^-^" when he show his 'Aegyo side' ***. He becomes weak when a girl begs him during the game! What I find very surprising is that he has the softest vocal, opposite to his appearance, when he sings. He is an amazing singer!

• Song Jihyo- known as ACE - because she's really good at games and very clever like Kim Joong Kook. The only girl of RM but one of the best RM members! She's my personal favourite! She's sometimes called "Mong(Blank) Jiyo" since she can't hide but show her blank facial expressions when she does not understand something and "Bad Jiyo" since she sometimes, accidentally, swears out of frustration and bullies Kwang Soo, who is younger than her. She wasn't a permanent RM member at the beginning. She appeared often as a guest initially but has become a permanent member due to her outstanding performance on the show! Despite being an actress, Jiyo-unnie*** has tom-boy personality and doesn't care about her image on the show at all. She gives her 110% during the game to win and she is committed to doing well in the show despite her extremely hectic schedules.

• Kang Gary - known as Gary , who sometimes likes to burst out saying "stress" whenever he gets frustrated. Jihyo and him are known as "Monday Couple" since Gary seem to fancy her and often drops chessy love lines to Jihyo on the show. The show is filmed on Monday and some other day so these two are called Monday couple. This might change soon since Song Jihyo relationship with her CEO was recently revealed!

• Ha Dong Hoon - Haha - sometimes called Haharo because he wears glasses which makes him look like a korean penguin cartoon character called "Pororo". He's quite witty and also good at games, especially the spy and deceptive games. He is often the wing man of Kim Jong Kook, who calls Haha "nae Dongsang/ my little brother". Haha in turn calls him "Wuri Hyung/my dear brother". 

• Lee Kwang Soo- he's the maknae/youngest*** of RM and one of the weakest members since he's not that clever and he's often been pushed aside. He does try his hardest, but often he is associated with the phrase "Lee Kwang Soo's out" since he's one of the easitest member to be eliminated. But he's quite funny, especially his pitiful expression. Bless him ! He is also known as "Kwangvatar", named after "Avator"- due to his lanky height and posture. He's an rising actor in supporting role for many k-dramas.

• Ji Suk Jin- he's the oldest member and also one of the weakest members like Kwang Soo. When they play games, he's often the first person to be eliminated and sent to jail! RM members often jokes that RM jail is his home on the show and they aren't really surprised when he gets eliminated. He's easily get flustered by pretty girls! Lately, he has been paried with Kwang Soo and they are known as "Dumb and Dumber" or "Easy Brother".

• Old members

Song Jong Ki - flower boy (i.e korean nickname for pretty/good-looking guy). He is the same age as Kwang Soo and as bad in most games as Kwang Soo while he was on the show but he received more love due to his look! He is book-smart and was good at RM knowledge quizzes! He did try his best on other games but he failed most of the times. While he was on the show, he showed his interest towards Song Jihyo and attempted to create a love line but Jihyo only thought of him as her younger sibling. As a result, they were known as "Song-song couple or Song-song sibling". He left after episode 41 to concentrate on his acting career and came back for one day in episode 66 as a guest.

Lizzy- from "After School" girl group. Long-term guest stars for many episodes at the beginning.