Running Man member lineup has gone through members’ departures and many difficult periods but has survived and managed to continuously bring fun and laughter to its die-hard viewers. Due to the program’s popularity, the entire cast has gained a lot of attention from global fans around the world. It is incredibly hard to select just a few best moments and memorable segments of Running Man. In this article, Channel Korea made a great effort to select the unforgettable and best moments you should definitely check out. So, stay tuned and keep scrolling down!
Heartwarming Fan-meeting
At the peak of Running Man’s global popularity and in celebration of Running Man’s 9th year of broadcasting, program directors decided to make a fan-meeting concert. The fan-meeting concert was held on August 26th, 2019, and was broadcast on September 22nd, 2019. The memorable concert took place at Ewha Woman University in Daehyeon, Seoul. The fan-meeting concert made huge headlines and consisted of 3 heart-warming and entertaining episodes. The main event was the full members’ dance choreography. All the members practiced and trained for weeks under the supervision of famous dance choreographers. During the concert, each of the members was given special moments to showcase their talents and special performance. At the end of the choreography, the entire cast was exhausted and hugged each other at the center stage. Each one of them was given special time to express their gratitude to their beloved Running Man fans.
Ji Suk-Jin initially wanted to make a memorable speech but his words somewhat felt too normal. It was Song Ji-hyo that captured the heart of viewers and won the praise from fans. She was barely able to speak a word and sobbed during her speech. Her emotions were felt by her heartwarming performance. Since she couldn’t say any words, several people from the audience shouted: “You did a good job!” After hearing the compliment, she smiled and bowed to the fans. She thanked the fans for the hard work.
Since she was filled with emotions and couldn’t deliver the speech, the on-screen younger brother, Lee Kwang-soo comforted her and said something to her ears. After hearing Lee Kwang-soo’s words, Song Ji-hyo smiled and looked up to the audience. Running Man fans were curious about Lee Kwang-soo’s words to her. In later episodes, it was revealed that Lee Kwang-soo promised to treat her a drink after the concert.
Running Man’s Ji Suk-jin & Jeon So-min Are In Love
In episode 491 of Running Man, Kim Jong-kook revealed a surprising fact about Ji Suk-jin’s car. He revealed that there were a lot of Jeon So-min face stickers inside Ji Seok-jin’s personal car. The entire cast was surprised and couldn’t believe him at first. Yoo Jae-suk even said that Kim Jong-kook was crazy enough to make that kind of story. Jeon So-min couldn’t hide her emotions and smiled when hearing the revelation. The entire cast went to see Ji Suk-jin’s car and was shocked by the Jeon So-min stickers in his car. Yoo Jae-suk was the first person to open Ji Suk-jin’s car. There were two stickers, one was Ji Suk-jin’s sticker and the other was a Jeon So-min sticker. Both of the stickers were placed at the steering wheel and the first passenger seat at the front row. Lee Kwang-soo was shocked by the truth and said that it must not be aired on television. Haha added that it was probably the reason why Ji Suk-jin was jealous of Yang Se-chan and Jeon So-min’s on-screen loveline. Being on the target of suspicion, Ji Suk-jin quickly said that it was his manager who did it. He rarely used the car on his own and he used it only to attend shooting schedules. However, Kim Jong-kook made another revelation and it was even worse than the first. He said that Ji Suk-jin had bought a nice and expensive woman handbag. Kim Jong-kook saw the receipt of the bag inside the suspected car. Again, Ji Suk-sin denied the accusation and said that he never bought any handbag and the credit card number didn’t match his credit card. The entire cast looked at the camera and said: “Sister in law, did you receive the handbag?” Ji Suk-jin remained steadfast and defended himself. He swore that he found out about Jen So-min’s sticker on that day. He even said that there was no need to edit Jeon So-min’s sticker. He convinced everyone that his wife knows about all of his activities. Apparently, the segment was meant to be a funny segment of Running Man members teasing each other. However, Running Man fans expressed their dissatisfaction with the revelation. Even if the segment was meant to be a joke or prank, Running Man directors must protect Ji Suk-jin’s family. They worried that his family might be in trouble because of the revelation. Ji Suk-jin is married to a celebrity wife and has a teenage son that might feel uncomfortable or might misunderstand the segment. Other fans commented, “Even Jeon So-min felt uncomfortable about his on-screen love line with Ji Suk-jin.”
Running Man Inappropriate Scenes
In one episode of Running Man, Lee Kwang-soo was challenged to jump from a hanging bar. While he was hanging, Yang Se-chan and Yoo Jae-suk tried to disturb his concentration by tickling his upper body. Lee Kwang-soo couldn’t resist the tickling and fell to the floor. He was upset with the Yoo Jae-suk and Yang Se-chan and complained that nobody can do the challenging if somebody tickles his upper body. Kim Jong-kook rose up to the challenge and walked to the hanging bar. He was dangling comfortably while Yoo Jae-suk and Yang Se-chan tickled his upper body. With his thick muscles, Kim Jong-kook had no difficulties dealing with the tickling. Feeling upset and defeated by the challenge, Lee Kwang-soo suddenly pulled down Kim Jong-kook’s pants while Kim Jong-kook was hanging comfortably. Feeling embarrassed, Kim Jong-kook quickly went down and pulled up his pants. He scolded Lee Kwang-soo for doing the childish joke. Even though Kim Jong-kook was smiling, he must have felt embarrassed because of Lee Kwang-soo’s deliberate act. Lee Kwang-soo quickly apologized to Kim Jong-kook and the entire production staff. He did it because he was extremely angry at Kim Jong-kook. The entire cast and guests burst out with laughter as soon as they saw Kim Jong-kook in his underwear. Jeon So-min looked extremely embarrassed since she was sitting right in front of Kim Jong-kook and watched the whole scene. Due to inappropriate airing of the segment, SBS’ Running Man received sanction from the Korean Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) on December 12th, 2019. The institution stated that the incident was considered a sexual harassment act and condemned the airing of the incident. It wasn’t the first time that KCSC has criticized Running Man for violating broadcasting regulations. In the middle of 2019, KCSC released an official warning to the program for airing the use of inappropriate language during the filming.
Running Man’s PD Departure After 10 Years
After directing SBS’ Running Man for 10 years, Jung Chul-min PD decided to step down from the popular variety program. The news was released on February 5th, 2020, thorough online news media. SBS released its official statement, announcing that Jung Chul-min PD will make his final participation until the middle of February. As a result, another PD, Choi Bo Pil PD will take his place as the lead director of Running Man. Jung Chul-min PD decided to take some time off before deciding on his next project. On April 10th, 2020, Jung Chul-min’s resignation letter was accepted by SBS. Ten days later, news surfaced that he started working as a program director on CJ ENM. Jung Chul-min PD joined SBS’ Running Man in 2010. In March 2016, he became the leader of the director teams and worked alongside Lee Hwan-Jin PD and Park Young-Woo PD. Jung Chul-min PD made a brave but fruitful decision by recruiting actress Jeon So-min and comedian Yang Se-chan as new permanent members. Due to the decision, Running Man gained even more popularity and received praise for leading Running Man to its best periods. Jung Chul-min had gone through a lot of difficult periods during his time directing Running Man. According to interviews on the 9th anniversary of the Running Man program, Jung Chul-min PD revealed the most difficult period directing the program. He said that the period after Kang Gary left Running Man was the hardest period. Personally, he liked Kang Gary as a person and enjoyed working with him, Kang Gary and Song Ji-hyo developed “Monday Couple” that was loved by viewers. After he left Running Man, the rating fell around 5%. However, Jung-Chul-min PD directed and made a swift recovery from the departure. He recruited new members, Jeon So-min and Yang Se-chan that brought a new era of Running Man. That was all the information about the most memorable moments of Running Man. Which one is your favorite moment? Do you have your own personal favorite moment? Don’t forget to kindly share your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below!
