Running Man (Korean: 런닝맨) is a South Korean variety show; a part of SBS's Good Sunday lineup, along with Barefooted Friends. It was first aired on July 11, 2010. This show is classified as an "urban action variety"; a never-before-seen new genre of variety shows. The MCs and guests complete missions in a landmark to win the race. It has garnered attention as being the come-back program for Yoo Jae-suk, the main MC of the program, after leaving Good Sunday's Family Outing in February 2010. Airing at the 5 pm KST time slot for most of its run, Running Man switched to the second part of Good Sunday (which happened May 22 and May 29, 2011 with Kim Yu-na's Kiss and Cry but was quickly switched back due to low ratings) beginning May 6, 2012, airing after Kim Byung-man's Law of the Jungle 2 at 6:10 pm and airing against KBS2 Happy Sunday's 1 Night 2 Days Season 2 and MBC Sunday Night's I Am a Singer 2.

 

It was this day that this show was introduced. With the new show that was introduced, sever members were introduced as well. These seven people are from different fields that make the show more interesting. The seven people who were introduced were:

 

Yu Jae Suk - The main host of the show and known during the race missions for his escaping abilities. He is shown to have a closer relationship with a lot of the celebrities who will be coming as a guests. Well, no wonder he's called the national emcee. He sure does know who the celebrities are in person.

 

Gary - Introduced alongside Lee Kwang-soo and Song Joong-ki as one of the "variety rookies" due to his lack of experience on variety shows prior to Running Man. He is shown as the most gullible but honest member. Although shown to be quite clueless at times, he is known as "The man full of surprises" and the "dark horse" of Running Man during race missions, highlighted when the show held the Best of the Best Match with him winning on two occasions.

 

Haha - The primary joker of the cast and is usually picked on by other members because of his height and his similar appearance to Pororo the Little Penguin. He also has a tendency to feel as though he is the main lead in a movie created by his imagination. When things don't go his way, he lashes out verbally, causing great laughter among the cast. He is also the playboy of the cast, as he always confesses his love to female guests.

 

Ji Suk Jin - The oldest member of the show and one of Yoo Jae-suk's closest friends, knowing each other for more than 20 years. He is shown to be jealous of the good relationship between Yoo Jae-suk and Kim Jong-kook. During the race, he is shown to be one of the weakest members and is the easiest and most frequently eliminated out of the cast, so easily that the other members would declare that the race has officially started after his elimination. 

 

Kim Jong Kook - The strongest man on the show, Kim Jong-kook is known for his strength and skill during the race missions. During the mission, he is known for his sudden appearance that are often accompanied by the soundbite "Sparta!" taken from the movie, 300. His smart tactics are often successful to eliminate the other members and as a result, he is known for having both brains and brawn. He is also shown at times to act cute and show off his "aegyo". His only apparent weakness is women and he is often teased for having a particular fondness towards Yoon Eun-hye.

 

Lee Kwang Soo - The youngest and tallest member of the cast and initially introduced alongside Gary and Song Joong-ki as one of the "variety rookies" due to his lack of experience on variety shows prior to Running Man. He is often picked on by the rest of the cast, particularly Kim Jong-kook, due to his timid nature. He is one of the weakest players, often the first to be eliminated during race missions. However, he has grown to easily betray his fellow members without concern. Due to his immense popularity when the show is filmed in other Asian countries, he has since been known as the Prince of Asia.

 

At long last, a whistle was blown. The introduction of members were just as overwhelming as the introduction of tonight's famous celebrity guests - Lee Hyo Ri and Hwang Jung-eum. The members and the guests were divided into two teams: Expensive Team (Jae Suk, Jong Kook, Joong Ki, Kwang Soo, and Jung-eum) and Cheap Team (Suk Jin, Ha Ha, Hyo Ri, and Gary). They were given missions to do, and all of them had fun doing the missions. The overall winner of the missions to do was the Expensive Team. So, Ha Ha and Suk Jin were punished for fun and laughter. Hyo Ri was exempted of the punishment for she's a guest

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"Cut!" The director cued them. The filming has ended, and all of them can go home now. Without knowing who the guests are, and by just weighing the situation that he's in now, Kim Jong Kook looked at the cameraman who is still rolling the camera for the behind-the-scenes as he said, "Things will be good next week, I can feel it." Little that one of these Running Man members knows that the woman that he has been wanting to see again right after she guested on his previous variety show, Family Outing, will be one of the special guests next Sunday. And that woman's name is... Song Ji Hyo.