Running Man is a South Korean variety show, a part of SBS's Good Sunday lineup. It was first aired on July 11, 2010. Running Man has aired for almost 3 years, it currently has over hundred episodes and still on-going every week.Running Man filming at various famous places in Korea, such as Museum, Sports Stadium, Seoul Tower, Jeju Island, up to foreign countries like China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam.
Mission / Games
Mission or games is usually different in each episode. Mission or the game in Running Man is different in each episode, but basically consist of several games. The game is played to help members complete the main missions. but in a few episodes, there are members who get extra mission, known as spy mission.
The most commonly played game in Running Man itself is a race mission. Usually, consists of hide and seek game and chase to remove other team name tag's. Members who already removed his/her name tag will go to jail and stay still during the game.
Member
1. Ji Suk Jin
Nicknames : Big Nose Older Brother, Impala
Appear in episode 1 - present
Ji Suk Jin is the oldest member of the show. During the race missions, he is shown to be one of the weakest member and most frequently eliminated out of the race, so the other members would declare that the race has officially started after his elimination.
2. Yoo Jae Suk
Nicknames : Grasshoper, Yoomes Bond, Yooruce Wilis, Yoo Hyuk
Appear in episode 1 - present
Yoo Jae Suk is the main host of the show as known as nation mc. he is shown to have a closer relationship with a lot of the guests on the show. Although initially a weak player during the race missions, he later becomes one of the strongest players in the series, and is, along with Kim Jong Kook, considered to be one of the two main powers in the race missions.
3. Kim Jong Kook
Nicknames : Sparta-kooks, Kookie, Commander, Coach Kook, Tiger
Appear in episode 1 - present
Kim Jong Kook is known as the strongest man on the show. His smart tactics are often successful to eliminate the other members and as a result, he is known for having both brains and brawn. His only apparent weakness is women.
4. Gary
Nicknames : Peaceful Gary, Wild Gary, Monday Boyfriend
Appear in episode 1 - present
Gary is shown as the most gullible but honest member. Throughout the series, he has been involved in the official loveline of the show alongside Song Ji-hyo. 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.
5. Haha
Nicknames : Haroro, Roro, Penguin
Appear in episode 1 - present
Haha is the primary joker of the cast and usually picked on by other members because of his height and his similar appearance to Pororo the Little Penguin. He was initially a weak player during the race missions, occasionally being picked on even while on the chasing team, however he has improved over the course of the show.
6. Lee Kwang Soo
Nicknames : Giraffe, Kwang-vatar, Prince of Asia, Icon of Betrayal
Appear in episode 1 - present
Lee Kwang Soo is the youngest and tallest member of the cast. 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.
7. Song Ji Hyo
Nicknames : Miss Blank, Ace, Bad Ji Hyo, Monday Girlfriend
Appear in episode 2 - 5 (Guest); 6 - present (Member)
Song Ji Hyo is the only current female member of the show. During the earlier episodes, she was often known to swear during broadcasts especially towards Haha and Lee Kwang Soo. She is also known to be often seen with confused or blank facial expressions a lot of the time. Throughout the series, she has been involved in the official loveline of the show alongside Gary. She is one of the strongest players during race missions.
8. Song Joong Ki
Nicknames : Active Young Man, Flower Joong Ki, Brain Joong Ki
Appear in episode 1 - 41
Song Joong Ki is shown as being the smartest and also having the best looks out of the cast. He is known for being able to figure out puzzles and strategize during the race missions. He is also shown to be very optimistic and is often seen attempting new things but ultimately failing. As of episode 41, he has left the main cast to focus on his acting career.
Guest
Running Man almost has 150 episodes. Throughout all the episodes, it cannot be denied that the guests have made an amazing impact to elevating Running Man into one of the most watched variety shows around the world. Of course, there have been both good and bad guests appearing on Running Man, but nothing is perfect.
These are all my personal opinion. I'm judging objectively based on whomever left me with the greatest impression with their performance. So don't accuse me of being biased. Among all these guests, I have spotted a number of similarities, enough to group them into different categories. Below are all the different groups of guests, along with some notable examples, who have appeared on Running Man.
1. The Super Guest
Examples: Jung Yong-hwa, Nichkhun, Park Ji-sung
Super guests are able to leave a strong impression on the audience with
their witty banter with the other members, while still being able to
excel in almost all the games and races. Yong-hwa, current record holder
for guesting the most episodes on Running Man is a clear example of a
super guest. His interaction with the rest of the cast members is
brilliant and he is also nicknamed "Guest Ace" because of his
adaptability in the games. Park Ji-sung is another super guest; his
appearance in the 3-part Park Ji-sung special giving audiences a
surprising, and very funny, insight into the other side of 'Three-lung
Park'.
2. The Active Guests
Examples: Shin Se-kyung, Choi Siwon, Choi Minho
The active guests are those guests who do not care so much about
creating laughs, but rather go for the win in every situation. Minho is
one such active guest. Not only does he focus on winning every game to
the best of his ability, his never-give up performance in the Winter
Olympics Special put him toe-to-toe with the Commander. Shin Se-kyung is
another active guest. She may seem quiet and demure on the outside, but
her will to win is extremely strong. God help whoever goes against her.
3. The Overrated Guests
Examples: Choi Min-soo, Jackie Chan, Big Bang
Sometimes,
the more hype you put into an episode and its guest, the bigger the fall
will be. Choi Min-soo was brilliant the first time he came but by the
third time, the whole premise seemed incredibly scripted. Jackie Chan's
episode was another huge episode. Sure it was the first time an
international guest participated in the entire episode but the overall
episode was only mediocre, with laughs here and there.
4. The Cute Guests
Examples: Shin Bong-sun, Noh Sa-yeon
The cute guests here are referring to the guests who can
bring in the laughs with their antics. In this respect, Noh Sa-yeon, the
Tuna Roll, is one of the cutest guests to ever grace the show. Every
single one of her appearances guarantees at least a stomachache from
laughing too much. Shin Bong-sun and her preoccupation with getting the
Commander's attention is also something to watch for.
5. The Mediocre Guest
Examples: So-hee, HyunA, Kim Woo-bin
Sometimes, a guest comes on the show but they don't make much of an
impact in terms of laughs or in terms of winning the games. These are
the mediocre guests. One example is So-hee. Although she was cute as a
button, she was also extremely shy and didn't really generate much
conversation, more so laughs. Kim Woo-bin was another guest who was
fairly mediocre. While he did try his best to win the games, he was
unfortunately a little bit tight-lipped, giving off an impression of
being cool, something that a variety show like Running Man doesn't
really employ well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_Man_%28TV_series%29
http://leonhart90.blogspot.com/2013/04/6-kinds-of-running-man-guests.html
