Game show Running Man is still popular, as a fan-meet extravaganza in Hong Kong indicates, writes Bibi Nurshuhada Ramli
SINCE its debut in 2010, South Korean variety game show Running Man has become one of the most-watched programmes on TV.
It features its seven cast members — Yu Jaesuk, Ji Sukjin, Kim Jongkook, Kang Gary, Haha, Song Jihyo and Lee Kwangsoo — who are occasionally joined by celebrity guests. They get missions ranging from the technically challenging to the wildly hilarious and they have to complete these at different locations.
It gained popularity globally for its novelty, not to mention the competitive camaraderie between the cast and their hilarious personalities. Having won numerous entertainment awards in South Korea, its popularity waned somewhat recently, with dwindling viewership.
Fans however, continue to show their adulation for the cast and show. At fan meetings held in various locations in Asia recently, thousands turned up.
The Running Man Race Start is unlike conventional fan-meet gatherings where fans take pictures, get autographs and shake hands with the stars.
The recent event held at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong had all the trappings of an interactive musical concert.
Kim and Haha entertained with songs that were popular with Running Man fans.
Meanwhile, TV host Ji, actress Song and actor-model Lee, although not the best singers, were sporting enough to perform. The atmosphere was warm and fun, with lots of singing and dancing.
LET’S START
Five cast members sang the theme song from the successful Korean drama, My Love From The Star. This was followed by an interview session, where the emcee asked them about their experiences on the show and their relationships with one another.
Haha thanked his fans and Song praised the audience’s high energy. She said she hoped they were having fun.
Lee told the fans to expect “lots of excitement” that night and Kim echoed his sentiments, promising more fun games at the show as compared to the Race Start fan-meet last year.
The emcee then asked Song for her secret to winning Running Man (she was the only female in the team).
Immediately, fans started chanting “Kang Gary!” (with whom, Song was rumoured to have a romantic relationship).
All five members laughed at the fans’ all-knowing attitude and Song retorted: “He’s not here!”
For the uninitiated, Song and Kang Gary are dubbed the Monday Couple as the show is filmed on Mondays.
Song continued: “I’m just a girl... so I am thankful that the others (cast members) have allowed me to be who I am. We are like a family.”
Haha said for the show’s upcoming episodes, he hoped to see Hong Kong stars join them in their “missions”. “We love Hong Kong movies so we’d love to have them in Running Man.”
The next segment was a video montage of the Running Man programme.
FUN AND GAMES
In the game segment, participants had to roll a dice to select the game. For the first, 5 Kinds Of Relay Race, 10 fans were selected at random and divided into two teams to join the cast.
In each team, a fan was paired with a Running Man cast. Each pair was required to complete a mission — do a number of sit-ups in a minute, transfer beans from a plate to another using chopsticks and break a balloon between their bodies, for example.
The five missions were all timed and the winner got to take a picture with the Running Man cast.
The next game was Pepero Kiss, where a fan and Haha put one end of the long Pepero stick biscuit into their mouths and bite off bits until 2cm was left.
In the next game, Penalty Kick Challenge, a cast member was paired with a fan to kick a football into a goal.
Each team was given a prop that “hindered” their efforts such as wearing flippers or high heels instead of normal shoes.
The last game was Pot Lid Selection, where a cast member was given a random pot with a lid each. If the lid couldn’t be opened, the member lost the game and was “hit” as a “punishment”. Here, Kim wasn’t as lucky as she lost twice.
CONCERT SEGMENT
Another montage of the cast members was shown on the screen, this time highlighting their respective skills in Running Man.
Then Ji came on stage to sing Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely. His vocals weren’t bad at all.
Lee came on next to sing I Miss You, the theme song of Korean drama Stairway To Heaven. A commendable performance as well.
Next, Song coudn’t contain her nervousness when she sang Scent Of A Flower, the theme song from her drama Emergency Couple. It came off quite sweet. She was then joined on stage by Haha and Kim, both wearing Kang Gary masks and pretending to fight for her affections.
Lee and Ji surprised fans with their rendition of the track Troublemaker, in which Lee donned a pink dress and a long wig, and Ji put on a silver wig.
The audience roared with laughter as Lee and Ji pretended to be a couple in love and delivered sexy moves.
Kim serenaded with his signature ballad One Man and Maroon 5’s Sunday Morning.
After Haha’s songs, Story Of A Little Kid and Rosa, the other members joined him on stage. He and Kim then sang and danced to Turbo’s (Kim’s former boygroup) Twist King. Haha amplified the atmosphere by splashing water on the crowd.
“We would like to perform some songs that we know you would appreciate,” said Kim who was joined by five Running Man members to sing the popular Loveable and Busan Vacance.
The encore performance was Hands Up, originally popularised by male group 2PM. It was the perfect song to close the show.
KL DATE
There was plenty of warmth and adulation in the air that had fans smiling ear to ear as they left the venue.
Since last year, the Running Man Race Start fan-meet has covered China, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong. Race Start Season 2 fan-meet will be in Kuala Lumpur next month. The upcomimng Running Man Race Start Season 2 in Kuala Lumpur is organised by One, with supporting sponsor Red Bull.