52

Running Man: Episode 176

It’s a popularity contest for the men to find out which celebrity women would most want to date. Even though they’re hoping for a better rank than the guy next to them, they still display some impressive teamwork for a such a large group. Then it makes for a nice surprise when there are fans out there who consider them dating material, though the rejection is sure to sting.

EPISODE 176. Broadcast on December 15, 2013.

Welcome to the 2013 Running Man Popularity Contest, emceed by none other than our lovely Miss Mung Ji-hyo. Our male contestants strut down the runway, which Kwang-soo owns like a boss (he used to be a model).

Their intros are pretty hilarious too, like how Haha is the World’s Cutest Dad (aw) or the closeup shots to Yoo Hyuk’s butt. But then Jong-kook gets his own separate music break to his 2004 hit “One Man,” to much grumbling.

Jae-suk: “I thought you were a man of few words back then!” And then Haha adds in a Yoon Eun-hye joke. Pffft.

There are five more contestants in today’s lineup: ballad singer Lee Juck, who used to be part of the 90s duo Panic. As he serenades everyone, Jae-suk remarks that the singer needs to sit a piano to be considered attractive: “If I have my glasses, then Juck has his piano.”

Then they’re joined by Potato Star 2013QR3 co-stars, actor Kim Kwang-kyu and indie singer-songwriter Jang Kiha. Aw, I love Kiha’s literally off-beat character in the sitcom. Pfft, MC Jeon Hyun-moo’s intro to SHINee’s “Lucifer is a running joke itself (the captions helpfully tell us the joke is in its third year, heh).

I honestly don’t know too much about music producer Muzie, aside from the fact that he’s part of the music duo UV (with entertainer Yoo Se-yoon). But I have seen him once in Happy Together and found him amusing, so hopefully we’re in for a fun group of guests.

A thousand women were surveyed for today’s ranked popularity race, and were asked the following question: If you were born again, which man would you want to date the most? Ooh fun, it looks like the staff wrangled some female celebrities (is that Noh Sa-yeon?) to answer, as well as the public.

It’s the 11 contestants versus the staff today; all they have to do is play games, acquire hints, and place themselves in the correct ranking to win (gold, of course). Or else suffer punishment. Is it just me or does it feel like forever and a day since we’ve seen punishment on this show?

On the bus, Ji-hyo asks if the men have already separated themselves between best and worst, to which they reply, “We just sat down.” “There weren’t enough seats.”

Haha remarks that Jae-suk is a shoe-in for first place: “Public opinion doesn’t change; it’s Jae-suk.” So true; he’s not known as the nation’s MC for nothing. But Jae-suk reminds everyone that the important thing is get the final ranking right and part ways with their gold.

With so many talkative guests, they agree to try and share the spotlight amongst themselves (Muzie chimes in: “Don’t leave anyone out!”). The conversation then turns to Muzie using a stage name, which Kwang-kyu hilariously calls a nickname before sharing that he has one, too: “Ramses.” Ha, then the camera zooms in on his shiny, balding forehead.

The contestants will need to work together for their first game, where basically the number of feet on the ground after the time limit must match the number called. So for instance, if the number is 9, then only nine feet should be on the floor at the end.

Kwang-soo is slightly flummoxed when Jae-suk tosses out an arbitrary-sounding 30 second limit, joking that they decide on the game rules every four years. They run with the joke (Haha: "Let's extend it to 35 seconds in the next episode!") and decide on 30 seconds and hold the position for additional 5 seconds.

But there’s always a catch, and everyone cringes at the sight of that dreaded acupuncture floormat. Haha asks if there’s a product placement endorsement to this, which is a pretty good question come to think of it, considering how many times we’ve seen it on this show already.

Myuk PD swears that it’s good for their health, and I love how they’re all like, “Pfft, there are plenty of OTHER healthy things out there.”

To make matters worse, their first number is two, and Kookie immediately goes into strategy mode. The task at hand scares a few of their guests, but the cast tells them to get it together, even encouraging quiet Kiha to vent his rage.

It’s total chaos at the start, but they eventually organize themselves in two lines and each lift one leg, and it looks like they’re going to succeed in one go… and they do. Then they all collapse in pain. Aww.

Lee Juck shows them his reddened hands, to which Jae-suk replies, “You only need your fingers to play the piano.” Ha.

Because the group finished so quickly, MC Ji-hyo offers to raise the stakes—one chance to have one foot on the ground. Hyun-moo is caught off-guard when he’s asked how he feels about it, and Haha quips, “We’ll be back in 60 seconds!” Hyun-moo: “That’s not my catchphrase!” HA.

They get overly excited and stressed at the prospect, their voices growing louder by the second until Ji-hyo finally bursts and tells them to settle down. The men all work together to complete the task, but what sells the moment is the river of tears afterwards, as if they just won a world championship.

They obtain three hints for their efforts, including a few children’s sketches for the lower-ranked contestants, and Kwang-kyu asks for a pain relief patch.

They assess the hints on the bus, and Lee Juck lights up to find out that he’s been ranked higher than Jong-kook. Using two hints, they deduce that Muzie is in tenth place (he was born in ’82 and there’s one drawing that’s undoubtedly him.)

Lee Juck uses his deduction skills to point out that Jong-kook’s picture isn’t included in the drawings, which means that they’re both in the top half. When he repeats that he’s ranked higher than Jong-kook, Muzie pipes that he should be focusing on winning the game, not Jong-kook. Ha.

They’re off to a beauty salon for their next game: a knowledge quiz. They need a total of at least 30 points to gain three more hints, so the men strategize which person should tackle each subject.

The topic about women is widely popular among them, but the men give the toughest subjects to the guests with prestigious college backgrounds. Kiha volunteers to go first to solve an English question worth five points, taken from an actual college entrance exam.

It’s seems like they’re in good hands because Kiha says he used to be a translator when he was in the army. Turns out the problem is pretty tough since it requires both listening comprehension and math skills, and at the end of it, Haha proudly declares: “I recognized five words!” Hee.

To everyone’s amazement, Kiha gets it right and accurately explains how he arrived at the answer, which is pretty impressive.

Jae-suk tries for another five-pointer on the economy, and the others both cheer and taunt him from the sidelines. “Is there anything Yoo Jae-suk doesn’t know?” “Jae-suk and the economy.”

Even though the pressure mounts, Jae-suk gets it right, earning a round of praise from his fellow contestants. They decide to keep sending out their brainiest members, and Lee Juck gets his question right too, bringing them up to fourteen points.

Suk-jin chooses another five-pointer history question, and I’d nearly forgotten than he emceed Star Golden Bell (a knowledge quiz/talk show with celebrities) back in the day.

His question is about the first Korean novel written in Chinese, and Kwang-kyu makes a guess from the sidelines, but his answer is the first document to be written in Hangul. Then Haha interjects if Kwang-soo can take a stab at it, and Kwang-soo does seem rather confident…

…and gets it wrong. Aww. Turns out his answer is a Sechskies song, and the hyungs grumble at losing three points for taking that chance. The actual title contains the characters “shin-hwa,” to which Haha jokes, “So it was Shinhwa, not Sechskies!” LOL.

That starts their losing streak, and end up losing the first round. So Jo PD strikes a deal to offer one hint for every ten points they get.

Gary steps up first, and he looks perplexed at the sports question that requires a bit of knowledge about French. To everyone’s amazement, he gets it right (the answer is tennis), and when they ask how he figured it out, he answers that he thought of Wimbledon. Which is in London, England. HA.

Unfortunately Muzie gets his easy-ish question wrong, so they sent out Ace Kiha for a tough history question. There is something attractive about watching a brainy man (Kiha graduated from Seoul University) use his noggin’, and Haha points out as much, though, he whispers, “It’s only sexy if you get it right!”

He does. Oh gosh, now his sitcom character as an off-beat space cadet and his real-life smartypants persona is going to mess with my head. Ack, mind cannot compute!

Impressed, Gary asks if they can’t do quizzes for the next four weeks because he finds it more exciting than nametag ripping (gasp) AND he feels like he’s learning. Aw, well I can respect that. Kwang-kyu sighs that his schedule isn’t free. Heh.

We skip ahead where the men have gained 20 points with two contestants remaining. Vying for the thirty points, Jo PD offers to give them full marks if they get it right, but at the risk of losing a point if they’re wrong.

They take the deal, and Haha sits down for his difficult nonsense quiz question: “What’s the easiest number?” Unfortunately, he gets it wrong, and they all groan at the corny answer: 190,000 or ship-gu-man or “That’s easy.”

So it’s down to Kwang-kyu, and I love how they all oppose the idea for him to tackle a harder subject. He goes for a two-pointer (Q: The first astronaut to step foot on the Moon), and answers: “Will Armstrong.”

Needless to say, it’s wrong, but it’s the fact that he answers the question with such a clear conscience that cracks me up. They acquire one hint, in which the staff will read off everyone’s places in a rap.

Resident rapper Gary listens carefully, but it’s at chipmunk speed, and leaves everyone both angry and confused.

Both groups brainstorms in their respective cars, and Ji-hyo wonders if Lee Juck’s popular “It’s Fortunate” would place him high on the list. Lee Juck agrees, and Kiha asks, “How could you say something like that yourself?”

But Lee Juck does have a point since given their current clues, he and Jong-kook are either in first and second places or fourth and fifth places. To that, Gary quips, “I guess you do need to use both brains for cases like this…” Heh.

The other car seems to get a pretty good list going, but they can’t figure out the order of the bottom half, so they vow to make sure to get enough hints in the next game. At the same time, we see a group of female college students casting their own popularity votes, and it looks like Gary is super popular here on campus.

The cast arrives on campus, and they’re told to find one of two flags. Lee Juck mentions that he used to be the go-to singer at this women’s university, but that all changed after Sung Shi-kyung dropped by. Ha.

The men are immediately mobbed by the ever-growing crowd, and here, they must each find someone with a different surname within five minutes. That’s easier said than done in a sea of Kims, Parks, and Lees. To which I say, find an international student!

Haha is already on top of that idea, and we check back in with Jae-suk and Lee Juck, who make small talk with their students. One of them explains that she was about to go drinking, and when Jae-suk mentions that it’s a weekday, she answers that she failed a job interview today. Aww.

I’m not quite sure why neither man shares the surnames of their respective students (is it part of the rules?), since they could take the time to find someone else if both ladies happen to share the same name.

They start sharing when about half of them have arrived. Things look good at the start, as the first five all have different surnames. Kiha’s student happens to be a huge Jae-suk fangirl (cute) and reveals her name… which is also different. Whew.

Suk-jin’s student shares his surname (Ji), and even Jong-kook finds another student with a rare surname. Kwang-kyu looks pretty confident, and yay, he’s also brought a different name.

They take a short filming break, which is when one of the ladies stop to redo her makeup: “I might be on TV.” Lol. The men’s amazed reactions crack me up: “Her eyes are bigger now!”

Both Hyun-moo and Gary assure the others that their students have particularly unique surnames. But so do the other nine before them, and there are five hints on the line.

Whoa, Gary’s student has an extremely rare two-character surname, and now it’s down to Hyun-moo… who also has found a different surname. Seriously, what are the chances?

After they explain today’s theme, they open the floor to the ladies to choose their own favorites, which leads to a selca session to score some final points. D’aww, they even take a group photo together.

Jae-suk reminds the ladies that there are no hard feelings and are free to leave afterward. Then the first student names Hyun-moo as dead last and walks away without a second glance. HA, that’s awesome.

The other students follow suit, and most of the votes for least favorite are directed at either Hyun-moo or Kwang-kyu. Their petty fight about it is downright hilarious, as one cheers whenever the other’s name is called.

The score is tied at 4:4 when Hyun-moo’s own guest names him as her least favorite. Oof. Hyun-moo: “I was the one who brought you here!” Then to add salt to injury, the last student casts the final vote at Hyun-moo.

The cast lets Hyun-moo choose their hints in an effort to lift his spirits for being the least popular today, even encouraging him to dance to his trademark SHINee “Lucifer” dance, which he does with gusto.

Hyun-moo still worries that he’ll come out dead last in the rankings. Kwang-kyu jokes, “You’re right.”

But all of that subsides when they arrive at their final mission location and see water cylinders looming over where they’ll soon be standing. Eek.

Now it’s time to guess their rankings, and given their clues, they deduce that Gary must be in second place, followed by Kiha, Lee Juck, and then Jong-kook. Aw, Kwang-soo seems disappointed to possibly be in sixth place, but it’s a pretty big shock to Haha that he could be in ninth place.

Either Hyun-moo or Suk-jin are in seventh or eleventh place, and when they find out that Kwang-kyu is in eighth place, Haha gapes, “I lost to Kwang-kyu?!”

Hyun-moo is told to take one for the team and stand in for last place, since he’ll only feel better if they get it wrong. But he’ll be wet!

After they line up, they toss in their final arguments (Hyun-moo: “Women in their twenties don’t really like me.” Suk-jin: “I believe that middle-aged women love me.”) Haha puts an optimistic spin on it, saying that they’ll still be popular in the entire country even if they come out last here.

With one last switcharoo between Hyun-moo and Suk-jin, they put their guesses to the test. One by one, the lights switch on to confirm their correct guesses. It’s down to Hyun-moo and Suk-jin, and only one of them will end up last…

…And Ji-hyo tells the men to stop yapping already. Ha. Then it’s the moment of truth… and the lights switch on and confetti falls around them. Yay, they got it right!

Jae-suk thanks everyone for their incredible teamwork, and each of the men receive their well-deserved gold prizes. Then last place Suk-jin asks, “Aren’t we leaving yet?” Aw.

RELATED POSTS

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

52

Required fields are marked *

Thanks for the recap! One question if anyone might know: Exactly why was Hyun-Moo so unpopular? Did the PD's encourage it to be funny? The entire time it was happening my mom (my weekly RM buddy) and I were wondering if there was something we weren't aware of. We felt bad for him.

0
5
reply

Required fields are marked *

I believe it was just the age group present that he was unpopular in. Remember, they did it at a university so the age group is very narrow

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Exactly. At a university when the girls are in their late teens to early 20s, certain demographics appeal to them. People like Gary and Kwang Soo, Jae Suk is universal though. That's also the theory why Jong Kook didnt even feature among the Ewha girls because his appeal is generally 30s up.

That's why you see Jeon Hyun Moo move up significantly when all the demographics are taken into account

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

He is probably more popular in a different demographic.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

As the above mentioned replies, the age group has to do with it. In addition, Jeon Hyun-moo's image/ variety persona is the "annoying" character and not very attractive to younger females. However, older women do like him a lot more since he was an announcer, thus warranting the last switcheroo where he came in seventh.

Sidenote, I'm sure his reactions were played up so it would be funnier. He knows variety, and I'm sure he appreciated more screen time while fighting between last with Kim Kwang-kyu rather than being in the background and not getting much attention. So no reason to feel too bad^^

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thank you very much to all. This definitely cleared up the confusion for me!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I guess I'm in the minority when it comes to enjoying the recent RM eps. To be honest I've loved them, just like I love the old eps. If they were doing the same nametag ripping every week people would say it gets old, when they don't do it then they complain that it's boring lol.

I'm glad that Ji Hyo got to MC XD I think she's funny enough to pull it off. Was different not seeing Jae Suk MC everything though.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

the thing with Jae Suk is he can MC without looking like he was, you see even though Ji Hyo was called the MC it was still Jae Suk that was controlling things but with out being over powering about it.
I think the worse job of MC I have seen in a variety show would have to be Heroes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroes_%28South_Korean_TV_series%29
The two guys totaly dominated the show and I for one wasnt watching it to see the two male MC!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Pretty good episode. I've like Hyun-moo since I saw him on the viewer's special episode of 1N2D so it was a pleasure to view him on another variety show I watch and see that he is still charming. Kwang-kyu was another familiar fun guest, I liked when he tried to engage the students into a conversation. The rest were more quiet, but they had their moments. I'm especially impressed with Ki-ha's English skills and book smarts.

Ji-hyo could have been a more interactive MC, but it was funny to see her blow up when they would ignore her. Jae-suk did a good job of helping her where she lacked.

It's not a big deal that they negotiate the rules of a game, but I was a bit annoyed that Kwang-soo got them to do so only to deliberately give the wrong answer. Since that was the only incident I remember with him acting up he didn't bug me as much as he has been lately.

The first game was forgettable and I now hate the acupuncture mates, but the quiz game was fun. The best game was the one at the woman's college though, it brought up some really hilarious moments.

I am a bit surprised at the final rankings, I thought Jong-kook would be higher. #1 and #2 aren't surprising since it seems like Jae-suk and Gary are really popular with women.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I would like the next RM to feature a giant bonfire fueled by those damn acupressure mats! They must have spent a fortune on those things (remember the Flower Boy episode with Kim Soo-hyun?), because they haul them out to torture cast and guests every few episodes.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I thought this was one of the best lately. I liked that they all worked together. And it was well edited and didn't drag.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Agree. I actually enjoyed this episode more than last week's episode! I just love it when they work together to complete a mission because that's where all the interactions happen

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I enjoyed this episode~ Teamwork was good. It does seem overwhelming that there's too many people & guests but everyone do have their moments. Enjoyed the quiz game and the mission at the university~ Quite impressed by Jang Ki Ha. Ahh, a guy that is good-looking and has brains? Absolutely sexy~

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I wasnt expecting this episode to be anything great, but it was so funny!

First was when Jong Kook came out to the tune of Han Namja while the other RM men got default music. The quiz thing was at least, much funnier than their usual quiz games and captured my attention.

But the funniest has to be the game with the female students. I was like thinking, if I was the men, knowing they'd all go for unusual surnames, I'd purposely pick a Kim, Lee or Park. Turns out Jong Kook wanted to do that to. And the fight for last place among the men was super epic! Poor Jeon Hyun Moo, getting picked for last by the girl he brought in. Aw.............just for the record, my last placed vote would have gone to Kim Kwang Gyu, not Jeon Hyun Moo.

Poor Ji Hyo though, completely underutilised the whole episode. I think her highlight was the "YA" towards Jong Kook which I realise a lot of people found it impolite, but I didnt think much of it.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Comment was deleted

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

- The conversation then turns to Muzie using a stage name, which Kwang-soo hilariously calls a nickname before sharing that he has one, too: “Ramses.” Ha, then the camera zooms in on his shiny, balding forehead -

just want to correct something. it's Kim Kwang Kyu who has nickname "Ramses" not Kwang Soo

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

LOVED THIS.
I like it when they all work as a team. When everyone's together that's when you get the funniest moments.
Lots of people online were complaining about jihyo, like she has nothing to do and guys are ignoring her blah blah
Love her cause she's funny but I swear she has the craziest fans ever...

0
4
reply

Required fields are marked *

yeah ji hyo's fans as well as KJK's fans are all crazies, if they don't win a single game they start making excuses for them or start preaching conspiracy theories, i don't care much about individuals as i watch for the whole casts, i love to see all of them not only ji hyo or KJK.

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

What makes you think only SJH and KJK's fans are crazy?

Those anti SJH and KJK's people are crazier - your comments above show it all. PFfft.

No matter how much we claimed to love RM as a whole instead of individual members - there are bound to be a "Favorite" member for everyone of us. There are definitely an eye-candy for everyone to focus on the show.

Im not sure how would you rank your fav RM member list, but i am sure SJH and KJK arent on your top. And im even more certain that you do not even focus as much when the show is featuring SJH or KJK's turn.

Hah...so much for saying loving to see them all.

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP. Totally agree with what you say. The person you've replied to has been going around calling KJK and SJH fans names, because she herself is a devout Haha fan but pretends to be everyone's fan when she is clearly not. She's been really RUDE

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

When the fans can't accept that they're being a little bit more cuckoo than the rest of the RM fans. Our observation throughout these yesrs are proof already. SJH fans are mostly immature people who cannot accept their idol's weakness or criticism towards her.

0

My favourite part was with the students :D
I love it when they interact with fans, so cute~

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

My votes for the ranking:
1) Kim Jong kook - Han Namja who is sweet, strong and a gentleman
2) Gary - Charming and cute Monday boyfriend
3) Yoo Jae Suk - A humble and brain guy with great sense of humor
4) Jang Kiha - A good looking and brainy guy
5) Lee Juck - A guy who can sing and play Piano is a plus point
6) Lee Kwang Soo - Tall and funny guy who used to be a model
7) HaHa - Friendly, cute haroro and a good daddy/husband
8) Ji Suk Jin - He has his own sense of humor and he look good despite his age
9) Hyun Moo - He is funny with the dance Lucifer
10) Muzie - He look like a fun person to be around with
11) Kwang Kyu - He is a funny person who look ordinary

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

totally agree, I'm 19 and i looove kim jong kook ♥

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Just noting that Ramses is Kwang-Kyu's nickname not Kwang-Soo's.
I think it was a typo :D

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Yep, you're right. It's been corrected :D

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I didn't think this episode was that good because there were so many guests and the games seemed too easy. Which I guess was not the fault of the cast but it wasn't exciting. Highlight of the episode for me was when the university students ranked the guys. Can't wait for next week!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Just curious, but could anyone else hear some of the names during the chipmunk-speed-up? Because I definitely heard Suk-jin's name at the end, and several others in the middle, and I don't even speak Korean - so I was wondering if the cast may have heard it too but were pretending in order to spare Suk-jin's feelings: That would also explain why they waited until the last second to switch him out to last place. Or maybe I'm just attuned to sped-up voices due to my childhood obsession with the chipmunks, lol.

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

The second time round i definately heard Ki-Ha's name as third place although not his surname. I was screaming at my tv "NUMBER THREE IS JANG KI-HAAAAAA"...

I know I heard either Yoo Jae-Suk or Lee Juck for first place but it was pretty confusing because they both had similar pronounciations in the last syllable of their names.
Like ㅇㅈ석 or ㅇ적.....
They also have 'ㅇ' and 'ㅈ' in their names.... pretty confusing though.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Yay! I caught the first name too (I mean, like you, I realized it was between those two), and Kwang-Soo's name in the middle and Suk-jin's at the end. So it definitely was possible! I was just surprised they discounted it so quickly, and didn't discuss it at all. Maybe they're just not used to hearing sped-up voices or something? Or maybe they heard all of them, and the game was actually over after that, but they played dumb, lol.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I only heard Suk Jin's at the end but thought it was really clear so when no one mentioned it, I found it odd that they wouldn't have recognized it.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

The quiz part was so funny, Ki Ha really wowed me with his "intellectual beauty" lol! I think even the cast enjoyed it cuz they were asking the pd to include a quiz segment in every episode from now on. Jihyo seemed a bit left out in this episode though, merely like an onlooker in most parts of the show.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

My ranking for the first few positions:

1) Yoo Jae Suk!!!!!
2) Kwang Soo
3) Haha
4) Kim Jong Kook
5) Lee Juck

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

This episode was seriously the funniest thing ever. I was expecting it to be really bland, but all the games were really funny and I really liked the quiz and the name finding game. I also hope they do more quizes in the future :)
Looking forward to today's episode. Hope it can meet last week standard!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Great episode! Much thanks to the display of teamwork, though poor Ji Hyo was not included as much.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Just saw this. so much fun!!!! And yes! He totally killed it on that catwalk!

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Kwangsoo was looking so hot right there

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Thank you for the recap!

I thought this was a fun episode. I really liked the quiz part, although I wish we had heard one of the 'women's feeling' questions (cause what in the world is that?') I wasn't familiar with most of the guests except for Hyunmoo and KwangKyu and Kiha but they were fun. I loved Jihyo's Miss Mung microphone and I'm glad they found a good way to include her in this episode. I was shocked they managed to pass the surname mission though because it sounded impossible to me. Good for them. Also I got the opportunity to try out one of those acupuncture mats a few weeks ago and WOW, are they painful. I really don't envy the cast when they have to use them.

Jaesuk was an obvious choice for No 1 but I was pleasantly surprised to see Gary at No. 2 (he's who I would have picked) and I really expected Jong Kook to be higher but clearly some of the guests are really popular. I guess because they're singers? Kwangsoo looked great on the catwalk, btw.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

even though it's not as full of action as other episodes, this episode is so funny and not draggy, my favorite part was quiz time and the one with univ students, i haven't laughed that hard watching a running man episode this year.
and Jang Kiha is one sexy dude indeed, cool-smartypants is sexy :P

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

To sum up this episode: There is more to Korea than Lees, Kims or Parks :D

Out of all the guests i am only familiar with Kim Kwang Kyu :) I find it disappointing that they only showed a bit of Muzy. I could have found out something had they not almost edited out all his parts.

This really has been the most enjoyable episode for me in, maybe, 3 months

But the preview for the next episode, I really like Gary but I just hope it won't be a like a replay of the Gary kidnapping episode after his Europe trip back.. was that 2 christmases ago?

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Well it's a Christmas special episode. And Gary has won the last 2 so the whole kidnapping Gary thing was probably established to prevent another "Gary Christmas" :)

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Lol I'm 18 years old and I knew the answer for the Math/English SAT question (thanks to being fluent in English and decent at math), the tennis question (thanks to being random), and the Nietzsche question (thanks to my music and psychology class) hehehe I felt so smart for once ;)
My top five ranking:
1) Kang Gary (perfect man <3)
2) Yoo Jae Suk (super nice and funny)
3) Jang Ki Ha (smart sexy cookie)
4) Kim Jong Kook (protective and gentlemen)
5) HaHa (jokester)

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Your rank is pretty much similar with mine :)

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

My ranking:
1. Ki-Ha
2. Lee Juck
3. Gary

At first I thought I would choose Lee Juck but decided on Jang Ki-Ha after the watching the quiz :-)

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Overall a fun episode. A bit too many guests thou, but they managed to integrate and interact well and everyone had balanced screentime except Muzie.

It's also good that they managed to establish some personalities for them for a viewer like me who doesn't know anyone other than the cast. I could even follow who they are. There's the baldy whom I know as he's come before, the smart one, the piano one, the one who looks like KimC, the sleazy one whom the girls picked as last.

I like that this is a team building episode instead of one which tears each other down. It's nice to see teamwork instead of sabotage once in a while.

The mat game is brutal. Look at their hands. It's terrible. No way in hell that's good for health. I'm glad they're not injured. The bones in our hands can withstand pressure but it's still not good. I'm surprised why they don't just lie down on the floor and put their legs up. They could lie on each other. Is that not allowed? RM cast is very obedient not to find loopholes, unlike the 2D1N people who are naughtier. I'm thinking Eun Ji Won would have just asked them all to do that. Hah.

Does anyone think that the punishment of being doused by water as very lame? They built a whole set just to splash the guys with water. It's not even scary right? If you get it wrong, you just stand there and you have water poured on you, which they tried to make it sound more impressive by calling it a jet. So much effort for little payoff. Now, if the punishment is diving, like the one in ep 168, or the drop chairs like the one in ep 158, at least it'll be scarier, no? Even dropping into a hole like 2 episodes ago is scarier, heh.

My ranking would be Kang Gary too. Then Haha. The brainy guest is good too but I don't know him.

Ji hyo is not able to participate in the games but they did give her a central position of the MC. Now, people say she is shoved aside, I think they mean that the games are not designed with her participation in mind. But do note that the MC position is extremely coveted in variety shows and has a lot of screentime. I'm sure some of the boys will kill for it. It is a very important and wanted position and it's good they let her have it instead of YJS being the main MC and her just being left to her own devices like some of the previous episodes.

Unfortunately she turned out to be not talented at MC-ing but we can't expect everyone to be good at every single thing. No biggie. Just be good at the things you're good at, dear.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Why did they ask the students if their nationality was korean? I think it was HaHa who rejected one girl who was not.

It seemed they did not have enough footage for this episode because they kept a lot of pauses and repetitive dialogue that would have been normally been cut out.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I think one of the rules was that the student had to be Korean to make it harder, otherwise everyone could have just looked for a foreign student and they would have passed easily. With the commonality of certain surnames in Korea, the task becomes much more difficult.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

i love running man but really Kang Gary, Yoo Jae Suk? number 1 and 2 they are funny and sweet but not handsome at all, i love Jae suk but i still think that kim jong kook should at number 1 he is the best looking. maybe i have difriend taste cause i'm not Korean is kim jong kook handsome in there eye's ? he was t number 5 ? and my opinion is that gary is ugly but how did he score number 2 i can understand it a little with jae suk cause he has awesome personality but with gary ? still don't get it. just my opinion no haters i love all the members some more then others but still love them <3

0
2
reply

Required fields are marked *

You're not being fair. Just because you like KJK (and I do too, a lot) doesn't mean the others who like Gary and YJS aren't entitled to like them. I'm quite shocked you made it seem as if Gary and YJS shouldn't be the top two just because they're not considered good looking in your eyes. Quite mean. Gary's popularity and charms have been rising with RM and I believe he's the man to many girls out there. YJS's popularity as the natiion's MC is unmatched and people love him for his genuine sincerity. You should take back your words. Very unfriendly.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

OK, so you want a boring guy with good-looking face or a funny guy with not good-looking face ? (I don't say KJK is boring)
And no offense but i've seen many people like you, most are shallow because they can't see the beauty of other peole's mind and soul, they only see the outside appearance. Right in your comment you stated that "they (YJS and Gary) are funny and sweet but not handsome at all" You acknowledge their inside beauty, but just ignore it to go for the outside beauty. Why did i say people like you are shallow? Because inside beauty lasts and grows with time while outside beauty fades with time.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Jang Ki-ha love you!! :D artistic-smartypants-cool-goodlooking guy ♥♥♥♥ Yes I'm trolling here. Who can resist the charm :P

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I agree to this because in reality most women prefer men who have the same quality as jaesuk and gary. As a woman, would I choose a man who only has good looks but mistreats me and wants you to pursue him or be desperate to have him or a man who treats me well and make me feel that Im his one and only.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *