Hey everyone, I heard the news on Running Man today, I'm so sad! I actually started watching Running Man somewhere around June - August this year. I had heard of the show a year or two before but never got around watching it because there were just too many episodes, and at that time, I had no idea what the heck the show was really, and I wasn't as into Korean culture as I am now. I watched maybe the first 20 or so minutes of the first episode of the start of this year and didn't expect much at first since they were all just talking(my bad), I stopped before they started the mission.
So I have no idea what had gotten into me, but I just randomly decided to start watching Running Man a day or two before my exam, and I was hooked. Instead of studying, I watched maybe 2-3 episodes that day non-stop. What attracted me to Running Man was that they did the sort of scavenger hunts(at least at the beginning), then moved to the name tag games and hide and seek later on, but they were still fun to watch. Those games actually attracted to me the most actually because I had never seen a show where they did that before. And I always had such a laugh at the comedy and funny moments which happens within each episode, something which doesn't always happen as things usually get lost in translation on other shows.
During the first few weeks, I managed to watch around 5 episodes per day when I still worked. And on non working days I managed to watch close to 9-10 episodes (this was before they changed to the 1hr 45 format). I actually managed to reach 100+ episodes in only a few weeks. The problem was that I had to start the next semester of uni so I stopped watching for a while, and picked it back up recently, and I am now up to episode 268, so I am getting closer to the latest episodes of Running Man.
Ok, so I've been a fan for only around half a year now, and a few days ago I heard the shocking news of Ji Hyo and Jong Kook leaving the show. At first I thought that they decided to leave the show, and that was acceptable(to me anyway) because if you think it's your time to leave then you should, but then when the article came out that they had been kicked out I was pretty sad, just because I didn't think they deserved it.
TBH I have to say that the show can't really function without them, just because Ji Hyo really is the ace, because she's so witty and does things in a different light to the other members. And of course Jong Kook is the strong guy who also has the brains to foil people's plans. I was just wondering why they would be kicked out, and what plans would be in place for season 2 if they were going to go through with the 2 not being in the show.
I think that because the Running Man members had been together for so long, with almost no member changes, it's a bit hard to fill in the gaps by adding in a new member because everyone has gotten used to the same members for years, so a sudden new change seems a bit weird, especially after all the years. This is my perspective anyway, but for the changes due to the rating drops, I'm a bit sad actually because I would prefer if people left like Gary did because they wanted to, no the other way around.
After all the episodes, I have to say I really miss the Running Man episodes where they played hide and seek, and did the scavenger hunts, I wish they brought them back again, I'm not quite sure the reason on why they stopped doing them, but I thought they were the most entertaining parts of each episode in my opinion. I will be sure to re-watch the first 40 or so episodes again haha.
That's my story on Running Man anyway, I'll miss it so much, and to think that I just got into a new variety show too, I was thinking of starting dream team but then realised that that ended recently too, not to mention some episodes are gone too :( This could be the start of a new era in Korean history with all the K-Pop group disbandments and member changes too. So sad!
