Watch Classic Episodes of “Running Man” on KOCOWA!

By Jae-Ha Kim
Kocowa.com
March 31, 2021

Due to licensing issues, some of the older episodes of “Running Man” haven’t been available to viewers on any legal streaming site. But I have great news to share. As of April 1, KOCOWA will sequentially air classic “Running Man” episodes every Thursday, starting with Episode 1. And since it’s video on demand, you can rewatch it as many times as you’d like, whenever you like. This should please “Running Man” fans (like myself), who have missed the older episodes and the OG cast.

No offense to the newest cast members Jeon So-Min and Yang Se-Chan — who certainly have their own charm — but there was something really special about the chemistry between the original lineup: Yoo Jae-Suk, Ji Suk-Jin, Kim Jong-Kook, Haha, Lee Kwang-Soo and Song Ji-Hyo (who initially made her “Running Man” debut as a guest, before joining as a full-time cast member) are still on the long-running variety series. Former cast members Kang Gary, Song Joong-Ki and then-teenage idol Lizzy left to pursue other opportunities.

Hwang Jung-Eum (“Kill Me, Heal Me,” “She Was Pretty,” “To All the Guys Who Loved Me“) and singer Lee Hyori were the guest stars on the first episode. Hyori teased Jung-Eum good-naturedly about being so young and cute. They showed off their energy and fighting spirit in the challenges, which ranged from racing around attached to a clothing rack to trying to time their jumps perfectly so that they would appear in the middle of the camera frame each and every time. Originally aired on June 21, 2010 in South Korea, the humor and shenanigans held up incredibly well all these years later.

This debut episode reminds us that “Running Man” started as a very physical series, where the cast members (and their guests) stayed up all night shooting on location and ran around a lot. Lizzy wasn’t a part of the cast yet, so the two youngest members — Song Joong-Ki and Lee Kwang-Soo — played their maknae roles well. Joong-Ki was cast as the heartthrob and Kwang-Soo as the clown. They became great friends on the show and were the perfect foils for each other from the get-go. But the funniest part of this episode is when the two eldest members — Ji Suk-Jin and Yoo Jae-Suk — play a game of Rock Paper Scissors that required them to use facial expressions rather than their hands. LOL!

Look forward to Episode 2 on April 8, when Song Ji-Hyo makes her first appearance (as a guest). It won’t be long before the on-camera flirtation between her and Kang Gary spawns the birth of the Monday Couple. (When IU guests on a later episode, she mentions that she adores the Monday Couple.) The guest stars include actor Lee Chun-Hee (“The Producers,” “Master’s Sun“) and the late K-pop star and actress  Goo Ha-Ra (“It’s Okay, That’s Love“), who showed great comedic timing.

There’s a lot going on here, with the cast literally running around the expansive Suwon World Cup Stadium in search of golden pigs that will help them win the overall prize. But this episode is really fun for “Running Man” fans, because it sets in place the key roles that the cast will carry over to the present day. For instance, this is the birth of Kwang-Soo willing to betray anyone and everyone, including his frenemy Joong-Ki. As his team’s van is driving away, Kwang-Soo throws out a bag of swimming suits that Joong-Ki’s team needs. And I also love seeing Song Ji-Hyo in her fearless prime. While all her teammates are afraid of the 10 meter diving board, she easily climbs up there, scouts out where the golden pigs are hidden in the pool and instructs her team on how to get them.

Also … don’t forget to tune in for more classic episodes of “Running Man” every Sunday evening on KOCOWA’s exclusive LIVE feature, which includes real-time chatting with fellow viewers. LIVE is a fun perk for subscribers. Last year, KOCOWA even offered viewers an exclusive live “Running Man” episode, where the cast members attempted to solve a CLUE-esque mystery. Web viewers got in on the action by enjoying real-time chatting during all the shenanigans. In fact, there were so many participants that the site crashed. Oops!

The weekly English episode stream will start at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on Sundays. If you get mixed up with time zones, don’t worry, because KOCOWA does all the hard work for you with a real-time 24 hour countdown, which comes in handy. And as always on KOCOWA, there will be English subtitles. But please keep in mind that unlike the classic episodes that air on Thursdays, these greatest hits will go back into the vault. (So try not to miss them!)

Brazilian fans, we’ve got you covered, too! LIVE episodes with Portuguese subtitles will air at 9 p.m. BRT on Thursdays.

And idol fans: Don’t forget about KOCOWA’s weekly LIVE airings of music programs like “SBS Inkigayo” and “Music Bank K-Chart.” This means you can watch them at exactly the same time as viewers in South Korea.

*The LIVE feature is only available with a paid subscription. Real-time chatting will only be available for web users.*

KOCOWA reposted this article on October 20, 2021: