RUNNING MAN CLASSICS Episodes 51-60
The classic episodes’ cast was Jaesuk, Seokjin, Jongkook, Haha, Jihyo, Gary, Kwangsoo--7 members.
Episode 51 (trip continued from Episode 50)
Guests: Nickhun (singer, 2PM), Kim Minjung (actress)
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Games: Wake up the members, find the thief (name tag ripping)
Highlights or notes:
The members were woken up and had breakfast in the episode, but there was no game or mission in it.
One member was given a mission to steal the winning money from the night before and the rest of the episode was a name tag ripping game in and around the floating market to try to find the culprit.
My rating: 6
Penalty: None- winner keeps the money.
Episode 52
Guests: Choi Minsu (actor)
Location: A train trip ending in G World in Gyeongju
Games: 5 Dice Rolls,
Highlights or notes:
This is the 1 year anniversary show!
The dice rolls were made at locations along the route. Two people who got “fail” would have to make their own way to the theme park while the others took the (faster) train. As each failed, they would get a numbered sticker put on their back in the order they failed.
The members played various games that they created as they went to decide who would roll the dice first in each place.
At G World theme park, the members are told to look for crowns in order to win. Unbeknownst to them, Choi Minsu is hunting them based on the number they got in the dice rolling games.
This episode is one of the few where I remember who won even years later. It was dramatic to say the least.
My rating: 9
Penalty: None
Episode 53
Guests: Choi Minsu, continued and Yoon Soyi (actress)
Location: Gyeongju - various attractions
Games: Wake Up Missions (don’t wake Minsu), Camera frame mission, Ssambap Mission, Water Park Name Tag Giving
Highlights or notes:
Each team had a different ‘don’t wake Minsu’ mission to complete in order to get him on their team.
The ssambap mission was to make a wrap using the ingredients in the order they were placed on the table. They had to eat a wrap in order to guess, so those that didn’t pay attention got full.
For the name tag game this episode, they earned other team’s name tags in the early games and had to put the name tags on in order to get the person out.
My rating: 8
Penalty: None shown.
Episode 54
Guests: Jisung, Choi Kanghee (from Protect the Boss, a funny drama)
Location: Various locations around Seoul
Games: Tongue Twister Challenge, Observation Challenge, Dice Roll Challenge, Grilling Challenge, Name Tag Ripping (Protect the Boss Version)
Highlights or notes:
The teams had to complete challenges to get clues about the ‘boss’ of each team. The goal then was to take the name tag of the ‘bosses’ in order to get the entire team out. Taking the name tag of a non-boss would reflect and make you out.
The tongue twister challenge featured a very strong air mic.
The observation challenge was to notice and remember the color of the jackets of ‘exercisers’ as they did a loop around a bike trail.
The dice roll challenge was to find a female office worker wearing a two-piece suit and then to roll a 3 with her.
The grilling challenge was not told to them. They were at a meat restaurant and had to have exactly 8 pieces of meat on the grill for at least 5 seconds.
My rating: 7
Penalty: None- gold rings given as a prize
Episode 55
Guests: Bae Suzy (MissA), Luna (fx), Sulli (fx), Jiyeon (T-ara)
Location: various ending at Wootdali Cultural Village.
Games: Team formation, pencil sharpening challenge, lunch dance challenge, couple’s tag.
Highlights or notes:
Teams were formed by doing elephant spins and then meeting up on squares marked on the floor. They are one female short, so one person plays solo and will become “It” in the final game. (They don’t know about “it” yet.) Teams could be changed by random draw during the race.
The pencil sharpening challenge was for the men to piggyback their partners to a stationary store to purchase 3 pencils. Then they had to carry them to a special spot where the girls would put a pencil sharpener on their head to use to sharpen all 3 pencils in less than 15 seconds.
The lunch challenge was for the couple to “pay” for their food by making their combined pedometer counts equal (or exceed by no more than 50) the “cost” of their food. Music played for only 2 minutes.
In couple’s tag, the couples wore paper chain bracelets. To be out, that bracelet simply had to be broken. The couple that survived a set time without their bracelet breaking would win.
This was the first episode in what I think of as the “secret garden” episodes. That was a popular drama at the time (which I quite enjoyed).
My rating: 8
Penalty: None-continues to next episode.
Episode 56
Guests: Ahn Munsuk, Kim Sook, Shin Bongsun, Yang Junga—the guests “transformed” due to a flower tea (as in the drama “Secret Garden”)
Location: Hwangsaeul Village in Pyeongtaek
Games: Piggyback race, name tag ripping
Highlights or notes:
A good amount of time was spent on pulling the bait and switch on the guys with the guys.
This is the first time the name tags are changed to give an (dis)advantage in the name tag ripping game. For this episode, the first and last pair only have small or large name tags.
My rating: 4 -the best part was the holes they cut in the backs of the guys shirts.
Penalty: None- prize of meal voucher and rings for the winning couple
Episode 57
Guests: Shin Saekyeong (actress - I recommend “The Girl Who Sees Smells”), Cha Taehyun (actor - was also on the third season of 2 Days, 1 Night)
Location: Jeju Island- various locations
Games: Hidden Guest Opening Mission, Team Innertube Shopping, Island Dialect Lunch, Innertube Deflation Challenge, Gathering Dirt Mission, Race to the Finish Flag
Highlights or notes:
Saekyeong’s name is sometimes Romanized as Sekyung.
This was a race to complete all the missions fastest. So teams may be doing a mission far earlier or far later than the other teams at points. Failing a mission could be fatal for the day.
The team innertube mission was for all 3 members of a team to wear one innertube and buy 3 out of 5 of the most bought summer break items.
The lunch mission was to make a ssam (wrap) bite exactly as it was described by a native Jeju woman in the local dialect.
The teams had 5 minutes to deflate an innertube enough to make it fit in a bag….only after they had rowed out to a boat to collect one.
The gathering dirt mission asked them to gather 900 g of dirt onto a paper set in some grass with their feet as the ‘shovels’.
TRIP CONTINUES NEXT EPISODE
My rating: 8
Penalty: None, winning team got a Jeju Black Pork BBQ party
Episode 58- Continued trip from ep. 57
Guests: Shin Saekyeong (actress), Cha Taehyun (actor)
Location: Jeju Island
Games: Guest morning mission, Ultimate Winner Wager, Name Tag Ripping Spelling
Highlights or notes:
The guests had to get the members to say or do certain things over breakfast to win.
Each member gets to bet any of the money they earned last episode on who they believe will win the game ultimately. They’ll make double their wager if they are right or lose it all if they are wrong.
Without knowing it, each member has a letter or word under their name tag. They are told to find clues to a phrase somewhere in the area and the person to figure out the phrase and say it wins the race.
My rating: 7
Penalty: None
Episode 59
Guests: Simon Dominic (SimonD), Tiger JK and Yoon Mirae (married couple), Dynamic Duo (made up of Choiza and Gaeko)
Location:
Games: Playground Relay, Bite the Letter, Tongue Twister with Air Mic, Name Tag Ripping
Highlights or notes:
This was a Hip Hop Special so all the guests are hip hop artists.
From the beginning, the audience is allowed to know there is a trio of spies this episode. The drama was so real. It made this one of the more memorable episodes from the early years for me.
The playground relay had one member of each team doing one part of the mission: Three spins on a twisting swing, three round trips on a slide, 3 flips over a bar, and one ddakji flip (the ddakji was the baton). They had 50 seconds. Each attempt got them a worse and worse clue about the spies.
At lunch, they played a game where they picked a letter (not knowing the game) and they had to take a bite of the main meat dish each time that letter came out in a song in order to get another hint.
For the name tag ripping, they have varying levels of tools (larger name tags, walkie talkies, different types of gloves, etc.) based on the earlier games.
My rating: 9 - Some of it was super funny, but the rating is mostly for the dramatic memorability that this one had for me personally.
Penalty: None
Episode 60
Guests: None
Location: A shopping mall
Games: THE TRUGARY SHOW
Highlights or notes:
This entire episode was designed to trick Gary by making him think he was the ultimate spy. The members were all in on it and they actively tried to let Gary get them out. This was a hoot and they still talk about it from time to time. It’s a must watch for the show.
My rating: 10
Penalty: None. There was a prize for the winner.
