‘Running Man’ maintained its position as the number one entertainment show in its time slot with a significant increase in viewership ratings compared to last week.
The SBS entertainment program ‘Running Man’, which aired on the 15th, recorded a target demographic rating of 2.5% for the ‘2049 viewership’, securing the top spot in its time slot, and the peak viewership also rose to 5.7%, an increase from the previous week. (According to Nielsen Korea, based on households in the metropolitan area)
The episode featured a race called ‘First in the City’, where participants had to hold onto a card indicating the first occurrence in Incheon until the end. Guest star Kim Ah-young, known as ‘Running Man Ok-soon’, caught attention by appearing on the show. Previously, Kim Ah-young had mentioned Choi Daniel as her ideal type, sparking romance, and Yang Se-chan joined in, creating an unexpected love triangle that piqued viewers' curiosity.
Ultimately, the three ended up on the same team, and the ‘war of love’ began right from the first mission, the ‘Relay Water Bomb’ mission.
In a mission where one representative from each team had to guess the title and artist of a song just by listening to the intro while running to a buoy, Kim Ah-young ended up getting wet, and Choi Daniel, seemingly determined, brought her a towel, actively flirting to take the lead. Later, Choi Daniel revealed that he had exchanged numbers with Kim Ah-young, surprising everyone, and an agitated Yang Se-chan immediately asked Kim Ah-young for her number, continuing the never-ending love triangle.
Meanwhile, during the race, an incident occurred where Yoo Jae-suk had to apologize due to Haha's exposure accident. Just before the mission, Yoo Jae-suk and Haha had signed a peace treaty to prevent ‘lower body exposure’, but Yoo Jae-suk, overly immersed in the competition, ended up pulling down Haha's shorts and slapped his butt. Humiliated, Haha exclaimed, “We agreed not to do this. I have three kids! There’s a parents' meeting next week,” expressing his anger, while Yoo Jae-suk humorously apologized to Haha's wife, Byul, saying, “I forgot he was not wearing underwear.”
Additionally, during the lunch mission ‘Say It with Your Body’, which featured the jjolmyeon invented in Incheon, Kim Jong-kook's decision to give up on the game brought great laughter. The team of Ah-young and Ji-hyo showed a lackluster performance compared to the other teams, but under Kim Jong-kook's leadership, they ignited their will to catch up. However, despite easy questions, Haha and Ji-yeon went on a parade of wrong answers, failing to score beyond 1 point. Ultimately, Kim Jong-kook dramatically sat down, giving up on everything.
In the final mission, Yoo Jae-suk, who was considered the weakest, surprised everyone by selecting the oldest ‘first’ and won a gift certificate, demonstrating the essence of ‘the one who is meant to be will be’.
[Lee Da-gyeom, Star Today Reporter]
