Running Man Encyclopedia

Jeon So-min, Yang Se-chan. These two also appeared as previous guests for Running Man. But on April 3, 2017, it was confirmed through various media outlets that they are officially added to the casts as "Running Mates" and participated the recording that day. It was another change prepared by Running Man, anticipating their chemistry with the existing members. "Running Mate' means a new face that will run with the existing 6 members. Yang Se-chan and Jeon So-min are talented individuals with not only a sense of entertainment, but also sincerity, and they said that they had the best breathing with the members when they appeared as guests. This led to a high audience rating without fail.

Lizzy (Park Soo-ah)

“Running Girl”

Song Ji-hyo.

Dubbed as "Running Girl", she was originally a guest on 2nd and 3rd landmark (Episode 2-5), but was announced to be a part of the cast due to public demand. She officially joined the program in the fourth landmark (Episode 6) but was unable to attend until Episode 7. 

As one article said, after the broadcast of Episode 6, viewers posted several positive comments about Song Ji-hyo. They were impressed for her boldly showed off a bare face without makeup and loose hair. Although she is an actress, she has a shy look that stands out. Her netizens have shown opinions about her, "It was so nice to see her appearing in entertainment and working hard" and "I hope she will continue to appear in the future."

Thanks to these comments, she appeared as a fixed cast on the show.

Original Cast Members (2010)

Kim Jong-kook. Debuted in 1995 as part of pop duo Turbo. When the duo disbanded, he pursued a solo music career. Despite his muscular, jock-like appearance, he is known for his soothing gentle ballads such as Lovable and Walking In One Spot. He also established himself as an entertainer, notably through his participation in variety shows. 

Yoo Jae-suk. A veteran comedian and variety show host famous for his quick wit. His works includes popular variety shows Family Outing, Happy Together Friends and Infinite Challenge. He has a string of awards to his name, arguably the most well-known and popular celebrity in South Korea.

Ji Suk-jin. After making his debut as a singer in 1992, he gained fame as a variety show host when he became the main host of hit variety quiz show Star Golden Bell. He is the oldest member of the show and one of Yoo Jae-suk's closest friends, having known each other for more than 20 years.

Lee Kwang-soo. Outside of Running Man, this runway model-turned-entertainer has acted in films such as The Scent and TV drama The Innocent Man, mostly in comedic roles.  The tallest member of the cast, initially introduced alongside Gary and Song Joong-ki as one of the "variety rookies" due to his lack of experience on variety shows prior to Running Man.

Song Joong-ki. The visual member of the show, this  actor rose to fame in the historical coming-of-age drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal. He was introduced alongside Gary and Lee Kwang-soo as one of the "variety rookies".

Ha Ha. Korean name Ha Dong-hoon, he debuted as a singer and rapper with Z-kiri, before gaining popularity as a co-host of the talk show What’s Up Yo! a year later. He showed off his comic timing in the sitcom Nonstop before becoming a co-host of popular variety show Infinite Challenge.  He continues to work on his music that has been described as a combination of K-pop and reggae as member of RGP (formally known as Skull & Haha). 

Running Man first aired on July 11, 2010. 

The show featured its original cast: Yoo Jae-suk, Ji Sukjin, Kim Jong-kook, Ha Dong-hoon, Lee Kwang-soo, Kang Gary and Song Joong-ki.There were mixed reviews to the first episode where one article said the show concept was promising as it has to feature a unique venue, but it failed to take advantage of that very uniqueness. As qoute "the show had one idea that was different from other variety programs -- something that could have been speedy and dynamic -- but ended up discarding that one very element."

Despite the slow start, the show became increasingly popular in South Korea and through out other countries in Asia. And because of funsubs, the show garnered audiences all across the globe.