Due to licensing issues, some of the older episodes of “Running Man” haven’t been available to viewers on any legal streaming site, since 2018! But I have great news to share. And did you guys know, as of April 1, KOCOWA will sequentially add 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. Right now, there are 29 classic episodes uploaded in both English and Portuguese on KOCOWA!
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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) and 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 requires them to use facial expressions rather than their hands. LOL!
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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 guest stars 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“).
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 LIVE English episode starts 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 are released on demand 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.
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*The LIVE feature is only available with a paid subscription. Real-time chatting is only available for web users.*
12 Comments
I checked and the classic episodes stops at 193. Are new classic episodes still being added every Thursday? Also the blog mentions “And since it’s video on demand, you can rewatch it as many times as you’d like, whenever you like.” does that means that the videos will be on demand technically “forever” as long as we have subscription?
Hello Exen! Classic Running Man episode gets added one episode out of time each week. Also, we provide KOCOWAPICKS US every Sunday PDT and for this week’s episode is 212! And yes, that’s correct. You can watch as long as you have a subscription!
Sadly it seems these stopped at episode 61? Which is a weird place to end it since that is the first half of a two-parter…
Hoping it is just a temporary hiatus and that posting of classic eps will resume soon
Hello Sumudu, each week, there is RM classic episode uploaded on KOCOWA. Currently, there is up to episode 61 but like you mentioned (part 2 which is episode 62) will be released on KOCOWA on 27th. 🙂
Thanks I see it now!
Maybe I just got my dates mixed up. At least it felt like it was on episode 61 for more than two weeks straight…#62 was a great episode too!
I am so glad you can find the episode :)) Yes it was a good episode! Waiting for the next one :)))
I’m so happy!!! I have watched every episode and I’m excited to rewatch them! I love Running Man so much. I agree with the above person. The more episodes released each week, the better!
The only thing that would make me happier is if they were releasing two classic episodes a week. I can’t wait to share my love of the early episodes (including my favorite Monday Couple) with my sister. ❤️❤️❤️
Thanks for your feedback Sherri 🙂 We will see what we can do to release two a week!
Reading this post has brought me so much joy! I’m so excited to relive all the laughter each episode of Running Man has brought me right from episode #1. To the entire team that has made it possible for the classic episodes of Running Man to be brought back, I would like to say thank you. Truly all you’re behind the scenes efforts are much appreciated by many new and veteran international fans who love the series. Thank you for making this happen!!
The classic episodes of Running Man really are the best, aren’t they? It’s so much fun seeing the gang together! So glad you’re enjoying it…
Aww, this comment just made my day! We are so happy to hear that you enjoy RM classics! We will try our very best to bring back more old episodes 🙂 <3