By Jae-Ha Kim
Kocowa.com
August 22, 2020
As many of you already know, “Running Man” is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. KOCOWA subscribers already enjoyed an exclusive live episode last month, 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 joining in that the site crashed. Oops!
That real-time chatting concept was so popular that it is back by popular demand! Starting at 5 p.m. PDT Sunday, KOCOWA will host a weekly LIVE stream, where fans can watch classic episodes of “Running Man” from the very beginning LIVE here. Afraid you won’t remember what time it starts? Don’t worry KOCOWA does all the hard work for you with a real-time 24 hour countdown!
And as always with everything on KOCOWA, there will be English subtitles. Can’t join at 5pm PST? Don’t sweat it we got you covered. There will also be one encore presentation of the classic episodes at 7pm PDT almost immediately after they air. But please keep in mind that after those two airings, these greatest hits will go back into the vault.
(Don’t worry Brazil, starting with Episode 2 Thursday, Aug. 27, at 9pm BRT there will be a LIVE stream with Portuguese subtitles. Make sure to tune-in every Thursday!)
This week, don’t miss Episode 3 starring the late Goo Ha-Ra (Kara), Lee Chun-Hee and Song Ji-Hyo (who wasn’t an official member of the cast yet).
This is a continuation from Episode No. 2, where the Home Team competed against the Away Team to earn enough money to “escape” from the Suwon World Cup Stadium, where they were literally locked away. (I miss this concept from the earlier episodes!)
One of the most memorable aspects of this episode was Lee Kwang-Soo as he tried to face his fears: dive into a swimming pool from 7.5 meters high, or go for it all by diving from the 10-meter platform to elevate his team’s score. His facial expressions were so vivid that it made viewers sympathize with him as they laughed.
At one point, even his fellow cast members — who usually give him a hard time — were telling him he doesn’t have to do this and to climb down to the lower 5-meter platform.
He tells no one in particular that he has brittle bones. Without giving away what happens next, I will say that it was wonderful to see former castmate Song Joong-Ki hug his real-life best friend and say, “My buddy, Kwang-Soo.”
This episode solidified Lee Kwang-Soo as a break out star.
Filmed at the Suwon World Cup Stadium on July 5, 2010, the episode aired 20 days later. Episode No. 3 also included a soccer shooting challenge of sorts, where one team member hung from a goal post and tried to deflect the balls kicked by an opposing competitor.
The punishment for the losing team wasn’t too bad: they served complimentary coffee to the stadium employees. I’d much rather do that than the endure the current punishments: being smacked with a paddle or having buckets of freezing cold water poured on you during the winter.
