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9 Best Running Man Episodes That Make You Want To Watch More

I’m one of those running man fans that can claim to have watched all episodes of the variety show.

Every week, I make it a point to catch the latest broadcast as soon as I can. The show guarantees at least a segment or 2 where I will laugh till my tummy hurts.

These days, I think most fans find the show funnier than it actually is partly because we know all the context created in previous episodes… and that we have grown to know the characters in the show.

I remember the first time I caught show by chance at home. It was a name-tag ripping session. And I was totally gripped by the suspense, tension, and comedy in that few minutes. After which, I went looking for previous episodes and found a lot of them even more entertaining. Then I proceeded to gulp down all the episodes in about a month or 2.

I was lucky in the sense that by the time I was hook on the show, there were already over a hundred episodes broadcasted in the past since it started in 2010. That gave me a good library to go through without needing to wait for 1 episode a week.

In this sense, you are even luckier if you have just started watching it as there are over 200 episodes available at the time of writing this.

There is a huge list of most recommended ones to start your watching marathon with.

One of those things that I did to start the watching journey was to search what are the best running man episodes to watch first. If you have landed on this page, you are probably where I was those years ago.

So here are 9 top running man episodes that makes you love the Korean variety show so much. I try not to make this a spoiler article as much as possible. This list is ordered from the earliest to the latest.

Episode 74 – Super Powers

Guests: None

If every running fan has to choose 1 favorite episode, this one would probably get the most votes.

It’s a fierce free-for-all contest to find out who is the strongest member in the cast for this last show for 2011. Each member is given a special power to battle it out, outwit, and outlast each other. Some nail-biting stuff in this episode… and some forever memorable scenes.

Just when you thought you could guess who would win, everything is thrown into complete pandemonium. It’s almost a sin that sequels to this “Battle of the Strongest – Survival Series” contest never reach the heights of this one.

rm-super-power-fight

Many following episodes of running man made references to events that happened in this episode.

You simply have to watch this one.

Episode 79 – Sherlock Holmes

Guests: Kim Je-dong, Dohyun

If there ever was an episode that left you guessing who the culprit is until the very end, this is it.

On board a cruise ship is the scene. The running man detectives have to find a hidden treasure.

One by one, the detectives started to get mysteriously eliminated. The atmosphere gets tensed. Nobody can be trusted. The clues to the killer are more confusing than enlightening…

You have to watch it to find out what happens.

Episode 87 – First Love

Guests: Han Ga-in

The audience gets a glimpse of how the running men grew up. Flashback segments of when they were kids are shown to reveal clues to the riddle.

Ga-in fell in love with a member when they were kids… but they have now lost their memories… like the many Korean drama series that are scripted…

rm-first-love

The members have to find clues hidden in pictorial diaries to learn who the childhood sweetheart is. As usual, each clue starts to write off certain members, or point out a specific group of members. Betrayals ensues…

The whole show was building up to the climax where the sweethearts “regained” their memories. It was a touching moment even though all viewers will obviously know that it’s just a game (not even a drama).



Funniest EVER moments in Running Man?
See what’s on the list of 19 funniest scenes on RM


Episode 100 – War of the Gods

Guests: Kim Hee-sun

This is a celebratory episode to usher in the 100th episode of running man in 2012. When the show first started, I guess even the most optimistic cast wouldn’t have thought that the show would reach this milestone.

All but 2 members become Greek gods. And they start to slug it out with each other to claim the title God of the Gods. And in the process, they created some of the funniest scenes ever.

Each god has a weakness which is a weird and unique method to get eliminated. And the weaknesses are unknown to all other players. Even the 2 “humans” have a chance to win.

The pace of the show was slow until all hell broke lose when the Gods started to figure out the rules of engagement.

Episode 106 – True Love

Guests: Han Ji-min, Kim Je-dong

Someone has made a love confession to the beautiful guest Han Ji-min. And he did it by setting up an elaborate entrance and passing her a love note right behind her. He now has to survive till the very end in order to win. While she has to find out who that person is.

The mission of the other members is to trick her into thinking they are the ones who passed her the note. Their motivation is the prize of a gold ring.

It’s a tough challenge indeed for the guy. The moment he reveals his status, the rest will undoubtedly gang up on him like a pack of wolves to eliminate him. So how does he keep a low profile while stealthily convince her that he is indeed her true love?

This episode is a total mind game where every member made huge attempts to convince and confuse. The clues that are found also send you in a merry-go-round of detective work. Unlike a typical couple race, you will be left flipping and turning on who is the actual true love.

I have admit. Even until the final closing scene, I was nowhere close to figuring this one out.

Here’s a preview video I found about the episode made to the haunting yet mesmerizing tune of the episode’s main song. What an awesome track this is.

Warning: Don’t watch past 3:30 of this video if you don’t want spoilers.

Episode 130 – Reincarnation

Guests: None

The cast is sent back to 1938 as couriers to find keys that lead to a treasure chest filled with gold bars. The winner finds that the treasure is no where to be found.

Another mysterious episode that leaves you guessing till the very end.

The couriers are then reincarnated in the present time, and start piecing together the clues on where the treasure might be. They start attacking each other in an effort to find out the truth of what really happened in the past.

This is probably one of the most creatively scripted story lines in running man… at least for 2013. A little bit of history, a little bit of intense tag ripping, a huge dose of suspense, and a whole lot of anticipation.

Episode 155 – Partners of Fate

Guests: Suzy

The show starts in a typical fun school setting. If not for the opening preview of what was to come, you wouldn’t have expected it to become a horror show.

It then took a sudden turn into a scenario where 2 members are “dead” but didn’t know it. They have to find each other and eliminate all other running man casts to win the game. You are left guessing who the culprits are till the end.

Some parts of the show gives you goose bump. The theme of the show partly originate from Jay Chou’s movie, Secret.



Funniest EVER moments in Running Man?
See what’s on the list of 19 funniest scenes on RM


Episode 165 – Find the Fan

Guests: Hyemi (fan)

A student fan made a scrapebook of her favorite show and gave it to the producers of running man. No prizes for guessing what the favorite show is. The members will have to find the fan, take a selfie together and paste it into the only empty slot left in the scrapebook.

The fan supposedly wasn’t aware of the show being filmed and centered on finding her.

The cast then went on a wild goose chase to win games for clues to find her.

The high point of the show was the scene where she was finally spotted by the very member she was a big fan of. This scene alone captures the whole spirit of what it’s all about. It just gives you the chills of making the dreams of a kid come true. The background music probably played a big part in achieving that effect.

The member then went bonkers trying to “protect” her from being discovered by the other members. She even ran as fast as she could to get away from the others. Chaos ensues.

Episode 173 – Super Power Baseball

Guests: Ryu HyunJin, Suzy, and some well know names in the world of Korean baseball

I’m not a baseball fan. Yet I was rolling on the floor laughing until my eyes became wet. And it didn’t just happened once in this episode.

Just for your information, this is not the only super power baseball episode. It’s the sequel to the first one which was episode 119. But 173 is much more funnier and enjoyable than the first.

All those console gaming with power sports is brought to real life as all players here have unique super powers which they can use to gain an advantage.

And some powers are absolutely hilarious. The reactions from players to the super powers were priceless as well.

Final words

There are many great episodes of running man. And I really had to crank my brain to pull out only 9 out of so many memorable shows.

Taking into account that running man is close to it’s 300th episode at the time of writing this, I realized that most of the memorable episodes I listed here have been aired some time ago. And none in 2014 and 2015. Here’s wishing the producers produce many more great shows for 2016 and beyond.

Agree with my selection? Tell me your favorite episode in the comments section.

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10 thoughts on “9 Best Running Man Episodes That Make You Want To Watch More”

  1. Author says:

    I’ve picked 19 funniest ever RM moments in a more recent post. You are going to LOL at the scenes I’m pointing you to. And if you like this article, I’d really appreciate it if you share it!

  2. JP says:

    So sad that kang gary has left the show :'(

  3. Marj says:

    Favorites include – anything park ji sung is in ( he’s a variety prodigy and should consider being one after his soccer career is over ), the indonesia episode where they went to the zoo, the hongkong fan’s running man made up games and my most favorite is the writers vs running man. That episode made me laugh and cry ( when they crossed han river )

  4. Lala says:

    I really like episode 155 (Two ghosts). Also, I love the way you set up this website without giving full spoilers on anything; some other websites had the entire episode explained (Who won, teams, etc. which really spoiled the fun)

    1. Author says:

      That show was one that gave me goosebumps! I made an effort not to reveal details of key events. I would feel bad if readers skipped a good show because of spoilers. 😀

  5. Aries says:

    106 is my most favorite episode ever! Han Jimin is so pretty!

  6. rr says:

    Whoever you are, author of this post, I like you.
    I can see that the episodes you like are those with great storylines,
    which is the same with me. So anyway, I just want to leave this message of appreciation.
    Continue your love for Running Man.
    Author jjang!

    1. Author says:

      Great minds think alike! Appreciate your appreciation. 🙂

  7. Jack says:

    Save a place for the Yoomes Bond saga

  8. daebak says:

    The epic shows with SNSD and big bang deserves to be mentioned. But after going through the episodes you listed, I have to agree that they are all just as deserving. Keep on running!

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