By Jonathan Hicap

The cast of the Korean TV show “Running Man” returned to Manila for a night of fun and laughter. 

Korean celebrities Yoo Jae-suk, Song Ji-hyo, Kim Jong-kook, Haha, Jee Seok-jin and Yang Se-chan held their “Run 2 U: Running Man Live in Manila” show on July 6 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. 

“Running Man” premiered on July 11, 2010 and airs every Sunday on Korean channel SBS. The show will mark its 14th anniversary on July 11. 

It is the longest-running variety TV show in South Korea. On July 7, “Running Man” aired its 712th episode. 

"Running Man" stars Yoo Jae-suk, Song Ji-hyo, Kim Jong-kook, Haha, Jee Seok-jin and Yang Se-chan at their “Run 2 U: Running Man Live in Manila” show on July 6 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena (Jonathan Hicap)

In April last year, the stars held their first event in Manila, the “Running Man: A Decade of Laughter,” at the same venue. 

This time, it became another fun-filled night as they sang, danced and played games for their Filipino fans. 

Before this, the cast of the “Running Man Philippines” season 2, opened the show. Glaiza De Castro, Mikael Daez, Angel Guardian, Kokoy De Santos, Buboy Villar, Lexi Gonzales, and Miguel Tanfelix performed on stage. 

The cast of “Running Man Philippines” season 2 opening the show (Jonathan Hicap)

Songs 

The Korean stars opened their show by performing the BTS song “Spring Day.” 

Hosted by Ryan Bang and Kring Kim, “Run 2 U” showcased the cast’s wit, humor and talent. 

Song Ji-hyo performed “Bam Yang Gang” by Bibi while Jee Seok-jin sang “All of Me” by John Legend. 

Yang Se-chan became Freddie Mercury and sang “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Haha performed “Ice Bottle.” 

Kim Jong-kook sang “Spring has come” and Yoo Jae-suk showed his trot skills with “Redevelopment of Love.” 

One number that elicited loud screams from fans was when Kim Jong-kook and Song Ji-hyo did a duet with “Need Conversation.” 

"Running Man" stars Yoo Jae-suk, Song Ji-hyo, Kim Jong-kook, Haha, Jee Seok-jin and Yang Se-chan at their “Run 2 U: Running Man Live in Manila” show on July 6 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena (Jonathan Hicap)

SRG, a Korean duo produced by Haha, also performed during the show. Haha and Yang Se-chan performed “Dang Diggi Bang” with SRG. 

Other songs that were performed included “Busan Vacance,” “Time of Our Life” and “I Like it.” 

Segments 

The show featured different segments. One was “What is next?” wherein the “Running Man” members needed to guess words. Others were guessing the K-pop choreography and K-pop songs. In the telepathy game, the cast teamed up with Filipino cosplayers. 

They also interacted with the audience including taking selfies using the fans’ phones. 

The cast of "Running Man" and "Running Man Philippines" (Instagram)

14th year

As the show was about to end, the “Running Man” stars expressed their gratitude for the support in the last 14 years of the show. 

“It’s not just me but all of us here. It’s our 14th year and we always feel overwhelmed with your love towards us. And every week as we go on with our show,  we always have this heart to give you the joy, to pay your love with the joy. Thank you,” said Haha. 

Yoo Jae-suk said, “We can only look forward to our 15th year because of you.” 

“Thank you everybody. We always tell ourselves ‘Who are we to deserve this much love?’ But thanks to you, we will try to be better everyday,” Jee Seok-jin. 

Song Ji-hyo said, “I just want to say thanks to all of you, all your love towards us. We promise to be hardworking to run for all of you to keep all the love.” 

“We will try our best to give back all your love and support. Thank you, guys,” said Kim Jong-kook. 

Yang Se-chan said, “All the energy that you gave us, for the warm welcome. I hope we will be given another opportunity to come back so we will see each other again.” 

The “Run 2 U: Running Man Live in Manila” show as presented by Pulp Live World.