Korean Media News

This week our RMF team of agents is going to need some useful skills in their mission to find the 11th Running Man. Apart from their gear they’ll need: stealth, finesse, and brains. But who am I kidding – I just hope they come out alive. Get ready for Running Man: Mission Impossible.

SONG OF THE DAY

MBLAQ – “It’s War” [ Download ]

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

 
EPISODE 95. Broadcast on May 20, 2012.

We check in with our seven RMF (Running Man Missions Force) scattered throughout Seoul. As we’re introduced to each agent, we’re given a bit of their backstory as well. Like how Haha sells shoes according to size (45 = $ 450 USD) or Jae-suk ironing clothes or Suk-jin looking in the classifieds, unemployed.

But the best by far? Spartakooks working in a flower shop. Can you imagine those guns arranging a beautiful bouquet for you? Neither can he because he snorts into the flowers, as if it’s suffocating enough calling them beautiful. Are you trying to tap into your Kookie side? Jong-kook: “If I live among flowers every day, I might become one.” Pfft.

The RMF agents get called into HQ immediately; their services are needed. Jae-suk:”I’ve only been working 10 minutes…” Kwang-soo the pharmacist says it’s the first time in 40 years they’ve been called in like this. Dude, you’re 28.

And so, our agents reveal their RMF uniforms (a flashy yellow) and conspicuously maneuver through the streets to get to HQ. Once there, it’s a retina scan to enter. Real or not, that’s pretty cool.

Everyone gets through …except Kwang-soo whose entry is firmly denied. HA! The system must be able to detect a traitor. Or the staff just love bugging Kwang-soo. I’d feel bad but given his actions in recent weeks, he kinda deserves it.

He tries his hair instead – but no luck. There’s no getting’ thru that door, buddy.

Eventually, everyone gathers in the hub and they open the suitcase in front of them. A video player rises through the table and I love it how they’re all amazed like, How’d they do that? Is there someone under the table?

The video message starts and we’re introduced to today’s narrator: soccer sensation Park Ji-sung who now plays for Manchester United. The cast is starstruck just watching him onscreen.

He’s so adorable too because the video contains all his little production flubs: “Uh I kicked it wrong. Can we go again?”

This first mission should they choose to accept it is to find the 8th Running Man hidden in a store. Their identifying password is a chain of animal sounds: (Sparrow: tweet tweet, Chick: cheep cheep, Giraffe: betray betray).

Ji-sung warns them to stick to a low profile especially Kwang-soo the traitor… and he laughs off-take again. Heh, why are you so cute?

He informs that this message will self destruct in 5 seconds and the cast literally takes a few steps back before smoke flies up to the air. After the initial shock, they complain all like, What if we stood right here? What were you going to do?

Apparently the 1 hour time limit doesn’t start yet ’cause they’re all sipping iced coffees in their high-tech van and playing around with the disguises. Myuk PD explains the rules: if a civilian calls out your name or at least 5 civilians chase you, you’re out.

Some disguises are better than others. Take for example Kwang-soo’s skirt/cape/coverup combo. Not only are you ridiculously tall but that shade of pink is even more outrageous than the yellow. No wonder no one’s heard of RMF… take a lesson from Ethan Hunt. Less is more.

This mission works against them because the members are so popular and easily recognizable thanks to Running Man. Every Monday I can find stills from fans who attach the captions: RM is filming here RIGHT NOW! It’s amazing that they can take 10 steps in those ridiculous costumes without being identified.

As they roam the streets, Jae-suk unable to break free from his friendly MC mode and Jong-kook feels terrible that he can’t greet civilians properly. That’s still better than Suk-jin who gets mistaken for a delivery guy.

To top it off, they’re terrible agents as Suk-jin shouts out his end of the password to every store he passes by and Kwang-soo just shouts. Then he calls out Jae-suk’s name. You are officially the worst secret agent EVER.

Kwang-soo’s got to move because he’s got a tail and they’re closing in on him… so he makes a run for it. Oh boy, you might as well have a neon sign pointing at you.

He finds refuge in a small alley and gets berated by his hyungs about his obvious attire suggesting that he crouch down like a pink version of Cousin It. They’ve got a bigger problem on their hands because a small crowd of children have gathered.

In an attempt to distract them, Kwang-soo cries out, “Look! It’s Yoo Jae-suk!” I don’t fall for it so neither do they. He resorts to running away but soon there’s more than five following him. Kwang-soo’s out.

Not long after, Jae-suk is identified too (when asked why the man answers, “When I saw, you looked so much like a grasshopper…”) Now that people are snapping photos, it’s just a matter of time before the others are found out. Like Suk-jin.

The agents work diligently to comb through the area but it’s getting progressively harder to hide now. Oh Gary, did you really think that your singing would really help you hide? Soon enough, Haha’s out for the count as well.

That leaves Jong-kook and Ji-hyo to step up their game as they radio each other secretly, keeping a lookout for one another with just 15 minutes left. See RMF agents? THIS is how secret agents get things done.

These two understand that the townspeople are actually searching for them now making the field more dangerous than ever.

Clock’s ticking down at Ji-hyo relays the password to the last possible store owner. He replies correctly – nice going Ace>/i>. Now that they’ve tracked the 8th Running Man, she picks up two suitcases and Ji-sung’s next message.

Naturally, their next mission is to eliminate the 9th Running Man’s name tag, this time hidden in a university library. The warning? Watch out for Haroro‘s playboy tendencies which can only mean they’re looking for a woman.

In the van, Jae-suk pulls his top class celebrity status to boast that it’s been a while since Ji-sung has contacted him and the others call him out for it. They at least agree that it would be awesome if he was an RM guest.

As soon as they arrive, men in black scurry around them and tie their legs to one another. Jong-kook: “Why am I the only one barefoot?!” Is it like a double handicap for you? But no, it’s just a way to secure his ties. As they find their footing, a group of ladies observe from above…

A voice rings out and it’s Hyo-rin. But she’s not alone because the other ladies from SISTAR (Da-som, Bo-ra, and So-yu) greet the cast as well. They burst in laughter watching the seven try their best to take a step and remind them that they’re restricted to walking. Not like they have to worry about it because the cast just fall over their feet.

10 minutes later, the cast are singing a different tune now because they can divide into separate groups. The ladies begin to sweat.

However, the cast still have an Everest to conquer – stairs. Jong-kook and the Easy Brothers bicker on the staircase about how they’re all not working together and constantly reminding each other NOT to be angry with other. So it’s like step, step, rage, “I’m sorry”, step step, rage, “I’m sorry”.

Mr. PD calls out another 10 minute mark and now the pairs are hopping through the halls. I’m pretty impressed with Hyo-rin as she pushes past Jae-suk and Haha but she’s soon cornered.

The other ladies go down without much of a fight but all of their name tags are blank. Which means it’s Bo-ra they need to hunt down. What’s hilarious is that all their trash talking (if any) suddenly disappears once they’re out and they return to their innocent polite selves.

Just over 7 minutes left as Bo-ra attempts to stay hidden. But she runs straight into the ex-Monday Couple‘s path. Escape is impossible and while Ji-hyo holds Bo-ra firmly in her arms, the cast tears off her name tag. Mission Success.

A mysterious case awaits them at their next mission location and inside are Jae-suk’s favorite: water guns. Their mission is to track down the 10th Running Man by protecting Ji-hyo. Jae-suk comments: “She’s receiving our protection for the first time, huh?”

True, but not like the Ace NEEDS your protection. Gary adds, “I might not have a choice if I suddenly have to give you a backhug!” Hehe.

The entourage enters the streets and these guys are literally the LOUDEST bodyguards ever. The streets are perfectly quiet but all you here is, Get over there! Watch your step! Protect Ji-hyo!

So no wonder they’re overheard by another group of secret agents on their tail… notably MBLAQ (G.O, Seung-ho, Thunder, and Lee Joon)

G.O. positions himself, carefully stalking the entourage to wait for the perfect moment… and I find it hilarious that it’s Ji-hyo, the target, who notices that someone’s on their tail. What horrible bodyguards. Give this girl a gun!

He makes a run for it to pursue his target. Little does he know that Jong-kook has seen him coming and before G.O. can shoot, Jong-kook takes him out in one perfect shot before G.O. can register what happened.

Then he jumps stomps his foot in front of the crowd to throw a small tantrum. Aww poor baby, c’mere.

The air grows tense as the RMF agents continue to stroll down the street wary of any attackers. Then someone pops their head out the window – Joon.

His position given away, he makes a run for it to the roof as three RMF agents approach with caution.

And then a sudden there’s a sudden cry from the roof that Ji-hyo can hear from below. The culprit? Joon. HAHAHAHA. Once he’s out, he’s up in arms and yells out his grand spy plan, “He could have just come in and taken ‘em out from behind!”

The RMF are extra cautious but Seung-ho manages to hit Suk-jin and make a run for it. The agents joke, “Now the race really begins!” The finish line is in view but the field is eerily quiet.

That’s when Thunder and Seung-ho make their move and close in to surround the RMF agents. Jong-kook shoots Thunder down and Seung-ho panics because all Ji-hyo needs to do is kick a ball into the goal. He jumps, she kicks…Mission Success.

Their next and final mission is to find the 11th Running Man with gold on the line.

They distribute the suitcases amongst themselves and once alone, they each get a call. Only one of them will be able to meet the 11th Running Man so it’s every agent for themselves. Everyone opens and most find theirs empty whilst others find seemingly normal items. Jong-kook finds herbal medicine in his and wonders if they’re Ji-sung’s favorite things.

The Easy Brothers vow not to betray each other. Underneath the shoe lifts lies a cell phone. Problem is, it’s without a battery. Kwang-soo reasons that it must be elsewhere and they hide a fake clue (complete with an R sticker) in its place. Woah, when did you do start getting smart?! Maybe two brains are better than one.

HA – then they’re like, “Let’s get it taken away from us naturally.” As if they already know that they can’t hold on to it.

As expected, SpartAce chases them down and they exchange clues. SpartAce totally bite on the fake hint bait and the Easy Brothers giggle at their own cleverness.

Haha and Jae-suk go at it again, puzzled by the books. Then Haha peels back a curious page as both Jae-suk and Gary flip out that he’s defiling literary work. My book nerd side screams at the torture. Why are you trying to pretend like the others didn’t see ’cause they totally saw, dude.

Something is definitely fishy as he rips off the fake book cover (cries) and they all grab for the item tucked underneath: a phone battery. Jae-suk refuses to give it up and Haha puts him at gunpoint, er, water gunpoint but the battery is useless without the phone.

And then Haha has no choice but to follow Jae-suk around debating whether whose item it originally was. They agree to go the legal route and soon they’re bickering about whether it’s a criminal or a civil crime. Yeeeaahh this argument’s gonna go on for a while.

SpartAce tackle the pile of herbal medicine and distribute it to their staff all, “You must be so tired from working – here have a drink!” One by one they drink until nearly all are empty. And of course the clue is hidden in the very last packet they didn’t drink. ‘Cause life’s a bitch sometimes.

They take it out on the VJ and joke about how Jong-kook can’t swallow it or else, “We’ll have to wait for you to pass it.” Ew and ha. The clue is a code: 1307.

Jae-suk walks in with the other trashed suitcases and he astutely points out that he knows that there was a phone in the shoes. More importantly, he notes everyone was curious to see what was underneath the shoe except for Suk-jin which can only mean he already knew that the clue was gone. Smart!

But the others hold him down to find the battery and it amazes me how well Haha knows of his fellow agent because he goes right for the sneaker where it’s hidden and makes a run for it. Not for long because the Easy Brothers sneak away for it.

SpartAce hangs back and comment on recent events. Out of his own mouth, Jae-suk asks if Suk-jin has the phone on hand which piques their interest, given that they had no previous knowledge about a phone.

Quick on the uptake, they play along and Jae-suk spills the beans on practically everything. Only when it’s too late does Jae-suk realize his mistake.

Kwang-soo receives a cryptic message that they’ll need a passcode to break into the phone and only he knows it. They agree to meet.

Meanwhile Gary, Haha, and Jae-suk are basically out of the game with no clues to work off of. They sit at the staircase while Haha recounts what a lion and tiger’s offspring would be: a lion. Jae-suk corrects him: “A liger.” Hehe.

Thus begins their secret meeting and Jong-kook covers the phone as he inputs the code, something that the Easy Brothers have a gripe with. Once they learn of the mission location, Ji-hyo who has been lingering outside dashes up the stairs.

Jong-kook stalls for just enough time to relay the location to her and she runs like her life depended on it.

At the door she calls out the incantation to transcend time and space and opens it…and transported to a soccer field, the boys a few steps behind her.

There’s a special video presentation on the other side of the field to reveal the 11th Running Man. As the balls are kicked, they literally fly above them as if jumping off of the screen.

Epic music plays as more balls comes flying towards her. The screen pulls back and someone rises to the platform. He’s here: Park Ji-sung.

I don’t think flabbergasted is the right word here because they are completely in awe to just be in the former national athlete’s presence. There’s a round of awkward greetings and semi-hugs. It’s complete chaos to say the least.

Ji-sung presents the winner, Ji-hyo, with a signed soccer ball and attaches the gold pin himself commenting that it’s her favorite thing. She does have quite the collection at home now.

Haha calls out that they should be the new Monday Couple (boy say WHAT?!) and Gary adds, “I can stand down if it’s you!”

Barely two words come out of his mouth before they scream like fanboys and Jae-suk, in MC mode asks if he’s too busy to watch TV. Ji-sung answers, “I’ve got lots of time.”