7. SBS’ Running Man
Running Man is a popular South Korean variety show broadcast on SBS. The show has become quite popular in other parts of Asia and has gained online popularity among Hallyu fans, having been fansubbed into various languages, such as English, Persian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Malay, Indonesian, Burmese, Arabic, Russian, and Turkish.
They have held a fan meeting in other countries to thank their fans. The show has also filmed some episodes in several countries, such as Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and other countries. The first episode was aired on July 11th, 2010. It currently has 486 episodes as of January 19th, 2020.
Running Man is classified as an “urban action variety,” a genre of variety shows in an urban environment. The cast members of the show include Yoo Jae-suk as the main MC, Ji Suk-jin, Kim Jong-kook, Song Ji-hyo, Haha, Lee Kwang-soo, Jeon So-min, and Yang Se-chan. Song jong-ki and Kang Gary were former cast members of the show. During the episode, the cast members and guests have to complete some missions at a landmark to win the race. The show has since shifted to a more familiar reality-variety show concept focused on games.
On December 14th, 2016, it was reported that Kim Jong-kook and Song Ji-hyo were leaving the show, as a new season with a new format starring the remaining cast members and new member Kang Ho-dong would air in January 2017. However, it was revealed that Song Ji-hyo and Kim Jong-kook were not given any notice about their removal, which resulted in a major negative reaction.
On January 24th, 2017, SBS announced that the show will continue airing with all of the remaining cast members and two newly added cast members, Jeon So-min and Yang Se-chan.
8. Netflix’s Busted
Busted! is a South Korean web television program on Netflix. The program is starring Yoo Jae-suk, Ahn Jae-wook, Kim Jong-min, Lee Kwang-soo, Park Min-young, Oh Se-hun, Kim Se-jeong, and Lee Seung-gi. The first season consists of 10 episodes and the first episode premiered on May 4th, 2018.
The program is a Netflix Original that is co-produced with SangSang, a Korean production company that is responsible for the popular South Korean variety shows X-Man, Running Man, and Family Outing. The show is Netflix’s first original program to showcase an all-Korean cast. During a press briefing, producer Cho Hyo-jin mentioned that Netflix’s goal is to create a hit show for South Korea, which can then be “consumed on the global stage.” The show mixes both scripted and unscripted lines.
On May 30th, 2018, Netflix published a press release announcing the program had been renewed for a second season. The ten episodes were released at once on November 8th, 2019.
In the second season, one year after the incidents of Season 1, the detectives reunite with a new recruit to unveil the truth of K’s death. With different murder cases that are interconnected, they conclude to search for the murderer named “Flower Killer.”
9. SBS’ Village Survival, the Eight
Village Survival, the Eight is a South Korean variety show which aired on SBS. The first season aired on SBS TV from November 6th, 2018 to December 21st, 2018. The second season aired from February 15th, 2019 to March 22nd, 2019.
The first season is starring Yang Se-hyung, Blackpink’s Jennie, Im Soo-hyang, Son Dam-bi, Song Kang, Kang Ki-young, Kim Sang-ho, and Jang Do-yeon. While the second season is starring the same artists as the first season except for Blackpink’s Jennie. There are guests in season two, Jeon So-min (episode 1-2), Yeon-woo (episode 3-4), and Son Na-eun (episode 5-6).
During the show, there are ‘Eight’ people who are given hint items and 24 hours to solve a mystery in the fictional village of Michuri with Yoo Jae-suk as the village head. The winner is rewarded with a monetary prize of ₩10 million. The first season was shot in Cheongun-myeon, Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi Province. The second season was shot in Seo-myeon, Seocheon County, South Chungcheong Province. The duration of each filming session is 2 days and 1 night.
The cast members will acquire additional hint items as they play team games. During the preparation of meals (lunch and dinner) and before the end of the first day, the cast members may search the village using the hint items they acquired. The cast members who found the reward must inform Yoo Jae-suk before the end of the show.
That was all the information about the list of popular Korean Games Variety Shows you must watch in 2020. Please, do not forget to kindly share your thoughts and drop a line in the comment section below!
