UPDATE

Running Man has officially announced its end. I was in the midst of writing this post when the news hit. I feel sad, but there are some positives to take away from this. Running Man will end its run with all its members intact. Barring any other betrayals, I hope that the showrunners will be able to end the show in a way that will show respect to the members and the crew who have stuck by them since the beginning.

Fingers crossed: http://www.koreaboo.com/news/running-man-officially-announces-show-will-shutdown/

Here's a wrapup of the entire Running Man saga, and why it's important to have proper communication: http://www.koreaboo.com/news/heres-really-happened-running-man-kim-jong-kooksong-ji-hyo/

To the members, thank you for everything. Thank you for sticking it out for one last run.

***

At the time of writing, there is a lot of negative rumors and a lot of displeasure and anger going on regarding the Running Man controversy. I'm not here to fuel the rumors, or dispel anything. I'm not here to support or deny anything about Running Man. I am writing this post as a fan of the show.

If you have been living under a rock for the past week or so and absolutely don't know what's going on, here is a summary of what's been happening.

Running Man took its own betrayal concept too seriously and fired both Song Ji-hyo and Kim Jong-kook without their knowledge. While dismissing two of the original cast members after 7 years on the show is bad enough, both Ji-hyo and Jong-kook weren't given even a proper notice to leave the show. The news picked up on it, and it exploded into an international mess of fan fury demanding justice.

The production team issued an apology to both the members a day after the situation blew up. It was a case of too little, too late as the anger from the fans had boiled over to something akin to a volcano eruption. There was no containing this matter, and even if Running Man were to continue on as a show, they had essentially lost the faith of the fans who were tuning in week after week.

Just typing out the title of this post broke my heart. Writing these words as a longtime fan, it's really difficult. Running Man is a show that I have religiously followed and watched for the better part of 5 years. It was a stress reliever at times of extreme stress, and provided hours and hours of laughter. So it really pains me to type the following words out.

I think that it's time for Running Man to stop.

It's time to stop the show once and for all because there is no way I can go back to laughing at a show that built up the relationship of its seven members; the seven members who had worked tirelessly day and night, expending all their energy to make sure the show was a success, and then proceed to tear the entire concept of "family" down in one swift move. Blindsiding two members who have put their heart and soul into making Running Man the show that it is internationally is a low blow. I'm not here to point fingers at anyone, but a situation like this could have been handled with a little more grace. A lot more grace, actually.

It's time to stop a show whose original ideas and fresh new concepts have become stale and predictable. Fans of the show have given excuses for the slow decline in quality year after year. For the past 2 years, Running Man was essentially relied on the seven members to keep viewers like myself tuning in week after week to watch their antics and their interactions with each other. I don't tune in to Running Man to watch the games; I tune in to watch the members bickering and fighting and making fun of each other WHILE playing games. It's like watching a big, happy family playing together.

It's time to stop, Running Man. It's time to stop a show that was plagued and run to the ground by the higher ups, people who didn't know what the entire idea of Running Man entails. People who see Running Man through their dollar signed eyes. People who don't understand what Running Man means to its fans. People who don't know what the meaning of family. It's time to stop, because a Running Man without its core ideas or its core team isn't Running Man.

At least it isn't the Running Man I know.

Thanks for the all the fun, the laughter and the memories. It's time to say goodbye.


Goodbye Running Man.