Lee Kwang Soo - A tearful ending pauses the 11-year running journey with Running Man

During 11 years of accompanying Running Man, many people commented that Lee Kwang Soo is the "soul" of this popular reality show. He is often blessed by the "god of entertainment", being the weakest member who is also a "traitor saint", creating his very own "brand".

May 24 is probably a memorable day for Running Man fans also because this is Lee Kwang Soo's last recording day as a fixed member. After injuring his leg in a car accident in 2020, "the Deer" was forced to leave the show due to health reasons.

Lee Kwang Soo had lengthy discussions with the staff, production team, fellow members, as well as the agency, and finally came to the conclusion that he needed time to recover. , both physically and mentally.

This is probably the most difficult decision in Lee Kwang Soo's career because for him, Running Man is not only a place that has been with him a long way of his career, but also the actor's family for 11 years. past year. However, many times his health condition made him feel unable to continue with the program. Therefore, stopping the program and focusing on body recovery is also promised by the company to show the audience a better image of Lee Kwang Soo in the future.

During 11 years of accompanying Running Man, many people commented that Lee Kwang Soo is the "soul" of this popular reality show. He is often blessed by the "god of entertainment", being the weakest member who is also a "traitor saint", creating his very own "brand". Lee Kwang Soo is also the one who often takes care of the guests participating in the program. Because of that, he has a large international fan base and is dubbed the "Asian Prince". After 11 years of working with Running Man, let's look back at the spectacular "makeover" journey of "the Deer" from the first days of joining the "big family" of Running Man!

Running Man's "dirty hand" image

Lee Kwang Soo was originally a model with a huge height of up to 1.92m, then entered the television field with a number of sitcoms. However, many years of playing only supporting roles, the actor is still unknown to many people. At the time of joining "Running Man", Kwang Soo was quite pale compared to the rest of the members.

In Running Man, each participating member plays a certain role. Initially, Lee Kwang Soo did not have a character image for himself. But throughout the process of participating, "Giraffe" always presents itself as a clumsy and unlucky person, often losing in competitive games. That is also the highlight of Lee Kwang Soo's name in the show.

Lee Kwang Soo started creating his own image because he was so unlucky. Of all the games related to luck, he is always the most unlucky, whatever he chooses, he will be punished. In episode 143, when 7 members and guests played the game of breaking eggs on their heads, it was Kwang Soo who chose the only raw egg out of more than 20 eggs. The situation was so rare that everyone had to gasp in surprise, the host of the show, MC Yoo Jae Suk , also had to say that Kwang Soo really has a "god of entertainment", he does everything with humor.

Lee Kwang Soo's "muddy" has indeed become a trademark. For now, in the eyes of every fan, when imagining Lee Kwang Soo, there are only funny and salty images. The cute, charming image is a rarely mentioned phrase when talking about Lee Kwang Soo on "Running Man".

It's not difficult to find pictures of Lee Kwang Soo hitting senior Kim Jong Kook, splashing water with Yoo Jae Suk, grabbing Song Ji Hyo 's hair, or teasing Jeon SoMin everywhere... But those are unique features. that Lee Kwang Soo tried to create his image. From a novice with a "muddy" and humorous personality, Lee Kwang Soo's name has become extremely popular.

Difficulties while filming Running Man

In the first broadcasts, Lee Kwang Soo impressed viewers with a tall guy with messy hair and beard. This image of Kwang Soo at that time was often teased by his seniors as being older than his real age, especially when standing next to the "beautiful man" of the same age as Song Joong Ki.

Lee Kwang Soo and Song Joong Ki played very well when they joined "Running Man". However, he once denounced on the air that he was sent a terrorist letter by Joong Ki's fans because he dared to win in an intellectual game. Later, when Joong Ki left the show to enlist in the army, Kwang Soo was the saddest person, he couldn't hold back his tears but cried in front of the camera. Because of that closeness, many times Kwang Soo was teased by his seniors with his famous handsome best friend, they constantly mentioned Song Joong Ki's name, teasing him as inferior to his best friend. So much so that the actor shouted: "Don't mention Joong Ki anymore!".

In addition, in episode 404, he was said to have described female idol AOA - Hye Jeong with negative words. Specifically, in the game to find disguised zombies - a game of wits and deception, Lee Kwang Soo called Hye Jeong a flower snake. "Flower snake" is a word often used to refer to the rich "digging" girls in Korea. Therefore, Lee Kwang Soo's statement sparked a great controversy on social networks. Many comments suggested that the actor looked down on women and suggested kicking him out of the show. Some extremists even made a petition "death to Lee Kwang Soo" and sent it to the Government. The petition collected 1,648 signatures, but Kwang Soo did not suffer any punishment. However, this is also a lesson for him to pay more attention to how to use words to respond on TV shows.

After the unnecessary scandal, Lee Kwang Soo still received the support of the audience, still an important factor contributing to the success of Running Man.

In February 2020, Lee Kwang Soo had a pretty serious accident and had to have surgery on his right ankle, forcing him to be absent for 2 weeks from Running Man. After that, Lee Kwang Soo had to use crutches to appear on set. It is known that he often suffered injuries during the filming of Running Man, the reason was also because the program was more about physical challenges.

Become the "Prince of Asia"

During the time Running Man recorded the episode "Asian Race - Mystery of the Golden Sword" (the episode with a rating of 21% - the record number of ratings that Running Man has achieved so far) in Vietnam, standing in the middle of a long line of people. fans, Lee Kwang Soo is the member who is called the loudest and boldest by the fans, making the crew surprised by his popularity. So much so that Kim Jong Kook said to the members: "From now on, everyone must treat Kwang Soo well. He is the Jang Dong Gun of Vietnam".

Running Man has shown amazing charm and popularity with its large fan base, especially Lee Kwang Soo. Although he is a person who is often unlucky, betrayed, bullied, beaten up, and is not a person with too high a beauty, thanks to Running Man, Lee Kwang Soo still becomes a famous name throughout Asia. Everywhere I go, I attract fans. The model's reputation and career are not inferior to any Kpop idol.

Lee Kwang Soo has become an irreplaceable character of Running Man. The actor always expressed his gratitude to the show and to the audience because it was thanks to this reality show that he was better known and received more open acting opportunities: "I started participating in Running Man when 26 years old. I've always thought that if I didn't appear on this show, I wouldn't even have the opportunity to do the work I have now. I think I could be where I am today thanks to Running Man."

During the process of participating in Running Man, thanks to his humorous adaptation, which contributed greatly to the success of the program, Lee Kwang Soo brought back many impressive personal achievements in SBS Entertainment Awards such as: Star Award Newcomer Award (2010), Rookie of the Year Award, Excellent Artist Award (2014, 2016), Favorite TV Artist Award (2018),...

Since the day he was nicknamed "Asia's Prince", Lee Kwang Soo has really changed himself. There is no longer the image of a stupid guy or the image of a "mustache" that is not sharp, but instead, the image of a polite, dashing and youthful guy is clearly visible. Starting to receive many movie projects, Lee Kwang Soo grew his hair long again, but this time he looked decent, dashing, and handsome unlike 11 years ago.

Temporarily ending the unfinished journey

11 years is a huge number for a journey to participate in entertainment shows. Therefore, when the news of Lee Kwang Soo leaving "Running Man" made many people regret. Fans are too familiar with the name Lee Kwang Soo appearing on the show, with the number symbol and the "heart-to-heart" comedic performances of the Deer. Kwang Soo and Running Man, two names that seem inseparable. But then, after more than 11 years of attachment, the memories that make up Kwang Soo's "bad guy" brand will forever be an unforgettable memory of Running Man.

Although in the future, "Running Man" will continue to run with the old members without Lee Kwang Soo. But they also have no plans to recruit any new members to take his place. And the SBS representative confirmed that he will always support Lee Kwang Soo, and called him with the affectionate phrase "Member forever" of the show.

Lee Kwang Soo's 11-year run with Running Man is not only his own, but it is also the youth years of many fans. The decision to withdraw from the show can cause a lot of disappointment and regret for the audience, but the fans always respect and support the decision of "dirty play saint" Lee Kwang Soo.

Running Man had 4 saddest moments in history, Lee Kwang Soo cried the most team youtuber10:26:01 26/02/2021Although famous for being an extremely funny entertainment show with a "salty" fixed cast, Running Man also had some moments that made viewers and the cast members of the show shed tears and feel. choked. Running Man is famous as one of the world's favorite variety shows, as...