Song Ji-hyo Is Back As “Ace” Of Running Man After Being Demanded To Leave Due To Lacking Enthusiasm

Song Ji-hyo, who joined as an original cast member of “Running Man” on its first days in 2010, has been called its “Ace” and active as a main member since.

Despite being an actress and not a professional comedian, Song Ji-hyo played the games without being afraid of ruining her image. In the early days, she formed a loveline with Gary as the “Monday couple”, and also had “real brother and sister” chemistry with Lee Kwang-soo.

However, from around 2017, Song Ji-hyo’s weakness in talking began to stand out as the number of intense games decreased and the amount of mini-games, including talk-show corners, increased in the show. In addition, Jeon So-min, who joined as a new member around the same time, often showed off an unrivaled sense of variety, which contrasted with Song Ji-hyo. As a result, Song Ji-hyo became a “wasteful member,” and in one episode of “Running Man,” which aired on June 25 last year, she was spotted doing nothing, which led to articles criticizing her performance pouring out.

At that time, Song Ji-hyo was in conflict with her agency, which was taken into account to some extent. However, as Ji Seok-jin, who was in the same agency and same conflict, showed off stable performance, Song Ji-hyo had to face greater criticism. Of course, there were people who cheered for her, but others demanded her to leave the show because the reaction of fans was not very good at the time.

However, Song Ji-hyo was a quick feedback entertainer. In an episode of “Pingyego,” which was released in September, Yoo Jae-seok said, “Ji-hyo works harder than anyone else these days,” then mentioned the controversial “Running Man” episode. In response, Song Ji-hyo said, “I searched for me online that week more than I searched myself for a year,” but confessed that such articles were a stimulus to her.

Was it because of that, Song Ji-hyo has been showing her “Ace” qualities again in “Running Man” after Jeon So-min left the show? In the episode about Ji Seok-Jin’s health, which aired in January, she became the highlight by cooking samgyetang (Korean chicken ginseng soup) for Ji, and the broadcast seemed to have become a “Song Ji-hyo Special.”

In the Futsal Cup episode aired on the 24th of last month, she succeeded as “The Goalkeeper” by taking responsibility for the team’s five goals alone, perhaps because it was her first physical game in the show after a long time. In particular, she was in contrast to Oh Ha-young, another female celebrity in the episode, who did not show much performance. Was it because she felt dissatisfied with her failure to perform properly as an original member of “Running Man” last year that Song Ji-hyo has been working hard as an entertainer since the beginning of this year? Fans are looking forward to her future moves in the show.