From The Beginning: Lee Kwang Soo

I know I promised the entertainment one , it'll be up next week. This week, to celebrate Kwang Soo Day and his upcoming movie, Mutant.

We will be looking back from his very beginning in the show as a little tribute to Running Man's maknae, Lee Kwang Soo.

Lee Kwang Soo has been on the show since the very first episode. Back then he is a variety newbie, meaning he has no prior experience on being part of a variety show, thankfully his best friend, Song Joong Ki is right there with him along with Kang Gary who is also a newbie.

Unfortunately, because he is new, he is also very shy in the beginning. Rarely speaking up and he usually just takes and handles whatever his teammates throw at him as he is the maknae of the show.

Just in the very introduction scene, he is sadly neglected during his introduction when the others are trying to keep their guests and themselves dry from the pouring rain.

His pitiful weak victim role is solidified when he becomes the first person ever to have their name tag ripped off and eliminated.

Before jails are a thing, they had to stay in place so poor Kwang Soo had to sit in front of the toilet until the game was over.

As he is always eliminated very easily and early in the game, he and his two hyungs, Ji Suk Jin and Yoo Jae Suk (before he became one of the strongest players in the game) are dubbed the jail trio for always being in jail.

For sure as time goes on, he learns to shed away that shyness to become the hyperactive giraffe we know of today, overacting and freaky dancing.

At first he becomes framer Kwang Soo, keeping a straight face while making out rumors and spilling secrets of his fellow Running Man members, mostly Song Ji Hyo and Kim Jong Kook.

That makes for a lot of funny moments but it's the members who get the last laugh when during a mission, they stumble across one of the students from Kwang Soo's high school and she starts revealing rumors about the framer himself.

However that does not help keep him away from jail, he soon learns that to survive, he would need to betray others. Since then, he has shown no mercy to turn his back on others and rip off an ally's or even a teammate's name tag if it means beneficial to him, earning him a new title, the icon of betrayal. With Haha and Suk Jin, they become the Betrayal club.

But as soon as the concept of spies in the show, thanks to Yoo-ames Bond, like a spoiled little kid, he wants a chance to be a spy too. He soon gets his chance in episode 68 when he and his fellow easy brother, Suk Jin get a chance to be spies and eliminate the other members in secret, sort of.

But it is revealed they're just markers for the real spies and they get eliminated themselves at the end. This didn't stop his desire of becoming a spy for once and the star of the episode.

As time passes, he got better and stronger, he even get multiple moments to shine thanks to his own skills and wits, like in episode 81 where he gets his first solo win.

episode 132 where he used his wits to take out Jong Kook and Suk Jin as the last man in his team.

lastly,episode 141 and 218 where he goes up against Kim Jong Kook himself and wins.

There are times which he fails to his own cockyness, stupidity and of course, his unluckiness.

But hey, that just makes it all the funnier for us.

His hardwork and determination for the show paid off as he won the Variety New Star award in December 30, 2012 and his popularity grew tenfold.

It is when Running Man takes its first steps out of Korea that we see the popularity of the show, Running Man is loved by many fans all across the world that they themselves are shocked by how many fans there are, and how popular Kwang Soo is. But it isn't until they go to Vietnam that things go from unbelieveable to insanely ridiculous, there are fans by the thousands and all cheering his name wherever he goes, the members then dubbed him the prince of asia or the asian prince for his explosive popularity.

Although he is constantly bullied throughout the show, he will always be our favourite betraying giraffe and I wish nothing but the best for him in the episode and his movie.

Is there any other member you want me to write about next? Please let me know and feel free to voice your thoughts. Anyways, Happy Kwang Soo Day, everyone.

See you next time.