Song Ji Hyo is once again becoming a hot topic among viewers after her limited presence on the latest episode of Running Man sparked renewed debate over her screen time and overall role on the long running SBS variety show.
On the March 22 broadcast, Running Man featured a detective themed race with Park Shin Yang appearing as a special guest who introduced a mystery mission set inside an art museum.
While the episode had a large scale setup and plenty of opportunities for reactions and game moments, much of the attention online ended up focusing on Song Ji Hyo’s minimal presence.
According to viewers, more than 10 minutes passed before Song Ji Hyo even spoke on the broadcast, and for much of the episode, she was barely seen outside of brief eating related moments.
This has now become a bigger issue because similar complaints have continued for the past two weeks.
What is especially drawing attention is that some viewers now believe the production team may no longer be actively trying to help create moments for her, even though there were past episodes where staff seemed to intentionally help boost her screen time during quieter periods.
One scene that drew particular attention came during a relay drawing game, when Song Ji Hyo asked, “Please show the question one more time.”
Kim Jong Kook immediately reacted by saying, “Didn’t you see the question?” while Ji Suk Jin added, “They showed it three seconds ago…” Haha also piled on with, “That makes no sense. We all saw it together.”
The moment led to more discussion online, with some viewers questioning whether she simply was not focused, while others wondered if it was meant as a variety moment that just did not land as intended.
The criticism became even stronger because Song Ji Hyo also did not have many standout moments in the later part of the broadcast, even after additional guests like Sung Si Kyung and Lee Chang Sub appeared. Instead, newer cast member Ji Ye Eun drew more attention and naturally picked up more memorable screen time.
As a result, some viewers are now openly questioning Song Ji Hyo’s current role on Running Man, pointing out that despite being on the show for 17 years, her actual presence in an episode running more than 90 minutes reportedly did not even reach one full minute this time.
With the screen time debate continuing for multiple weeks, attention is now on whether future episodes will address the growing viewer frustration or if the controversy around Song Ji Hyo’s role on the show will continue to grow.
Source: [1]
