“Running Man” Comedian Yang Se Chan Under Fire For Making A Rude Joke About Actress Jeon So Min During A Game
On its official YouTube channel, SBS‘s Running Man shared a series of short clips from its latest episode in which the members got competitive playing the “Of Course” game (also known as the dangyunhaji game).
Long-time K-Pop and Korean television entertainment fans know that the game itself is centered around “roasting” each other. And so while the remarks involved can get feisty, they are meant to be harmless. However, one of the clips—capturing comedian Yang Se Chan against actress Jeon So Min—ended up receiving heavy criticism from Running Man viewers.
The clip in question, titled, “[Of… Course…] Jeon So Min Shaken By Yang Se Chan’s Attack,” showed Yang Se Chan versus Jeon So Min. The round started off light with the comedian and the actress calling each other “ugly” and making fun.
Yang Se Chan: You know you’re fri-ckin’ ugly. Right?
Jeon So Min: Of course!
Following a few turns back and forth though, Yang Se Chan brought up Jeon So Min’s actual ex-boyfriend and mentioned his occupation (which then became censored by the production team).
Yang Se Chan: About [censored, specific descriptions of Jeon So Min’s ex-boyfriend]… We still keep in touch, you know that. Right?
Jeon So Min: Of course… (Turns to Yoo Jae Suk)
Yang Se Chan: Hyung, I think she’s crying?!
According to some viewers, Jeon So Min’s reaction at this point already showed her “becoming uncomfortable at the mention of her dating history.”
When Jeon So Min managed to make it through that “attack,” Yang Se Chan tried again—asking the actress if she “thinks about [censored ex-boyfriend’s name] while filming kiss scenes” in her ongoing K-Drama Show Window: The Queen’s House. Though Jeon So Min tried to answer, comedian Yoo Jae Suk put an end to the game by declaring that Yang Se Chan had won.
Yang Se Chan: When you’re on set for Show Window and you’re shooting a kiss scene… You thought about [censored ex-boyfriend’s name], huh?
Jeon So Min: Of… Of course! OF COURSE!
Yoo Jae Suk: Are you all right?
Yang Se Chan: C’mon, hyung! Call it a game already!
Yoo Jae Suk: Yang Se Chan wins!
Under the YouTube video, Running Man viewers gathered to call out on Yang Se Chan’s insensitive behavior. One viewer demanded respect for the actress while commenting, “Somin never [attacks] other members this way, yet they do it to her.”
Online communities also commented that he “crossed the line” when he “joked” about her thinking about the ex-boyfriend while in her K-Drama role. Some even deemed this as “sexual harassment” and demanded that Yang Se Chan formally apologizes to Jeon So Min for speaking about her acting career that way.
- “Honestly WAY over the line… Why does [Yang Se Chan] keep putting his foot in his mouth?”
- “I get that the cast members are all so incredibly close and comfortable with one another. And I get that Yang Se Chan is considered the more cheeky personality on the team. But I really wish he would stop before crossing any lines. He always makes me feel uncomfortable.”
- “Geez, that was not nice at all.”
- “I find it hilarious and hopeless that the production team found this funny and decided to upload an entire clip of it.”
- “Yang Se Chan most definitely crossed the line with this one. Doesn’t even matter what the production team thinks.”
- “This makes me see Yang Se Chan in a different light. Is this what he thinks of all actors and their careers? That actors think about making out with their exes while filming on set? He’s disgusting.”
- “I don’t watch Running Man and I’m not a Jeon So Min fan but this got me pressed.”
The criticism continues to grow, especially since Jeon So Min has previously dropped hints about this “ex-boyfriend” and how heartbroken he had left her. Between 2015-2016, Jeon So Min was in a romantic relationship with actor Yoon Hyun Min. When, in a previous Running Man episode, the actress revealed that she dumped her ex-boyfriend after he “cheated on [her],” viewers assumed that Jeon So Min and Yoon Hyun Min might have went through a rough breakup.
Neither Yang Se Chan nor Running Man has responded to the online backlash.
Watch the clip here.
