Lee Hyun-jung and Kim Min-jong showcased their gold medal-level variety show skills.
On the November 1 episode of SBS's "Running Man," 2026 Asian Games medalists Lee Hyun-jung and Kim Min-jong appeared to race alongside the cast.
In the episode, the members and the medalists took part in a "Medal-til-Elizabeth" race. They enjoyed visiting popular restaurants tailored to the meal routines of the two medalists, and had to combine hidden hints found at each location to solve a secret puzzle.
It was revealed that half-don gold medals would be awarded to the three people who successfully solved the secret, raising everyone's expectations. Meanwhile, the remaining members who failed would all receive a penalty.
Lee Hyun-jung, who mentioned he suffered a rare defeat in quiz basketball, rested his exhausted body against Jee Seokjin's designated seat. Jee Seokjin drew laughter by indirectly expressing his true feelings, asking, "Isn't that uncomfortable?"
While moving between locations, Kim Jong-kook asked Lee Hyun-jung, "Where did you learn English? You talk a bit like Black Americans." Lee Hyun-jung drew attention by sharing that he graduated from Davidson College in the U.S. – the alma mater of Stephen Curry – explaining, "I went to an American university and spent a lot of time with Black friends during COVID-19. My English improved a lot back then."
Yu Jae-seok highlighted his passion for basketball, saying, "Hyun-jung went to the NBA Global Academy in Australia all by himself for basketball, back when he couldn't speak any English at all." He also asked, "After winning the championship in the Japanese professional league, you even turned down a 2 billion won salary offer to pursue the NBA. How did you make that decision?"
In response, Lee Hyun-jung revealed his dream of taking on a bigger stage, saying, "I wanted to try playing against overseas players."
After finishing all the meal courses, the members had to choose between the dessert options of either Lee Hyun-jung or Kim Min-jong. To everyone's shock, Lee Hyun-jung chose soy sauce and egg rice (gan-gye-bap), which had also been his breakfast menu.
With Lee Hyun-jung actually eating gan-gye-bap as a snack, Jee Seokjin made the members laugh by just going through the motions of stirring it with a spoon. Jee Seokjin then asked Lee Hyun-jung, who was happily eating gan-gye-bap even after the meal, "Doesn't your dad say anything when you eat snacks like this?" Lee Hyun-jung caused an outburst of laughter by replying, "He just says 'Just one bite.'"
The final hint the members obtained on this day was a picture showing the Statue of Justice holding a ruler and a weight on a scale.
Connecting this with the earlier hint pointing to "feet," the members made their guesses. Seeing a high jump bar and a large scale set up at the final location, the members first decided to step onto the scale.
After Kim Jong-kook, Kim Min-jong, and Yang Sechan failed, and subsequent attempts by Yu Jae-seok, Lee Hyun-jung, and Jee Seokjin also yielded incorrect results, they started reasoning once more.
At that moment, Yu Jae-seok seemed to have a sudden realization and secretly called over Jee Seokjin and Lee Hyun-jung. Drawing attention, he said, "Between 310 and 320, you know what it is, right?"
The three of them then hurriedly stepped onto the scale together with various items. As soon as the weight exceeded 310, a success signal for solving the secret went off, and they cheered.
Yu Jae-seok explained that they succeeded thanks to Lee Hyun-jung's hint, revealing, "The hint Hyun-jung got earlier was a picture pointing to Kim Min-jong's feet and a picture pointing to Lee Hyun-jung's feet. Hyun-jung let us know that his foot size is 320 and Min-jong's is 310. Getting a hint from that, we figured out we had to match the weight in between."
Gold medals were awarded to the three winners. As for the remaining members, they received water slaps as a penalty. Lee Hyun-jung drew attention by volunteering, saying, "Give me a hit too," and experienced the water slap himself.
Even after the recording ended, Lee Hyun-jung got his Running Man signature name tag autographed by the members and Kim Min-jong, prompting the cast and Kim Min-jong to sincerely cheer for his advance to the NBA in a heartwarming conclusion.
(Photo: Yonhap News) (SBS Entertainment News Editor Kim Hyo-jung)
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