Kim Jong-kook created a heartwarming scene by giving Song Ji-hyo a golden gift on Running Man to mark the end of the year. As Song Ji-hyo has recently been making headlines with repeated comments about marriage across variety shows and YouTube, fans are responding, "Isn't this the real wedding timing now?"
On the Dec. 21 broadcast of SBS' Running Man, members appeared in outfits full of Christmas spirit for Christmas, and a mission with a "secret Santa" concept was carried out in which each member chose one member and prepared a gift. Without revealing who gave a gift to whom, gifts were opened in turn and the recipient was guessed.
Each time a gift was revealed, the members' reactions were polar opposites. Especially when the golden key appeared, everyone buzzed, "Isn't that Yoo Jae-seok?" and Yoo Jae-seok joked, "It must be gold we received on 'Running Man,'" adding, "I think the person who would bring this is Song Ji-hyo."
But the owner of the golden key was surprisingly Kim Jong-kook. He prepared a gold half-don worth about 400,000 won at current market price, surprising everyone. As suspicion that the gold came from Yoo Jae-seok grew, Kim Jong-kook, who had been smiling in silence, calmly said, once it was revealed that he was the "surprise Santa," "I brought it because it's the end of the year."
The lucky recipient of the golden gift was Song Ji-hyo. Kim Jong-kook said, "It's a lucky key. I hoped Ji-hyo would meet a man," and explained the meaning behind the gift: "Because it's a half-don, it means to find the other half to make a full don." He added, "I don't need it anymore. I gave it with a warm heart," adding to the heartwarming moment. Song Ji-hyo thanked him with a bright smile, saying, "Thank you, oppa."
This scene is drawing more attention as it coincides with Song Ji-hyo's recent string of "marriage remarks." In September on Running Man, when Kim Jong-kook's surprise wedding announcement (content) was made, Song Ji-hyo said, "I was moved. I liked it so much I saved it in my notes," revealing her emotional response. Later, during a couple mission, she made an offhand remark, "If you pair up with me you can get married," turning the set into a sea of laughter.
Also in November on the YouTube variety show Zzanbro, she honestly revealed her views on marriage and her ideal type. Song Ji-hyo said, "If someone respects my way of life, I can spend my life with them," and added, "I think love is an intersection, not a union." She sincerely said, "I'm not young, so if I meet that kind of person I want to be with them for life." For her ideal type she named "someone like Winnie-the-Pooh, big and warm when hugged," drawing laughter.
Having openly expressed her honest feelings about marriage across variety shows and YouTube, Kim Jong-kook's gift of a "half-don golden present" became another flutter point for fans. Netizens reacted, "This combo is exciting again," "Is he predicting marriage luck with gold?", "Won't Song Ji-hyo really become off the market?", and "Kim Jong-kook's comment is so meaningful."
Whether the day will come, as Kim Jong-kook hopes, when Song Ji-hyo meets her "other half" and completes the luck of a full don is attracting viewers' attention.
[Photo] 'Running Man, OSEN DB'
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