"Running Man" And "Hide And Seek" Receive Warnings About Scenes Depicting Male Sexual Harassment

SBS’s variety show “Running Man” and MBC’s drama “Hide and Seek” have received warnings from the Korean Communications Standards Commission (KCSC).

On January 7, the KCSC held a meeting to discuss whether certain scenes in those shows depicted male sexual harassment. The “Hide and Seek” scene is from the September 8 episode, in which the main character (played by Lee Yoo Ri) barges into a male sauna in order to find the man who put her company in jeopardy. The men in the sauna had their relevant body parts pixelated in the scene.

The “Running Man” scene is from the August 26 episode, in which Lee Kwang Soo pulled down the pants and exposed the underwear of Kim Jong Kook, who was hanging off a metal bar. The scene was also pixelated.

The KCSC concluded that both scenes had violated the rules of broadcast regulation and issued sanctions against both shows. They stated, “We must reject behavior that could make someone feel sexually humiliated, regardless of whether they’re male or female. While a scene with male nakedness or the revealing of someone’s underwear could be done without any consciousness of problematic intent, it is possible to justify that as male sexual harassment.”

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