Basketball Player Lee Hyun-jung Reveals Top-8 Academic Rank on Running Man
Basketball player Lee Hyun-jung surprised viewers of the SBS variety show Running Man
by revealing an unexpected academic background as a former top-eight student in his school, though he struggled with basic trivia questions during the broadcast.
Academic Background Meets Variety Game Shows
During the November 1 episode, newsen.com reported that Lee Hyun-jung appeared alongside Asian Games judo medalist Kim Min-jong for a competitive episode titled Medal Until Difficulty Elizabeth.
The production built the challenge around gathering hints through various athletic and mental trials to solve a final secret for a gold medal.
The opening segment introduced a hybrid format called Quiz Basketball,
which required participants to sink a basket before earning the right to answer a trivia question. When the rules were announced, cast members expressed high expectations for Lee after learning he had once ranked eighth in his entire school academically. Despite those credentials, Lee delivered a series of unusual incorrect answers that drew laughter from the studio.
Physical Domination on the Court and Obstacle Course
The competition shifted as unexpected challengers emerged in both categories. While Lee struggled with the quiz portion, judo competitor Kim Min-jong showcased surprising shooting accuracy to emerge as an athletic ace. Faced with this sudden threat, Lee resorted to joking instructions directed at his teammates to target their opponents’ faces or vital points.
The athletes later faced a strength contest named I’ll Bring It,
which determined lunch choices between Kim’s calorie-dense diet and meals favored by NBA players. The task required competitors to break through a barrier held by two opposing players using elastic bands to retrieve objects across the room. Kim displayed overwhelming national-representative strength by lifting two 20-kilogram sandbag boxes with his fingertips.
When Kim applied full pressure, the elastic bands pulled both Lee Hyun-jung and regular cast member Kim Jong-kook forward without resistance. Cast member Yang Se-chan expressed astonishment at the display, describing Kim Min-jong as a dump truck.
The physical dominance even overwhelmed Kim Jong-kook, who typically controls physical challenges on the program, prompting host Yoo Jae-suk to jokingly label Jong-kook as an ordinary person.