Korean variety shows the world has copied, from Running Man and The Masked Singer to parenting reality TV series Mom is an Idol and The Return of Superman

Popular South Korean TV show formats have been exported the world over – viewers in more than 30 countries have seen versions of The Masked Singer

Korean variety show Running Man has a spin-off on Disney+, and Korean dramas such as Good Doctor have had US remakes. Movie Train to Busan could be next

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Outrun by Running Man is a spin-off of the popular South Korean variety show Running Man. The series is available on Disney+. Photo: The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific

Published: 12:15pm, 26 Nov 2021

On November 12, the streaming platform Disney+ premiered Outrun by Running Man, a spin-off of the popular South Korean variety programme Running Man.

The new show features several of the Running Man cast members in new situations, including competing against masked K-pop stars in games. The anonymous celebrities are vying for the chance to introduce themselves, unmasked, to viewers.

Disney’s investment in Outrun by Running Man is evidence of how popular Korean variety shows are globally, although the spin-off itself being in Korean is unusual, as the rights to Korean shows are sold and the content is typically adapted for a local audience.

Running Man, for example, has been popularised in China as the Chinese-language variety show Keep Running and different versions are broadcast in other markets in Asia.

The cast of the popular South Korean variety programme Running Man.

The most successful variety show export from Korea by far is The Masked Singer franchise: over 30 countries are said to have produced their own versions of the show known as King of Masked Singer in Korea.