Meet Gym Jong-kook: Running Man star's first workout video on YouTube gets 6 million views
PHOTO: Screengrab/Youtube/Gym Jong Kook and Instagram/kjk76
PUBLISHED ONJune 21, 2021 7:43 AMByMardhiah Haslan
If you're a fan of the South Korean variety show Running Man, you'd know Kim Jong-kook's a hardcore gym junkie.
He has started the YouTube channel Gym Jong Kook to serve some fitspo and his very first workout video, uploaded on June 17, has already gotten a whopping six million views.
Right from the start, viewers are thrust into a world of manly grunts, close-ups of the hunk's ripped physique as he works out in the gym — sometimes with his shirt off revealing his swoon-worthy abs — and his impressive biceps on display.
In the short four-minute clip, Jong-kook, 45, revealed that he is "very nosy" when it comes to exercising.
"I can't stand looking at someone working out weirdly. I go insane when someone takes a long break. Break time is unnecessary."
Rain, Sung Si-kyung are some of the folks who've hit the gym with him, Jong-kook said, but Rain is one of those "who don't call me back."
"I don't force people to work out if they don't want to," he added.
"When I work out with someone who likes and wants to work out well, it feels completely different and gives me joy. Then I feel good and I eat good food with them after working out."
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zvX5qv_HSw[/embed]
He may not look like it now, but Jong-kook was once a scrawny teenager who bulked up after years of blood, sweat and tears in the gym.
Sharing his future plans for the channel, he is considering filming videos where he surprises those who are eager to work out with him as well as sharing his meal plans and workout routines.
"Since I am no expert, I'll try to share my passion for exercise rather than teaching," he said.
Before he discovered his passion for fitness, Jong-kook debuted as a member of Turbo in 1995.
Following the duo's disbandment in 2000, he released his debut solo album and won several awards including three Golden Disk Awards and two Seoul Music Awards as a solo artist.
He also ventured into filming variety shows such as X-Man and Running Man, as well as acting with his first supporting role in The Producers in 2015.
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