ZE:A member Kwanghee candidly revealed why he stepped away from variety shows for a while — a self-confessed bout of so-called "celebrity syndrome" — serving up laughs on SBS7s Running Man.
The June 28 broadcast of the SBS variety show Running Man featured a "Priceless New World" race with guests Kwanghee and actress Lee Se-hee.
As soon as the members saw Kwanghee, they started teasing his style. Yang Se-chan joked, "Are those your real shoulders?" recalling his old shoulder-pad era. Kwanghee shot back, "There are no pads. I didn7t bulk up either. I just wanted to look tough," cracking everyone up.
Ji Ye-eun admitted, "I7m actually a fan of Kwanghee. Really," but after noticing his heavy makeup, she quipped, "Your eye makeup is bolder than mine," sparking more laughter. HaHa teased, "Why did we get him instead of Im Si-wan?" and Kwanghee snapped, "I7m so annoyed everyone keeps asking for Im Si-wan!"
The talk then shifted to Kwanghee7s break from variety. Yoo Jae-suk began, "Kwanghee said he wouldn7t do variety for a while," and Yang Se-chan added, "There were tons of rumors you were sick." Kwanghee flipped the joke, saying, "They said I caught a disease — the celebrity disease," sending the set into chaos.
When Ji Seok-jin remarked, "If you7re not going to do it, you should quit for good," Kwanghee shared honestly, "I was starving for popularity. These days, people on the street keep asking, 27Why aren27t you on TV anymore?27"
He then playfully aired a grievance with Yoo Jae-suk: "People ask me, 27Did Yoo Jae-suk abandon you?27 So, did you? Say it." He added, "You always hang out with other juniors. Lately you7re always with Byeon Woo-seok," making everyone burst into laughter.
When Yoo Jae-suk asked, "So why did this celebrity syndrome hit you all of a sudden?" Kwanghee confessed, "I wanted to live like a true celeb for once." He continued, "I went to friends7 concerts, even chased Coachella." Yoo Jae-suk wrapped it up with, "That7s not just celebrity syndrome — that7s a full-on GD syndrome," drawing even bigger laughs.