The Nov. 16 episode of SBS’ "Animal Farm" marked the return of its cheeky “K-Mutt” adoption project, and it landed with a bark: the premiere drew a 4% rating, the best in its time slot, proving its buzzworthiness (Nielsen Korea, Seoul households).
Enter Rungji, a scrappy charmer with big-city dreams and small-town swagger. Once a beloved neighborhood stray in Daegu, he “joined” T1’s headquarters as a newbie intern―complete with an employee ID―on a mission to spread good-luck energy to everyone he met.
Guided by CEO Ahn Woong-gi, Rungji made his all-hands meeting debut, then trotted through the building like he owned the place. Back on Oct. 14, with a make-or-break showdown at the 2025 League of Legends World Championship looming, T1 even rallied around Rungji’s tongue-in-cheek mantra of “power up and win” as the team’s phrase of the month.
Come a sleepy afternoon, the legend himself―Faker (Lee Sang-hyeok)―dropped by for a boost before a key match, hand outstretched for a first shake. Rungji bolted over, and Faker was instantly in dog-dad mode, fetching water and doling out treats as the pup shadowed him everywhere. “He’s not shy at all―such a friendly little face,” Faker said with a sweet smile, looking every bit the perfect handler.
In a broadcast first, "Animal Farm" also offered a peek inside T1’s players’ locker room. Rungji roamed freely, even padding into Faker’s personal streaming studio―living that “no off-limits zones” dog life. “I’ve got a soft spot for mutts,” Faker admitted, caving to Rungji’s killer charm in seconds.
But the episode ended on a twist: when other teammates gathered, Rungji suddenly turned cool toward Faker―a chilly little snub that set up a cliffhanger and sent anticipation soaring for part two of the “K-Mutt” special.
Social media lit up in real time: “Rungji is so cute―I’m changing my name,” “Coach Rungji for the 2026 mental game,” “Need an audio file of Lee Sang-hyeok calling ‘Rungji,’ stat,” and “Rungji, I’m jealous―drop the next episode now,” read some of the top comments, fueling support for Rungji’s adoption journey.
Part two of "Animal Farm"’s K-Mutt adoption special airs Nov. 23 at 9:30 a.m. KST.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)