Sometimes I watch/listen just cos I like the ppl even if I don't understand the words, I can still feel/get the vibe n I pick up on the meaning partially thru context/past understanding/hearing of words.
Gee in 2009 when I first watched the MV after reading abt the record 9 week wins may be my first time, but I dint continue until 2018(or after) tho I did intermittently watch/listen without fully understanding in between. I think by 2018 when fan subs/official subs were more prominent it became easier/more accessible for me to start stanning. But my nephew earlier got me watching running man on a car trip pre CNY n it was interesting/stimulating enuf to hold my attention(subbed but I had zero knowledge of who was who then n idk which episode was on. I randomly watched later on my own becos an actress from tv series I liked was a guest on the travel-to-europe mini-series of Running man episodes and I got hooked until I got burned out from watching regularly later on. Still watched backwards n forwards from 2018/2019 for a few yrs tho. There's just sthg tat I can watch/listen without full translation tat I think I don't with any other language(even mandarin/chinese) I don't read/write zhong yi even tho at work previously I had to use hanyu pinyin to key in characters for graphics or copy paste whole paragraphs without being able to read/understand I depended on limited pictorial recognition. Ironic tat my dad bought these Chinese explanatory books for non Chinese literate ppl like me which showed wat I think was etymology or at least evolution of pictography Chinese. I'd go thru them interested in the pictures but no retention of the Chinese characters/meaning/words ie pronunciation. Till now I hv forgotten how to write/recognise my own name tho I know the pronunciation/surname n maybe partially rmbr the meaning of the given name(at least individual character). Tat is all.