 |
| The Seasons — "Sung Si-kyung's Earphone Boyfriend" press conference Sung Si-kyung / Photo by Paeng Hyun-joon |
On the 27th, KBS2 held a press conference at its New Building in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, for its new variety series, The Seasons — Sung Si-kyung's Earphone Boyfriend (hereafter The Seasons). The event was attended by host Sung Si-kyung, bandmaster Jung Dong-hwan, and producers Jung Mi-young and Son Ja-yeon.
The Seasons is a late-night music program that has continued with top Korean artists serving as relay MCs since 2023, beginning with Jay Park and featuring Choi Jung-hoon, AKMU, Lee Hyori, Zico, Lee Young-ji, Park Bo-gum and 10cm. For its ninth season, producers tapped Sung Si-kyung — one of Korea's foremost balladeers — to lead the series.
At the press event, Sung addressed the backlash surrounding the "Earphone Boyfriend" title. He joked, "Believe it or not, we met three times to choose the title. That's how we ended up here. We made the decision together, but ultimately it's my responsibility. I didn't think the title was that important. I wanted to draw attention, but I was confident in the content. My intention was to let the substance carry more weight than the name." He apologized for any offense caused by the controversy.
He went on to clarify that the title was meant to signal a range of performers — from "Earphone Girlfriend" to "Earphone Group" — rather than to suggest he personally is an "Earphone Boyfriend." "The show's content is by no means light," he said, asking audiences to view the title as playful. He added that the reaction had been painful, that the team had reflected on what went wrong, and that he wondered whether the level of criticism was warranted.
Meanwhile, The Seasons — Sung Si-kyung's Earphone Boyfriend premieres at 10 p.m. on the 27th.
[Sports Today reporter Jeong Ye-won ent@stoo.com]
「Your closest, most FunFun news ⓒ Sports Today」
