Announcer Han Seok-joon appealed for understanding toward elderly people who watch videos in public without earphones in a social media post, sparking an online debate.
On the 4th, Han quoted a netizen’s post on his X account and weighed in. The original post opened, “When I see elderly people watching YouTube in public without earphones…” and it quickly circulated online.
In a reply he wrote, “Don’t hate them too much. They may have trouble hearing with earphones. I’m not at that age, so I don’t really know.” His post received roughly 2.8 million views.
After the post spread across online communities, users launched an intense debate over his comments.
Critics said, “You can’t understand the pain unless you’ve lived it,” arguing that playing loud videos in public without earphones is rude regardless of a person’s age.
Supporters defended older adults, noting that poor hearing can make earphones harder to use, that many find earphones uncomfortable, and that some may struggle to use them without help from family.
The issue of watching videos in public without earphones has drawn attention overseas as well. In the U.K., officials are reportedly considering fines of up to £1,000 (about $1,327 or roughly 1,980,000 KRW) for playing videos or music on public transport without earphones.
