Why Is ‘The Seasons: Sung Si-kyung’s Ear Candy’ Facing Backlash? A Deep Dive into the Controversy

The Seasons — Sung Si-kyung’s \”Eardrum Boyfriend\” press conference / Photo=DB

By Jeong Ye-won, Sports Today Noise had already gathered around the show before it even aired. Though the concept is sweet and mellow, it struggled to find positive reactions. Returning to television as a music host after a long absence, Sung Si-kyung addressed the backlash over the program’s title, \”Eardrum Boyfriend.\”

KBS2’s late-night music series The Seasons — billed for this run as The Seasons — Sung Si-kyung’s \”Eardrum Boyfriend\” — premieres at 10 p.m. on the 27th. The series has kept going by rotating hosts since 2023, beginning with Jay Park and continuing with Choi Jung-hoon, AKMU, Lee Hyori, Zico, Lee Youngji, Park Bo-gum and 10cm. For its ninth season, producers tapped balladeer Sung Si-kyung as host.

Over the years, The Seasons has adopted titles that reflect each MC’s persona — examples include \”AKMU’s Onalobam,\” \”Lee Hyori’s Red Carpet,\” \”Lee Youngji’s Rainbow,\” \”Park Bo-gum’s Cantabile\” and \”10cm’s Ssamdamssam.\” The show’s clever naming previously drew attention, but the new title, \”Sung Si-kyung’s Eardrum Boyfriend,\” sparked a wave of negative responses.

Producer Son Ja-yeon addressed the naming choice at the March 27 press conference and was candid about the process. \”We agonized over it,\” she said. \”We wanted to attract attention, and I think we succeeded. I chose the title out of a kind of pitying desperation. I hoped viewers would respond to our urgency with warmth and affection. I believe we made the right call.\”

Photo = Screenshot from The Seasons — Sung Si-kyung’s \”Eardrum Boyfriend\” official Instagram

Sung Si-kyung also addressed the controversy directly. \”Believe it or not, we met three times with the production team to decide the title,\” he said. \”That’s how we ended up here. We decided together, but the responsibility is mine. The title wasn’t meant to be the point — we wanted to get people’s attention because we were confident in the content.\”

He added, \”I apologize for causing controversy. The intent was to convey that a variety of musicians would appear — like ‘Eardrum Girlfriend’ or ‘Eardrum Group’ — not to claim that I myself am the ‘Eardrum Boyfriend.’ I hoped people would see it as a witty title. We reflected on it together. I wondered what the problem was and whether the backlash was deserved.\” His tone was measured, but his embarrassment and frustration were evident.

Sung had already commented on the title during a behind-the-scenes shoot for the show’s poster, released on the 17th. \”Maybe we pushed the title too far,\” he said then. \”People might call us ‘these crazy guys,’ but using it as a song title would have been too predictable. I just wanted to make people laugh.\”

As his question — \”Do we have to be scolded this much?\” — suggests, the production team appears not to have expected such a strong reaction. Much of the pushback boiled down to discomfort with calling a man approaching his 50s a \”boyfriend.\” For many viewers, the term felt incongruous and off-key.

In any case, the show managed to generate buzz — proving, once again, that controversy can be a form of publicity. Now that they’ve captured attention, the next task is to deliver the content they say they’re confident in and win over viewers.

[Sports Today reporter Jeong Ye-won ent@stoo.com]
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