Lee So-ra's 6-Year TV Return Leaves Sung Si-kyung in Awe as The Seasons Season 9 Premieres

When Sung Si-kyung said he felt like he had "a thousand soldiers" backing him after Lee So-ra agreed to appear on his new show, fans finally understood why. On March 27, 2026, KBS2's beloved late-night music talk show The Seasons launched its ninth season — and the premiere delivered an evening that nobody who watched is likely to forget anytime soon.

The new season, officially titled The Seasons: Sung Si-kyung's Eardrum Boyfriend, marks the first time the 47-year-old ballad icon has taken the MC chair for the long-running KBS franchise. And he chose the best possible first guest: Lee So-ra, a singer whose vocal legacy has shaped Korean music for more than three decades — and who had been almost entirely absent from television for six full years.

The Show That Became a Season Nine Milestone

The Seasons is no stranger to compelling hosts. Since its 2023 launch, the Friday-night KBS2 program has rotated through an impressive roster that includes Jay Park, AKMU, Lee Hyori, Zico, Lee Young Ji, Park Bo Gum, and 10cm. Each host brings a distinct flavor to the format, which combines intimate live performances with candid conversations between the MC and musical guests.

Sung Si-kyung — widely known to Korean fans by the affectionate nickname "고막남친" (Eardrum Boyfriend) — was announced as the ninth-season host in early March 2026. The title, which leaned into his long-standing reputation as a vocalist whose voice has a near-physical effect on listeners, immediately sparked debate online. Critics argued the phrase felt out of place in 2026, with some suggesting alternatives. Sung Si-kyung addressed the controversy at the March 27 press conference at KBS Art Hall in Yeouido: "I made this decision through three meetings, and now it's like this. Since I made the decision, it's my fault. I felt very upset and reflected on it." The title stayed. The show went on in spectacular fashion.

Lee So-ra's Long-Awaited Return

The evening's most talked-about moment was its most personal. Lee So-ra, one of South Korea's most revered ballad singers, walked onto the KBS Art Hall stage as the first guest — her first substantive television appearance in roughly six years. Her debut in 1993 as part of jazz vocal group Strange People, and her subsequent solo career that produced beloved hits including the iconic track "Blue in You," make her one of the most genuinely respected figures in Korean music.

In March 2026, Lee So-ra revealed on the YouTube channel Fairy Jae-hyung that she had developed vocal cord nodules five years earlier while filming the music travel series Begin Again. The condition kept her out of the spotlight as she focused on recovery. "I just stayed home," she acknowledged on the broadcast — a quiet admission that spoke volumes about the years preceding this very public return.

For Sung Si-kyung, a longtime friend and musical companion of Lee So-ra, her agreement to open the season was deeply meaningful. "I'm so grateful she came outside," he said at the press conference — the phrase quietly acknowledging how significant her return to public life had been. Their warmth for each other was immediately visible on stage.

Lee So-ra did not arrive empty-handed. In what became one of the episode's most emotionally resonant moments, she brought a handwritten letter for Sung Si-kyung — a gesture that perfectly matched the intimate, personal tone the new host is clearly aiming to set. The letter's delivery moved both the audience and its recipient.

Performances That Stopped the Room

If the letter was the emotional heart of the evening, the music was its backbone. The premiere featured live performances that reminded viewers why these artists remain fixtures of the Korean music conversation after careers spanning multiple decades.

Sung Si-kyung and Lee So-ra performed "그대안의 블루" (Blue in You) together — a duet that carries enormous weight in Korean pop culture. The song, which became one of the defining tracks on the Goblin drama soundtrack in 2016 and has remained a beloved classic ever since, felt especially powerful performed by two artists with such genuine warmth for each other. The visual of Lee So-ra and Sung Si-kyung sharing a microphone on the KBS Art Hall stage, singing a song that generations of Korean listeners associate with deep emotion, was the kind of moment that makes music television worth watching.

Lee So-ra also performed her solo "청혼" (Proposal) — a song she has long been associated with and which, in the context of her extended absence from live performance, took on new layers of meaning. The crowd's welcome was enthusiastic and emotional. For longtime fans who had waited years to hear her perform again, it was a reminder of exactly what had been missing.

YB, the veteran Korean rock band led by vocalist Yoon Do-hyun, delivered a characteristically powerful performance of "타잔" (Tarzan). YB — one of Korea's longest-standing rock acts, internationally recognized for their SXSW appearances and the iconic 2002 World Cup anthem "Oh! Pilseung Korea" — brought a completely different sonic energy to the evening, underscoring the show's intent to celebrate the full breadth of Korean popular music rather than limiting itself to a single genre.

The Reunion Within the Reunion

One of the evening's most delightful subplots was the reunion between Sung Si-kyung and Yoon Do-hyun — a meeting that carried its own piece of broadcast history. It was revealed during the episode that Sung Si-kyung had appeared on Yoon Do-hyun's Love Letter, Yoon's previous long-running KBS music program, a remarkable 22 times — the highest of any guest in that show's history.

Sung Si-kyung acknowledged the poetic symmetry: "From Lee So-ra's Propose, to Yoon Do-hyun's Love Letter, and now to Sung Si-kyung's Eardrum Boyfriend." The three programs represent successive chapters of KBS's late-night music programming legacy, and having all three associated artists gather in the same studio gave the night genuine historical weight. Lee So-ra called Sung Si-kyung "now a legend and a master" — praise that landed visibly.

The full first-episode guest lineup also included singer Kim Jo-han, ballad vocalist Jung Seung-hwan, and jazz-pop singer Kwon Jin-a — a roster that, alongside Lee So-ra and YB, ensured the premiere offered something for nearly every corner of Korean music fandom. From Lee So-ra's timeless balladry to YB's stadium rock to Kwon Jin-a's smooth contemporary sound, the episode moved fluidly across styles while maintaining consistent warmth throughout.

What the Season Promises

Sung Si-kyung has indicated he plans to bring international guests to The Seasons as the season progresses, with a specific interest in inviting Japanese musicians — a reflection of his personal connections in the Japanese music industry built over years of cultural exchange.

If the premiere is any indication, the ninth season is setting a high bar: emotionally resonant, musically diverse, and anchored by a host who has thought carefully about what kind of space he wants to create. Lee So-ra's appearance suggests the season could become a platform for genuinely meaningful reunions — the kind of moments that go beyond standard variety entertainment.

For Lee So-ra, who spent years dealing with a condition that threatened her ability to sing professionally, walking back onto a live stage and performing with a close friend before a full audience was clearly more than just another television appearance. It was a statement — and one that the studio audience, and viewers watching at home, received with open arms.

The Seasons: Sung Si-kyung's Eardrum Boyfriend airs every Friday at 10 PM KST on KBS2, with episodes also available on the KBS Kpop YouTube channel.