Despite starring in the Netflix series “When Life Gives You Tangerines” to filming the upcoming drama “Good Boy," actor Park Bo-gum is adding even more to his weekly timetable: hosting a music show.

Park will host the KBS music show "The Seasons" (2022-), making him the franchise’s first host outside the music industry. His season, titled “The Seasons 〈Park Bo Gum’s Cantabile〉,” is set to premiere on Friday at 10 p.m.


He is the show's seventh host, following previous hosts: singers Jay Park, Choi Jung-hoon of rock band Jannabi, music duo AKMU, singer Lee Hyo-ri, rapper Zico and most recently rapper Lee Young-ji. The previous season concluded on Feb. 21.

While the full guest lineup remains under wraps, Park is expected to reunite in the first episode with the cast of "Love in the Moonlight" (2016), a KBS drama series in which he starred in a leading role.

Produced by Choi Seung-hee, Son Ja-youn and Choi Jee-na, the music talk show blends live performances with in-depth artist interviews. Jeong Dong-hwan of Melomance, who was the band leader since the show's first season in 2022, will return for Park’s season.

“Park is truly full of ambition and passion,” producer Choi said during the show's press conference held in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Tuesday. She added that she has never seen a host this ambitious before.

"He constantly asks our production team for meetings, checks in on the show’s progress and brings countless suggestions. He has so many ideas for various projects, so I believe the viewers can definitely look forward to this season."

Park is not entirely new to hosting. He previously hosted KBS’s “Music Bank” (1998-) alongside Red Velvet’s Irene from 2015 to 2016. Despite his past experience, he is approaching “The Seasons” with the mindset of a "rookie employee," actively preparing various projects for the show that will lead its viewers to "a joyful musical journey."

The actor gave a sneak peek during the press conference into some of his ongoing projects, such as creating a theme song for his show with band leader Jeong, as well as showcasing a music recommendation segment for his audience.

The yet-to-be unveiled theme song’s lyrics will be written by Park himself, and the song currently has several versions, according to the actor.

“I’m preparing several versions right now, but I'm trying to think of lyrics that would go well with ‘cantabile’ and 'spring' for now,” he said.

He also plans to introduce a music recommendation segment, curating a playlist for each episode.

"I want to introduce songs that the audience can hum along to, or tracks that align with the theme of each episode," he explained. "I’m working on weaving that into the show’s overall storyline."

With the first episode's filming scheduled on the same day as the press conference, the actor hopes the show will be long remembered, while also providing a "comforting time" for everyone.

“When looking back at this iteration of the show, I wish for the show to be a music program that stays in everyone’s minds for a long time and creates lasting memories, being brought up by people saying, ‘Ah, there was this artist back then’ or ‘This music was so great,’” he said.


BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]