Immortal Songs screen capture
Former baseball player Hwang Jae-gyun stepped out for his first variety show appearance since retiring.
On the afternoon broadcast on the 10th, the KBS music program "Immortal Songs" aired its "2026 Professional Baseball Special" episode.
That day, Hwang said, "At the time I was cast, I belonged to KT WIZ, but now I have retired. I ended up taking part for the sake of my juniors with the active team," adding, "I came to Immortal Songs as my first official appearance after retiring. I think you already know I can't sing. Anyone who loses to me should put down the microphone starting tomorrow," he joked.
Hwang, who announced his retirement on December 19 last year, wrapping up a 20-year playing career, explained his decision: "I had been considering retirement since early 2025. To be honest, I decided because I didn't want to retire in a shabby way at the end."
A senior, referring to Hwang, who was known as a player complete in hitting, defense, and base running as both an infielder and outfielder, chimed in, "You hit a home run in your MLB debut." Hwang joked back, "I gathered all my energy to hit a home run, and that was it. I made a big impact with one swing and then collapsed."
Lee Chan-won asked the senior players to offer advice to the newly retired Hwang. Park Yong-taek said, "Thinking about it won't make it happen. You have to be invited wherever," and added, "Go out and try various experiences." Kim Jun-hyun summed up, "Basically, you have to say yes to everything," and Hwang replied, "Please invite me a lot, I'll go on everything."
In a pre-interview, Hwang set his goal for the day as beating only Lee Dae-hyung, saying, "I was watching while playing a game in the waiting room, and I thought, I've got that guy beaten."
While singing, Hwang displayed on the screen a handwritten letter he had written to fans as the background, and he shed tears during the song. Asked why he cried, Hwang said, "When I was singing, a fan was crying, and when I looked another way, that person was crying too, and when I looked elsewhere, my parents were there." When Shin Dong-yeob asked about his reason for retiring, he said, "I myself have great regrets, and I didn't want to play baseball in an embarrassing way, so I wanted to retire while I could still bat leadoff, even if only a little."
Hwang lost to Jeon Sa-min, so he had to end his first stage and leave right away. Jeon Sa-min was overjoyed at the thought of having beaten a senior and didn't know what to do with himself.
Meanwhile, Hwang married Jiyeon of the group T-ara in December 2022, but the couple split in November 2024 after two years. At the time, he stated, "After much deliberation over differences in personality, we agreed to separate and then divorce. Though our marital relationship has ended, we will sincerely root for each other's paths."
Immortal Songs screen capture
Immortal Songs screen capture
