Girls' Generation member Sunny (써니) concluded her 16-year exclusive contract with SM Entertainment in August 2023, officially departing from the agency where she had been since her debut. At the time, she expressed a desire to re-evaluate herself from a new perspective in a new environment and embark on new challenges.
Following her departure from SM, Sunny gradually stepped back from entertainment programs and shifted her career toward production. In 2025, A2O Entertainment confirmed that she had signed with the company, founded by her uncle Lee Soo-man (이수만), to undergo production training. She also became involved in trainee development, content creation, and styling and dance instruction.
After a three-year hiatus, Sunny recently made her return to Korean variety television, appearing on the program “What Song Express” (배송왔송). On the show, she publicly discussed her older sister's hearing impairment for the first time. After hearing the experiences of a married couple with hearing loss, Sunny was deeply moved and unexpectedly shared a previously private family story.
In the Chuseok special program “What Song Express,” which aired on KBS 2TV on the 21st, Lee Seung-chul (이승철), Tak Jae-hoon (탁재훈), and Sunny transformed into special messengers, delivering songs to guests with unique stories to help them create unforgettable moments. On that day, the trio met a deaf couple who had been married for three years, both of whom use cochlear implants. The couple candidly shared the differences between hearing aids and cochlear implants, their surgical journeys, and the various inconveniences they face in daily life.
The couple specifically mentioned that after cochlear implant surgery, one does not immediately hear sounds like a person with normal hearing. Initially, distinguishing different sounds is difficult, and sounds can even feel mechanical. Therefore, a period of adaptation is necessary to gradually understand and become accustomed to the sounds of the real world.
Listening to their stories, Sunny couldn't help but talk about her own family. She rarely revealed, “Actually, my sister cannot hear in one ear.” She further explained, “So, after her surgery, just as you described, it took a long time for her to gradually start hearing.” She shared that she had personally witnessed a similar process with her family, which made her empathize deeply with the couple’s experiences.
This marks the first time Sunny has openly discussed her sister's hearing impairment, a topic she rarely mentioned publicly, surprising viewers with this previously untold family story.
Additionally, the couple shared a dangerous incident they experienced. They recounted how they had removed their cochlear implants while sleeping when a fire alarm suddenly went off in their apartment. They didn't hear it at all and only later learned there had been a fire. The couple's personal experience highlighted the real-life difficulties that individuals with hearing impairments can face in their daily lives.
