Gokpamu performed before King Sejong 601 years ago: Old kisaeng Bong-i is revived by AI

"I could not live like a flower, but today I danced like a flower." On the night the forgotten dance was revived before King Sejong, the old kisaeng Bong-i turns on the camera.

EBS 'Kisaeng Bong-i' episode, broadcasting September 27 (Sun) at 11 PM on EBS 1TV.

- An episode of 'AI Drama - Resurrection Class' created with a next-generation production process - A night in September 1425, after performing Gokpamu before King Sejong. The confession of an old kisaeng who revived a forgotten dance - Regarding Gwanseupdogam, Gokpamu, and the conviction of a professional who protected her dance despite her despised status - Dialogue reconstructed based on historical records and research papers, with expert academic consultation (Professor Gye Seung-beom of Sogang University).

*Broadcast Date/Time: September 27, 2026 (Sun) at 11 PM, EBS1

The EBS 'Kisaeng Bong-i' episode, which revives historical figures through AI digital restoration, will be broadcast on EBS 1TV on September 27 (Sun) at 11 PM.

In this broadcast, the old kisaeng Bong-i, who left behind only her three-letter name, is resurrected. Not as a king or a great figure, but as a professional who protected her dance to the end despite her despised status. She is the fourth figure in 'Joseon People's Annals,' which illuminates the lives of nameless commoners of Joseon.

"My name is Bong-i, an old kisaeng of Joseon." A camera turned on during a night in September 1425, after dancing before the King.

A night in September 1425, in a thatched cottage. An old kisaeng who has danced for over thirty years sits before the camera with a body that is still aching. "My name is Bong-i, an old kisaeng of Joseon. I have just returned from dancing before the King." Her heart still pounds at the fact that she danced before the King, whom she dares not even lift her head toward, and that she did so in the body of a low-born government slave kisaeng. However, saying she has no regrets after her last dance of this spring, Bong-i says she wants to convey everything about that day without missing a single detail.

'AI Drama - Resurrection Class' is a program that uses AI technology to digitally restore historical figures and implement video messages they might have left while sitting before a camera. In the Kisaeng Bong-i episode, the revived Bong-i begins to unfold her life as a kisaeng to the camera on that night when she revived the forgotten dance, Gokpamu (曲破舞), before the King.

A name left in only a single line of the Annals: Bong-i, who loved flowers but could not become one.

The subtitle for the Kisaeng Bong-i episode is Joseon People's Annals 'The Last Dance of an Old Kisaeng.' Before the camera, Bong-i retraces her past life. Her childhood, when she was called the most beautiful among the local government slave girls, and the days she grew up under harsh scolding while learning gayageum and gagok every day in the Gwanseupdogam. However, the girls who loved flowers could not actually become flowers. Her colleagues were treated lightly by high-ranking officials, and the life of a kisaeng meant facing early old age. Nevertheless, she calmly reveals how she held onto a single forgotten dance, having learned that dance is an order the body remembers.

"If you must take two steps back, you can just take them one by one again." An old kisaeng who revived a forgotten dance 601 years ago speaks to us.

It was not only the dance movements that Bong-i did not forget. Muta (舞退), stepping backward, and Mujin (舞進), stepping forward—if you must take two steps back, you can just take them one by one again. This was both the order of the dance and a way to endure life. Finally, the King specially awarded a prize to the kisaeng who remembered the long-forgotten dance music, and Bong-i is happy above all else that there are now people who remember her dance. These words from a person 601 years ago, saying that although she could not live as nobly as a flower, she danced like a flower today, come as a touching resonance across six centuries.

An AI drama built upon the Annals and historical research papers.

The dialogue and story of the Kisaeng Bong-i episode were reconstructed based on the record that King Sejong awarded a prize to the kisaeng who revived Gokpamu, and several historical research papers dealing with the lives of kisaengs during the Joseon Dynasty. Through academic consultation from Professor Gye Seung-beom of Sogang University, the historical context and facts surrounding the Gwanseupdogam, the kisaeng system, and Gokpamu were verified. The production principle of 'AI Drama - Resurrection Class'—where AI does not freely generate dialogue, but rather visualizes content that has undergone original source research, expert consultation, and human writing through AI technology—was applied identically to this episode.

Following clowns, maids, and slaves, a kisaeng whose name remains in the Annals is resurrected.

'AI Drama - Resurrection Class' is a program that uses next-generation production processes to revive historical figures through AI digital restoration technology and implement video messages they might have left. 'Joseon People's Annals,' which illuminates those who vanished without names by the side of kings and great figures, now gives a voice to the old kisaeng who left behind her three-letter name, following the Joseon clowns, young maids, and runaway slaves. Set against the most decisive day of each person's life, timeless questions are delivered, and each episode is produced through expert historical research and academic consultation.

"Reviving a forgotten dance, dancing before the King, and turning on the camera."

The production team stated, "Bong-i is an old kisaeng who received an award in 'AI Drama - Resurrection Class' and left behind her three-letter name. Behind that short record was the pride of a professional who, despite her despised status, remembered a single forgotten dance until the end and revived it before the King. We wanted to face that heart, which said that although she could not live like a flower, she danced like a flower, together with the viewers."

EBS is broadcast every Sunday night at 11 PM on EBS 1TV.

*Related photos can be found on the EBS institutional website (about.ebs.co.kr)-Cyber PR Office-Highlights, on the corresponding broadcast date.

◆ At a Glance

· Issuing Institution: EBS

· Category: AI Drama - Resurrection Class

· Distribution: September 24

Source: EBS Press Release

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