EBS Restores 'Yeon-i', a Sixteen-Year-Old Maid Dragged to Qing via AI... Airing September 13 at 11 PM

"No one knows what will become of us," says one of the sixteen maids being dragged to Qing, following Princess Uisun who has become a tribute maid, as she turns on a camera.

EBS 'Joseon Commoner Annals: The 16th Maid of Princess Uisun' will air on September 13 (Sun) at 11 PM on EBS 1TV.

- 'Joseon Commoner Annals: The 16th Maid of Princess Uisun' created with a next-generation production process - Dawn in April 1650, before departing for Qing: The confession of a young government slave maid being dragged to a distant land following a princess - Regarding the Manchu War, tribute maids, and the nameless lives regarded as property rather than people - Dialogue reconstructed based on annals and historical papers, with expert academic consultation

*Broadcast Date/Time: September 13, 2026 (Sun) at 11 PM, EBS 1TV

EBS 'The 16th Maid of Princess Uisun,' which brings a historical figure back to life through AI digital restoration, will be broadcast on EBS 1TV on September 13 (Sun) at 11 PM.

In this broadcast, a girl who left not even a single line in history will be resurrected. Not as a princess or a king, but as one of the sixteen maids who set out following a princess being dragged to Qing. This is the second figure in 'Joseon Commoner Annals,' which illuminates the lives of these nameless commoners.

"My name is Yeon-i. You may call me a little girl." A camera turned on in the dawn of April 1650, before departing for Qing.

April 1650, the servants' quarters of the Joseon palace. Before dawn breaks, a girl of about sixteen or seventeen sits before the camera. "My name is Yeon-i. You may call me a little girl or a young girl." Born as the daughter of a government slave, she leaves for the Qing Dynasty today. She is one of the sixteen maids following Princess Uisun, who became a tribute maid due to the demands of the Qing following the Manchu War. "I am... so scared." Before even knowing what duties she will be assigned, the girl begins her story with a trembling voice.

This 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. The girl resurrected in 'The 16th Maid of Princess Uisun' turns on the camera in that dawn just before leaving her homeland, a land she will never step on again.

Sixteen following the princess, but a name not even recorded in the annals.

This episode is positioned as 'Joseon Commoner Annals - The 16th Maid of Princess Uisun.' When the former king of Qing (Dorgon) lost his wife and demanded marriage from the Joseon royal family, the country tried to avoid it by hiding the princess or lying about her age, but ultimately, a princess was called as a tribute maid. The girl calmly tells the story of how daughters of government slaves like herself were dragged away, following the law that court ladies were only selected from the servants of government offices and daughters of noble families were not considered. She reveals one by one her heart for leaving her bedridden mother, her slim hope that her mother might be among the crowd seeing them off outside Seodaemun, and the fear of having to think only about surviving in a distant land.

"Because no one will care about us." The question left by the girls who disappeared without names 376 years ago.

What the girl feared was the fact that no one would consider their fate. If the princess did not satisfy the king of Qing, or if that king died and the princess was handed over elsewhere, the maids were simply dragged along like her family. Even if the princess returned to Joseon, no one could know what would happen to them. This question left by a girl from 376 years ago, who was regarded as property rather than a person, comes as a chilling resonance across two centuries.

An AI drama built upon annals and historical papers.

The dialogue and story of 'The 16th Maid of Princess Uisun' were reconstructed based on contemporary records such as the Annals and historical papers such as those by Jeong Hae-eun and Lee Jong-mook. Through academic consultation from researcher Jeong Hae-eun of the Academy of Korean Studies, the historical context and facts surrounding the tribute maid system and Princess Uisun were verified. The production principle of 'Resurrection Class'—where AI does not freely generate dialogue, but rather visualizes content that has undergone original source verification, expert consultation, and human writing through AI technology—was applied to this episode as well.

Following the clown, a girl not recorded by history is resurrected.

'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 Commoner Annals,' which illuminates those who perished without names by the side of kings and great figures, follows the Joseon clown and now gives a voice to a young maid who did not even appear in a single line of the annals. 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.

"Following the princess, leaving her mother, and turning on the camera."

The production team stated, "History records that Princess Uisun returned to Joseon in 1656, but the whereabouts of the sixteen maids who followed her remain nowhere. We wanted to face the heart of that girl, who was dragged to a distant land without even her name being fully called, yet wanted to wash even a single piece of her mother's clothing, together with the viewers."

EBS 'Resurrection Class' airs 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 9

Source: EBS Press Release

The Korea Social Welfare Journal strives to deliver press releases and welfare information more easily and accurately with the help of AI technology.