EBS to air three-part series 'Conversations with the Times' starting November 7

A single tweezer, a single verb, and Plato... the stories of three scholars who spent their lives dedicated to a single path.

EBS will broadcast a three-part series titled 'Conversations with the Times' on EBS 1TV starting November 7 at 2:10 PM on Saturdays. The series seeks wisdom from the lives of veteran scholars who have walked a single path.

The series focuses on three first-generation veteran scholars who laid the groundwork for basic sciences in Korea during difficult times, centering on subjects such as the philosopher Plato from 2,400 years ago, a single laboratory tweezer, and the verb "to know." The three-part series will feature philosopher Park Jong-hyeon on November 7, plant molecular geneticist Kim Sang-gu on November 14, and linguist Lee Jeong-min on November 21.

"It is all finished; I completed it after 30 years" Part 1: Philosopher Park Jong-hyeon: November 7

On November 7, the program meets philosopher Park Jong-hyeon. The work he began in his late 50s was completed at the age of 93: the completion of a collected edition of Plato's works, translated directly from ancient Greek originals with annotated commentary. When other scholars began to withdraw from the project one by one, he declared, "I will do it all by myself," enduring for 34 years through many winters and summers. Park Jong-hyeon, who established Korean philosophical terminology by spending a week contemplating single words—such as translating 'Polis' as 'country' and 'Philosophia' as 'love of wisdom'—will share his "living Plato" perspective, even suggesting that Raphael's masterpiece 'The School of Athens' is incorrect.

"The laboratory was everything to a scientist" Part 2: Plant Molecular Geneticist Kim Sang-gu: November 14

On November 14, the program meets plant molecular geneticist Kim Sang-gu. When he returned to Korea as a young professor in 1981, his laboratory consisted of nothing more than a single 150-liter refrigerator. His first research grant of 2 million won was not even enough to cover the cost of a single enzyme used to cut DNA. He personally sketched equipment he had seen in the United States and commissioned local contractors in Cheonggyecheon Stream to build it, eventually bringing about 10 DNA sequencing devices into his laboratory. Just before retirement, he achieved a "late-career home run" by discovering the world's first DNA damage repair enzyme in plants. Even now, 15 years after retirement, he goes to his lab every morning at 10:00 AM and has kept a diary for 40 years. The gift his students secretly prepared for him on his retirement day was none other than a pair of "gold tweezers."

"AI stole the human heart using human language" Part 3: Linguist Lee Jeong-min: November 21

The final part featuring linguist Lee Jeong-min will air on November 21. He has spent over 50 years delving into the secrets hidden in Korean predicates, noting how phrases like "Is he your son? He's a bachelor!" can carry entirely different meanings depending on the context. During a presentation at the Linguistic Society of America in 1973, he received a compliment mixed with a joke: "Linguists who speak English will have nothing left to do now." Having always been at the forefront of "firsts," from founding the Korean Society for Cognitive Science to copyright movements, he is now drawing attention again due to AI. As linguistics emerges as a popular field, the series will explore stories of language, humans, and AI through the eyes of this first-generation linguist.

The three scholars share one commonality: they walked paths that no one else took, all the way to the end. As Professor Park Jong-hyeon remarked, what they planted is an "oak forest" in which many academic disciplines will grow. The stories of that forest will fill Saturday afternoons in November. The EBS 'Conversations with the Times' three-part series airs on EBS 1TV every Saturday at 2:10 PM starting November 7.

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