Great Minds Season 6: First Inclusion of Domestic Scholars, Premiering October 12

- Production briefing for Season 6 held at Gwanghwamun Press Center on September 8 (Tue) - Attended by Kim Wol-yong, President of the National Institute for Lifelong Education, and Chair Professors Hyun Tae-hwan and Kim Young-ki - Major achievements from the knowledge and culture program viewer perception survey revealed - Largest ever lineup of 50 scholars... First time domestic scholars are scheduled for lectures in the program - Expanding lifelong learning opportunities for the public by linking broadcasting with K-MOOC... First broadcast on Monday, October 12

EBS (CEO Kim Yu-yeol) held a production briefing for 〈Great Minds〉 (hereafter 'Great Minds') Season 6 at the Seoul Club Hall on the 18th floor of the Gwanghwamun Press Center in Seoul at 10:30 AM on September 8, revealing the planning direction and lineup for the new season.

The event was attended by Kim Wol-yong, President of the National Institute for Lifelong Education, as well as Chair Professors Hyun Tae-hwan and Kim Young-ki, who will appear in 〈Great Minds〉 Season 6. The event proceeded with opening remarks from the head of the institution, followed by the announcement of program achievements and viewer perception survey results, the Season 6 lineup reveal, an insight talk with the participating scholars, and a Q&A session.

Kim Wol-yong, President of the National Institute for Lifelong Education, stated, "Ensuring that world-class knowledge can be accessed by anyone, anywhere, and at any time is an important foundation for expanding the public's right to lifelong learning. Through 〈Great Minds〉, which combines the popularity of broadcasting with the openness of K-MOOC, we will expand learning opportunities and strengthen cooperation with EBS so that it can lead to continuous learning in the daily lives of the people."

EBS CEO Kim Yu-yeol stated, "〈Great Minds〉 is a representative public knowledge project of EBS that has lowered the threshold of knowledge so that any citizen can meet the world's best intellects. In Season 6, we will further expand the forum of knowledge by adding lectures from representative domestic scholars alongside world-class scholars to contemplate the important questions our society faces together."

〈Great Minds〉 is a public cooperation model that increases public accessibility to high-level knowledge by combining the K-MOOC lifelong learning policy promoted by the Ministry of Education and the National Institute for Lifelong Education with broadcast content. It is significant in that it expands the lifelong learning environment where anyone can continue high-level learning at any time they desire by opening up higher education-level knowledge, which tends to be concentrated in universities and certain learners, to the entire nation through broadcasting and online open courses.

5 Seasons since launch in 2021... Trust built through lectures by world-class scholars

Starting with Season 1, which drew attention for having the highest level of cast in Korean broadcasting history since its launch in 2021, 〈Great Minds〉 has met viewers with 805 lectures from 152 scholars, including Season 2, which expanded diversity and popularity, Season 3, which featured the highest number of Nobel laureates on stage, Season 4, which took 'an era of crisis' as its theme, and Season 5, which strengthened classical themes and academic depth.

By making lectures available for free through K-MOOC rather than stopping at broadcasting, 〈Great Minds〉 has established itself as a representative knowledge content that connects broadcast content with online lifelong education. It is being utilized in school discussion classes and university education, spreading the knowledge of world-class scholars to various learning sites.

Kim Min-tae, head of the EBS Global Content Department, said, "〈Great Minds〉 has gone beyond merely introducing famous scholars and has worked to make the thoughts of world intellects an asset to our society. The lectures that began on broadcast are expanding to schools, universities, and K-MOOC, showing how a single piece of knowledge content can grow into a social asset."

Ranked 1st in 'Preference, Intention to Re-watch, Intention to Recommend, and Satisfaction' for knowledge and culture program viewer evaluations

The latest viewer perception survey results for 〈Great Minds〉 were also revealed at the event.

As a result of evaluating 14 knowledge and culture programs among 1,054 men and women aged 19 to 69 nationwide who had experience watching knowledge and culture video content within the last 3 months, 〈Great Minds〉 ranked 1st in all four comprehensive evaluation indicators: 'Preference' (81.9 points), 'Intention to Re-watch' (80.9 points), 'Intention to Recommend' (79.0 points), and 'Satisfaction' (83.0 points).

Among the 17 detailed attributes evaluating content competitiveness, 9 items were ranked in the top 5, including 'Expertise of Cast' (80.9%), 'Fame' (66.0%), 'Diversity' (57.4%), 'Reliability' (73.4%), 'Depth of Content' (76.6%), 'Educational Value' (77.7%), and 'Lifelong Learning' (75.5%).

The improvement compared to the 2024 survey was also notable. Five items—'Topic Diversity' (+15.5%p), 'Cast Diversity' (+13.7%p), 'Representativeness' (+13.4%p), 'Ease of Understanding' (+12.6%p), and 'Cast Delivery' (+11.2%p)—all rose by more than 10%p, showing that competitiveness has strengthened not only in the expertise of world-class scholars but also in terms of content diversity, delivery, and popularity.

The effect of knowledge content experience through broadcasting leading to lifelong learning was also confirmed. Those with experience watching 〈Great Minds〉 showed higher levels of K-MOOC awareness (11.7%p higher), usage experience rate (5.4%p higher), and positive perception (accessibility, course level, lifelong learning perception) compared to non-viewers. This shows that 〈Great Minds〉 does not stop at providing high-level knowledge content but also contributes to the awareness and expansion of K-MOOC usage by connecting viewers' interests to continuous learning.

Season 6's largest ever lineup of 50... Meeting world intellects and the questions of our era

Season 6 will feature 50 scholars from home and abroad, the largest scale ever. Along with 2025 Nobel Laureate in Economics Philippe Aghion, world-class intellects from various fields such as science, economy, politics, and artificial intelligence will appear as lecturers, and Janet Yellen, former US Treasury Secretary and Fed Chair, and Gerhard Schröder, former German Chancellor, will also take the stage.

In particular, figures at the forefront of national management and industrial management, such as SK Group and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Chey Tae-won, will provide practical insights. In terms of academic authority, five Nobel laureates including Reinhard Genzel (2020 Nobel Prize in Physics), Ferenc Krausz (2023 Nobel Prize in Physics), Omar Yaghi (2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry), and Dasuku Honjo (2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine) will participate, completing an unprecedented lineup. Experts in artificial intelligence and future technology, such as OpenAI Chief Research Officer (CRO) Mark Chen and mathematician and former member of the National Assembly Cedric Villani, will also join to present a framework for interpreting the rapidly changing era. Additionally, figures from the culture and arts industry, such as French actress and director Sophie Marceau and Professor Martin Schmieding of the University of Leipzig in Germany, will participate to further enhance the popularity and topicality of the knowledge.

Producer Han Song-hee stated, "Season 6 deals with the core questions of our era, such as changes in AI and science/technology and uncertainties in politics and economy, through a scholar lineup of 50, the largest ever. It was planned so that viewers can ask questions and judge for themselves through various fields and perspectives rather than providing a single answer."

First domestic scholar lectures in 〈Great Minds〉... Professors Hyun Tae-hwan, Kim Young-ki, and Kim Kyung-hee to appear

In this season, domestic scholars join for the first time in the program, completing the first-ever 'Representative Korean Scholars' lineup. Moving one step beyond the Archive, which has focused on importing knowledge from abroad, the program will place top-level researchers such as Kim Young-ki, Chair Professor at the University of Chicago and a world authority in particle physics; Hyun Tae-hwan, Chair Professor at Seoul National University and a world-renowned nanoscientist; and Kim Kyung-hee, Professor of Educational Psychology at William & Mary who will highlight creativity in the AI era, on the lecture stage.

At the production briefing held on this day, Chair Professors Hyun Tae-hwan and Kim Young-ki attended to introduce their research and the main themes to be covered in Season 6, and shared their feelings about participating in 〈Great Minds〉.

Chair Professor Hyun Tae-hwan said, "This lecture is meaningful in that Korean scientists can directly share with the public what questions they are asking and what answers they are finding at the forefront of world science. I want to share with viewers that science is not difficult and distant knowledge, but a power that changes our lives and our future."

Chair Professor Kim Young-ki stated, "The development of science begins not with memorizing already known answers, but with constantly asking new questions. Through this lecture, I hope that especially the younger generation can experience the most fundamental questions of science and the joy of inquiry together."

〈Great Minds〉 Season 6, which contains dialogues of intellect that go beyond knowledge to change the world, will have its first broadcast on EBS 1TV at 11:45 PM on Monday, October 12, and can be watched again for free on the K-MOOC website (www.kmooc.kr) and the EBS website (www.ebs.co.kr).

Meanwhile, EBS and the National Institute for Lifelong Education signed a business agreement last July to expand the basic lifelong learning rights of the people and continue mutual cooperation. Through 〈Great Minds〉, which combines broadcasting and online courses, they are not only providing opportunities to access high-level lifelong education content anytime and anywhere but are also striving to realize a lifelong learning society.

* Production briefing photos and attached materials can be obtained from Google Drive (https://bit.ly/3UcuDHh).

End. (Attachment: List of scheduled broadcasts for 'Great Minds' Season 6)

◆ At a glance

· Issuing Institution: EBS

· Distribution: September 8

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