EBS1, October 4 at 11 PM: King Sejong's Nighttime Confession Revived by AI

"Today, I imprisoned seven officials." On the night he jailed officials with a memorial opposing Hangeul, King Sejong Yi Do turns on the camera.

EBS 'King Sejong Yi Do' episode, broadcasting on EBS 1TV on October 4 (Sun) at 11 PM.

- An episode of King Sejong Yi Do created with a next-generation production process - The night of February 20, 1444, at Gangnyeongjeon Hall, Gyeongbokgung Palace. A confession from that night when seven officials who submitted a memorial opposing Hunminjeongeum were imprisoned in the State Tribunal of Joseon - Regarding the Gapja Memorial, Choi Man-ri, Samgang Haengsildo... the fury of a sage king and the inner thoughts of a monarch who created letters for the people - Dialogue reconstructed based on original sources, academic consultation by expert (Kim Seul-ong, Director of Sejong Institute of Korean Language and Culture).

*Broadcast Date/Time: October 4, 2026 (Sun) at 11 PM, EBS1

The EBS 'King Sejong Yi Do' episode, which revives historical figures through AI digital restoration, will be broadcast on EBS 1TV on October 4 (Sun) at 11 PM.

In this broadcast, the sage king who created Hangeul, King Sejong, will be resurrected. Not as the benevolent monarch found on the 10,000 won note, but as a man who argued late into the night with his officials over the letters he created.

"I am the monarch of Joseon, Yi Do." The camera is turned on on the night of February 20, 1444, immediately after imprisoning the officials.

Late at night in February 1444, at Gangnyeongjeon Hall, Gyeongbokgung Palace. A monarch wearing royal robes sits before the camera, clearing his throat. "I am the monarch of Joseon... Yi Do. Can you see me?" And soon, he speaks heavy words. "Today, I imprisoned seven officials in the State Tribunal of Joseon." On the day a memorial was submitted opposing the new letters, Eonmun, calling them 'things barbarians do' and 'skills that hinder scholarship,' the King imprisoned officials including the Deputy Scholar Choi Man-ri and remained alone in Gangnyeongjeon Hall.

This program is one that uses AI technology to digitally restore historical figures and implement video messages they might have left while sitting before a camera. In the King Sejong Yi Do episode, the revived King Sejong begins to pour out to the camera why he created these letters on that very night he clashed directly with his officials over Hunminjeongeum.

The fury of a sage king, the loneliness of the creator: King Sejong on that night, which textbooks did not tell us.

The subtitle for the King Sejong Yi Do episode is 'King Sejong, do you know Jeongum (Correct Sounds)?'. In front of the camera, King Sejong grows increasingly angry as he flips through the officials' memorials one by one. "Do you think I created these letters because I had nothing to do in my old age?" He finds the logic of the officials, who argued that Eonmun was problematic because it was too easy to learn, absurd. However, at the bottom of that fury lies an old pain. The self-reproach of blaming his own lack of virtue in the face of an incident where a child killed a father, the reality where people commit crimes because they do not know difficult legal provisions, and the people who could not ultimately read even when illustrations were attached to the Samgang Haengsildo and distributed. King Sejong reveals for the first time the story that he secretly created the new letters for these reasons.

"Everything in the nation belongs to the people" 582 years ago, the monarch who created the people's letters leaves this for us.

The intention King Sejong placed in the new letters was clear. They had to be easy enough for even a foolish person to learn in ten days, they had to be able to record even the sound of the wind and the crowing of a rooster, and anyone should be able to comfortably express what they want to say and realize what they want to know. The principles of the world cannot belong only to scholars, and even a monarch must exist for the people. These words, spoken by the monarch from 582 years ago who lit the night alone while creating characters for the people, reach us today with a heavy resonance across six centuries.

An AI drama built upon original sources.

The dialogue and thoughts in the King Sejong Yi Do episode are reconstructed based on core materials recording the debates surrounding the Gapja Memorial of 1444, and the records in the Annals regarding the promulgation of Samgang Haengsildo and the creation of Hunminjeongeum. Through academic consultation from Kim Seul-ong, Director of the Sejong Institute of Korean Language and Culture, the thoughts of King Sejong and the historical context and facts surrounding the creation of Hunminjeongeum were verified. The production principle of this program—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 exactly to the King Sejong Yi Do episode.

Following the nameless commoners, the monarch who created letters for them is resurrected.

This is a program that uses a next-generation production process to revive historical figures through AI digital restoration technology and implement video messages they might have left. Following the voices of nameless commoners who perished, such as clowns, kisaeng, and slaves, this time King Sejong, the monarch who created letters for those very people, is revived by AI to speak to viewers. Set against the most decisive day of each person's life, questions that transcend time are delivered, and each episode is produced through expert historical research and academic consultation.

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, under the corresponding broadcast date.

◆ At a Glance

· Publishing Institution: EBS

· Category: AI Drama - Resurrection Class

· Distribution: October 1

Source: EBS Press Release

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