EBS-National Institute for Lifelong Education 'Great Minds' Season 6 to Feature Domestic Scholars Following Lectures by 152 Global Experts

EBS (CEO Kim Yu-yeol) held a production briefing for 'Great Minds' (hereinafter '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 distinguished professors Hyun Tae-hwan and Kim Young-ki, who will appear in Season 6 of 'Great Minds.' The event proceeded with opening remarks from agency heads, followed by the announcement of program achievements and viewer perception survey results, the unveiling of the Season 6 lineup, an insight talk with participating scholars, and a Q&A session.

Kim Wol-yong, President of the National Institute for Lifelong Education, stated, "Ensuring that world-class knowledge is accessible to everyone, anytime and anywhere, 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 people's daily lives."

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 global scholars to contemplate the important questions facing our society 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 broadcasting 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 global scholars

'Great Minds' began with Season 1 in 2021, which drew attention for having the highest level of cast in Korean broadcasting history. Since then, it has met viewers with 805 lectures by 152 scholars, including Season 2, which expanded diversity and popularity; Season 3, which featured the most Nobel laureates to date; Season 4, which took 'Age of Crisis' as its theme; and Season 5, which strengthened classical themes and academic depth.

By making lectures available for free through K-MOOC beyond just broadcasting, 'Great Minds' has established itself as a representative knowledge content that connects broadcasting content with online lifelong education. It is being utilized in school discussion classes and university education, spreading the knowledge of global 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 turn the thoughts of global intellects into assets for 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 programs

The latest viewer perception survey results for 'Great Minds' were also released 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, nine 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—'Diversity of Topics' (+15.5%p), 'Diversity of Cast' (+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 global scholars but also in terms of content diversity, delivery, and popularity.

The effect of the 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 features the largest lineup ever with 50 people... Meeting global intellects and the questions of our era

Season 6 will feature 50 domestic and international scholars, the largest scale ever. Global intellects from various fields such as science, economy, politics, and artificial intelligence, including 2025 Nobel Laureate in Economics Philippe Aghion, will appear as lecturers, and Janet Yellen, former U.S. 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—Reinhard Genchel (2020 Nobel Physics), Ferenc Krausz (2023 Nobel Physics), Omar Yaghi (2025 Nobel Chemistry), and Dasuku Honjo (2018 Nobel Physiology or Medicine)—will participate, completing an unprecedented lineup. Experts in AI and future technology, such as OpenAI Chief Research Officer (CRO) Mark Chen and mathematician and former member of parliament Cedric Villani, will also contribute to providing a framework for interpreting the rapidly changing era. Additionally, figures from the culture and arts world, such as French actress and director Sophie Marceau and Professor Martin Schmedding of the Leipzig University College of Music in Germany, will join to further enhance the popularity and topicality of the knowledge.

Producer Han Song-hee stated, "Season 6, through its largest-ever lineup of 50 scholars, will deal with the core questions of our era, such as changes in AI and science/technology and uncertainties in politics and economy. 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

This season, domestic scholars will join for the first time in the program, completing the first-ever 'Representative Korean Scholars' lineup. Moving one step beyond the previous focus on importing knowledge from abroad, the program will feature top-level domestic researchers on the lecture stage, such as Kim Young-ki, distinguished professor at the University of Chicago and a world authority in particle physics; Hyun Tae-hwan, distinguished professor at Seoul National University and a world-renowned nanoscience expert; and Kim Kyung-hee, professor of educational psychology at William & Mary, who will highlight creativity in the AI era.

At the production briefing, distinguished professors Hyun Tae-hwan and Kim Young-ki attended to introduce their research and the main topics to be covered in Season 6, and shared their feelings about participating in 'Great Minds.'

Distinguished 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."

Distinguished professor Kim Young-ki stated, "The development of science begins not by memorizing already known answers, but by 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 intellectual dialogues that go beyond knowledge to change the world, will first air on EBS 1TV on Monday, October 12 at 11:45 PM, and can be watched 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 citizens 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.

Introduction to Korean Educational Broadcasting System (EBS)

The Korean Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) is the representative educational public broadcaster of the Republic of Korea, supplementing school education and providing high-quality content for the lifelong education and democratic educational development of the people. Starting with the acquisition of radio school broadcasting in 1974, EBS has grown with the people as a partner in lifelong education, maintaining its value as an educational broadcaster through a long history, including the launch of educational broadcasting in 1990, the launch of satellite educational broadcasting in 1997, the launch of the corporation in 2000, and its leap toward becoming a world-class educational media group.

EBS Press Release Board: https://about.ebs.co.kr/kor/pr/release

Great Minds Homepage: https://home.ebs.co.kr/greatminds/index

K-MOOC Homepage: https://www.kmooc.kr/

◆ At a Glance

· Issuing Institution: Korean Educational Broadcasting System

· Category: General Education, Broadcasting, Korean Educational Broadcasting System

· Distribution: September 8, 2026, 11:30 AM

Source: Korean Educational Broadcasting System Press Release (Newswire)

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