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Lee Sedol's Résumé Says He Left Go Because of 'AI': KBS2 Show 'Baeksu Lee Sedol' Sends Him Job-Hunting
Lee Sedol has traded the Go board for plywood and skyscraper windows. KBS2's 'Baeksu Lee Sedol' was scheduled to premiere Friday, Oct. 23 at 8:30 p.m., after fans spotted him hauling a beer bag up the stands at Jamsil Baseball Stadium.
He wrote 'AI' in the reason-for-leaving box
If Lee Sedol wrote a résumé, the reason for leaving his last job would be two letters: AI. KBS2's new variety show 'Baeksu Lee Sedol' (literally 'Jobless Lee Sedol') follows the Go star, who walked away from the game after his 2016 series against AlphaGo, as he tries jobs machines can't easily take over. It was scheduled to premiere Friday, Oct. 23 at 8:30 p.m.
Lee calls the AlphaGo match "a big turning point in my life" and says the pride he had in Go "disappeared." He introduces himself as "someone whose job changed because of AI."
Plywood, skyscraper windows, and 'I'm not okay'
The second teaser shows Lee sawing plywood, hanging off a high-rise to wash windows and shouting "I'm not okay" mid-task. After his first day of manual labour his verdict was that "playing Go was the easiest."
Host Jung Jae-hyung told him at the first recording that it is only natural to be bad at things after 24 years of nothing but Go, and Jang Do-yeon called leaving the suit behind his biggest step yet.
Fans spotted him at Jamsil in August
It started at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on Aug. 27. After a ceremonial first pitch, Lee was seen climbing the stands with a heavy beer bag, and the clip spread online. The broadcast was said to explain why he was sweating, and the scene is back in search trends now.
The director is Lee Myung-seop of 'Hong Kim Dong-jeon' and 'Method Club'; the writer is Yoo Ji-hye of the 'Born Again: World Trip' series.
"Being jobless is really hard"
Three days before the premiere, Lee told KBS2's 'Okt-ap-bang-ui Mun-je-a-deul' that being jobless is "really hard, not easy at all." He said he is filming 'Baeksu Lee Sedol' and trying jobs that AI struggles to replace.
How far a man with about 9.8 billion won in official prize money after 24 pro years can fill in a new résumé is the show's hook.
Sources & context
2026-10-26T13:35:44.516Z
TV Report on the show's premise and teaser ↗Ilgan Sports on Lee Sedol's comments ↗Supple on the Jamsil ballpark sighting and teaser posters ↗TV Report on Lee Sedol's appearance on a KBS2 talk show ↗Wikimedia Commons, Go stones ↗Wikimedia Commons, Go board ↗Black and white stones on a Go board (taken Oct. 2021; not a photo from the show or of Lee Sedol). Photo by Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
A Go board mid-game (taken Oct. 2021; not a photo from the show or of Lee Sedol). Photo by Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
