An encounter that once seemed possible only in science fiction films is becoming a reality. SBS's 36th-anniversary special project "Dear Stranger," which has already drawn immense interest by winning the Top Excellence Award at the Korea Broadcasting Content Awards ahead of its broadcast, is finally unveiling itself.
"Dear Stranger" is a documentary that explores what happens when artificial intelligence enters the realms of human memory, relationships, and creative work through three extraordinary encounters. Part 1, "AI, Meeting You Again," airing on Saturday, November 14 at 11:15 p.m., shares the story of the late Park Ye-won (who was 24 at the time), who passed away in the December 2024 Muan International Airport plane disaster, and her mother Lee Hyo-eun, who deeply misses her.
Family and friends who said goodbye to Ye-won—a cellist known during her life for her bright and confident personality—have met her in their dreams, but heartbreakingly, she has never once appeared in her mother's dreams. The mother has spent each day keeping traces of her daughter close by, wearing the clothes her daughter left behind, keeping chocolate in the freezer, continuing yogurt deliveries, and sending messages that will never be reached.
Amid this, based on photos, videos, and voice recordings of those around her that the mother had carefully preserved over 24 years, domestic AI specialist companies, in collaboration with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), brought "AI Ye-won" to life.
Appearing before her mother, AI Ye-won fully captured the daughter's living appearance, from her facial features to her tone of voice. A conversation between mother and daughter that they thought could never happen again begins, but facing an unfamiliar presence that so closely resembles her daughter leaves the mother with complicated emotions. The time granted to the mother is just seven days. Overwhelmed by longing she had held back, the mother ultimately asks a tearful question:
"Can't you just come back?"
The program is expected to deliver a profound resonance, questioning whether AI, no matter how closely it resembles a human form, can truly replace the very person we loved, and what true meaning will remain behind the unfamiliar encounter brought forth by 24 years of memories.
Capturing the seven-day journey with AI Ye-won, Part 1 of the SBS 36th-anniversary special documentary "Dear Stranger," titled "AI, Meeting You Again," airs on Saturday, November 14 at 11:15 p.m.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)
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