KBS Revolutionizes Historical Drama with AI & Digital Assets

The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) has announced a groundbreaking initiative set to transform the landscape of historical drama production. On December 1, 2025, the public broadcaster officially launched the “Historical Drama Asset Digital Archiving Project,” a forward-thinking plan to create South Korea’s first digital library of assets for period dramas, leveraging cutting-edge AI production techniques.

A New Era for Sageuk: The Digital Archiving Project

The ambitious project, spearheaded by the KBS Post-Production Technology Bureau, aims to address long-standing challenges in producing historical dramas, known as sageuk. These challenges include the high recurring costs of creating costumes and props, as well as the difficulties associated with ensuring precise historical verification. By creating a comprehensive digital archive, KBS intends to streamline production, enhance historical accuracy, and preserve cultural heritage in a versatile, reusable format. The initial phase of this digital archiving effort has already commenced with the meticulous 3D scanning of 300 traditional costumes.

First Application in Epic Historical Drama “Munmu”

The first major production to benefit from this innovative digital archive will be the upcoming KBS 2TV epic historical drama, “Munmu.” The drama, which will explore the Three Kingdoms unification period, requires extensive and visually accurate data to bring its world to life. The newly created digital assets, from costumes to props, will be prominently featured in “Munmu,” setting a new standard for visual fidelity and production efficiency in the genre. This application will serve as a crucial test case for the project’s capabilities and its impact on large-scale sageuk productions.

Beyond Archiving: AI Production and Future Vision

KBS’s vision extends far beyond simple digital storage. The long-term goal is to establish a next-generation production workflow that fully integrates AI-based video generation, digital crowd characters, and virtual production (XR/VP). A key objective is to develop a Korean-specific AI training dataset. This will enable generative AI models to accurately create images and video reflecting Korean traditional culture, effectively counteracting the Western-centric bias often found in existing AI tools. This aligns with KBS’s commitment to promoting Korean culture globally, as seen in other ventures like KBS 1TV’s ‘Quiz on Korea 2024’.

Building a Next-Generation Workflow

By building this robust digital infrastructure, KBS is paving the way for a revolutionary approach to content creation. The digital assets will not only be used for direct rendering in scenes but will also serve as the foundation for AI to generate new visual elements, populate scenes with realistic digital crowds, and create immersive virtual sets. This integrated system promises to dramatically reduce production time and costs while simultaneously elevating the creative possibilities for directors and producers. The Historical Drama Asset Digital Archiving Project marks a significant investment by KBS in the future of broadcasting, ensuring that the rich history of Korea can be told with unprecedented authenticity and technological flair.

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