‘Hero who beat AlphaGo’ Lee Sedol, who earned 10 billion won before retiring, says, ‘Being unemployed is no easy feat’

[Financial News] Former professional Go player Lee Sedol, who conquered the world of Go by scoring the only victory against artificial intelligence (AI) AlphaGo, shared the everyday struggles he faces and an update on his life as he enters his seventh year of retirement.
Appearing on KBS2’s variety show ‘Problem Child in House,’ which aired on the 20th, Lee Sedol spoke candidly about the prize money he accumulated as a professional player and his life after retirement.
Lee Sedol, who turned professional in 1995 at the age of 12, is a leading figure in Korean Go, having won major international tournaments 14 times. Over 24 years as a professional, he earned official cumulative prize money totaling about 10 billion won.
He announced his retirement in 2019 at the height of his career. On the show that day, he spoke about the weight of everyday life, so different from his glamorous past. ‘Being unemployed is really hard. It’s no easy feat,’ Lee said, opening up about the changes and hardships he faced after leaving the competitive world.
He also shared an anecdote about having gone 43 years without even knowing his own blood type because he had spent his whole life focused on the Go board, as well as a story about what he did with his substantial prize money, drawing attention.
Since retiring, Lee has expanded into a range of fields, including board game development, lectures as a specially appointed professor at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), and appearances on brain-game variety shows. Recently, he took part in content featuring an unusual brain showdown with virtual idol group ISEGYE IDOL. He is also forging a new chapter in his life by taking on unfamiliar jobs himself, such as cleaning the windows of high-rise buildings, on KBS2’s ‘Unemployed Lee Sedol,’ which premieres on the 23rd.
[email protected] Moon Young-jin Reporter