Lee Sedol
Overview
Lee Sedol (이세돌, 李世乭, born March 2, 1983) is a professional Go player representing South Korea. He joined the professional ranks in 1995 at age 12, won 18 world championships, and led the heyday of Korean Go in the 2000s. His five-game match against Google DeepMind's artificial intelligence AlphaGo in 2016 was recorded as a symbolic event of the AI era beyond Go, and he concluded his professional career in 2019.
Key Details
Birth and Joining
Born in Sinan County, Jeollanam-do, he learned Go in childhood under the influence of his father, who ran a Go teaching studio. In 1995 he successfully joined the Korea Baduk Association (한국기원) and debuted on the professional stage, and from his teenage years he stood out for strong fighting ability and competitive spirit.
Prime and World Championships
From the early 2000s, he steadily reached world championship finals, forming a rivalry with Lee Chang-ho (이창호), and afterward led the front lines of Korean Go. He distinguished himself in major world tournaments including the Fujitsu Cup, LG Cup, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Cup, and Ing Cup, setting a record of 18 world championship wins. His characteristic bold fighting, called the 'Lee Sedol style,' and his endgame ability to overturn unfavorable positions are evaluated as his representative style.
Match with AlphaGo
The five-game match against Google DeepMind's AlphaGo, held in Seoul in March 2016, proceeded amid global interest. The result was 1 win and 4 losses, but in Game 4 he defeated the artificial intelligence with the so-called 'divine move' at move 78, drawing great attention. This match is often cited as an example showing both the possibilities and limitations of AI technology.
Retirement and Later Activities
He announced his retirement from professional Go in November 2019, and in December of the same year concluded official match activity with a retirement match against the artificial intelligence 'HanDol' (한돌). After retirement, he continues to communicate with the public through broadcast appearances and Go education and promotion activities.
Latest Trends
As of 2024–2025, the Go world has been reorganized around young strong players such as Shin Jinseo (신진서), Shin Minjun (신민준), and Byun Sangil (변상일) leading the world stage, and it has become completely routine for professional Go players to study using AI Go programs for research. At the same time, ahead of the upcoming 10th anniversary of the 2016 AlphaGo match, it is being re-examined from the perspective of collaboration between AI and humans, and even after retirement, Lee Sedol maintains public influence through activities for expanding the base of Go and nurturing younger players, as well as broadcasts and lectures.
Related Topics
- [[알파고]]
- [[한국기원]]
- [[이창호]]
- [[신진서]]
- [[바둑]]