When we look at the flow of human intellectual history, the dissemination of knowledge has always coincided with the movement of power. Just as the roads of Rome carried the empire's laws and philosophies, the knowledge of the 20th century was produced primarily in universities and publishing houses in the Anglo-American world and was unilaterally distributed to the rest of the globe. There was a time lag between the theories proclaimed from Harvard's podium and their arrival in classrooms in Seoul, and that flow was akin to an irresistible gravity. However, as we approach the end of the second decade of the 21st century, we witness subtle yet clear cracks in that once-solid geopolitical structure of knowledge.
The news that EBS, South Korea's public educational broadcaster, has signed a content supply contract with ProQuest, the world's largest academic database platform, is a civilizational event that goes beyond mere export of broadcasting content or commercial success. This is a signal that the Korean knowledge platform, now evolved into 'Grecture', which began as 'Great Minds', has entered the heart of over 3,100 university libraries worldwide. If K-Pop has captivated the emotions of the world and K-Drama has enchanted global narratives, now K-Academic has begun to engage the rationality of the world.
Magazine Kave aims to deeply analyze this historical momentum. We will illuminate the arduous process leading to the success of this contract, the vast intellectual archive built by EBS, and the meticulous strategies of the EdTech company Ubion, which transports this content to university podiums around the globe. Additionally, we will document the significant implications this event has for the global EdTech market and South Korea's soft power in a long-term perspective. This is both a business report and an epic narrative for those walking the new Silk Road of knowledge in the 21st century.
Planning the Impossible: The Reckless Challenge of Public Broadcasting
The inception of 'Great Minds' ironically stemmed from 'deficiency'. In a modern society where the polarization of knowledge has become as severe as economic polarization, EBS's plan to make "the world's greatest intellects accessible to everyone for free" was the heaviest and noblest responsibility that public broadcasting could bear. However, its execution was nearly impossible in reality. In academia, where it takes years to recruit a single Nobel laureate, the idea of bringing scholars from around the world into living rooms every night was often dismissed as a delusional ambition.
Yet, EBS turned that impossibility into reality. From Season 1 to Season 3, and now evolving into the 'Grecture' platform, the list of scholars they have recruited is a veritable encyclopedia of modern intellectual history. Paul Krugman diagnoses the post-COVID world economy, Richard Dawkins whispers the secrets of evolution, and Yuval Harari predicts the future of sapiens. This is not merely a lecture program; it is the establishment of a 'modern-day Library of Alexandria' that records the forefront of human intellectual achievement.
Wisdom Recorded in 4K: Breaking the Boundaries Between Documentaries and Lectures
One of the decisive factors that allowed 'Great Minds' to pass through the challenging gateway of ProQuest is its overwhelming 'Production Quality'. The dull lighting and static angles of existing university lecture videos no longer resonate with today's digital-native college students. EBS has transplanted its 4K UHD production know-how, accumulated as a documentary powerhouse, into its lecture programs.
Close-ups capturing the wrinkles of scholars' faces, motion graphics that intuitively visualize complex theories, and narrative-driven editing that induces viewer immersion have elevated academic content into a 'Cinematic' experience. This aligns perfectly with ProQuest's vision of "Engaged Classrooms" pursued by 'Academic Video Online (AVON)'. Instead of texts shelved in library stacks, these are living, moving video materials that expand students' pupils. This is the epitome of the 'premium knowledge content' that the global academic market has been waiting for.
The Feast of Nobel: Conquering the Pinnacle of Knowledge
At the core of this vast archive is undoubtedly the lineup of Nobel laureates known as 'Nobel Minds'. The contract with ProQuest serves as a certification of the academic authority these contents possess. Through this lineup, we can gauge the density of the intellectual assets built by EBS.
In addition, over 135 scholars have delivered more than 1,300 lectures covering 11 academic disciplines, including politics, society, history, philosophy, IT, and art. This vast database is not just a simple listing of information. It is a 'collective intelligence' answer sheet to the complex challenges humanity faces in the 21st century, such as the climate crisis, inequality, the crisis of democracy, and the monopolization of technology.
ProQuest: The Gateway to Global Intelligence and a Demanding Gatekeeper
The fact that EBS's content is directed towards ProQuest rather than Netflix is highly significant. While it may be unfamiliar to the general public, the weight of the name ProQuest in academia is absolute. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, ProQuest is a massive pipeline supplying academic information to over 3,100 universities and libraries in more than 160 countries worldwide.
This is a dam of data where doctoral dissertations, major academic journals, and primary sources from around the world converge. For researchers, ProQuest is both the starting point and the destination of their research. Being indexed here means being integrated into the mainstream discourse system of the global academic community. If Netflix is the temple of entertainment, ProQuest is the temple of knowledge. Through this contract, EBS 'Great Minds' has gained status as a 'Citable Academic Resource' beyond just 'watchable video'.
Academic Video Online (AVON): The Revolution of Video Libraries
Specifically, EBS's content will be featured on ProQuest's 'Academic Video Online (AVON)'. AVON is the most extensive and comprehensive video streaming subscription service subscribed to by libraries worldwide. It offers over 85,000 documentaries and news reels from major Western media and broadcasting companies such as BBC, PBS, 60 Minutes, The Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg.
The fact that EBS has entered this space as the first Korean broadcaster, not through a one-time supply but through a large-scale series contract, symbolizes how far the status of Korean content has risen. AVON is not just a replay service. The videos here are meticulously designed for education and research.
The Magic of Metadata: Every video is tagged according to an academic classification system. Paul Krugman's lecture is categorized under keywords such as economics, international relations, and public policy, making it recommended for researchers searching for related papers.
Interactive Functionality: Professors can utilize the videos as teaching materials and insert quizzes or discussion topics in the middle of the videos. This transforms passive viewing into active learning.
Perpetual Access: Libraries can choose content for permanent collection through the 'Build by Choice' program, meaning EBS's content will remain as a permanent collection in university libraries worldwide.
B2B2C: A Clever Strategy Penetrating University Libraries
The distribution structure of this contract follows a B2B2C (Business to Business to Consumer) model rather than the typical B2C (Business to Consumer) approach. Instead of charging individual students like Netflix or YouTube Premium, university libraries purchase licenses and open access to all their students and faculty for free.
This strategy is both clever and disruptive.
Immediate Scale-up: Without the need to gather individual subscribers, it is exposed to millions of college students and researchers immediately upon contract signing.
Securing Credibility: The fact that it is accessed through university library websites significantly boosts the credibility of the content.
Sustainable Revenue Model: University budgets are more stable than individual wallets. Once adopted, textbooks or reference materials tend to last for years, allowing for long-term revenue generation.
Designer Ubion: Expanding the Territory of K-EdTech
If EBS provided the 'raw stone' of content, the key player who processed it and distributed it as 'jewels' in the global market is the EdTech company Ubion. Since its establishment in 2000, Ubion has led the first generation of e-learning in South Korea and is not just a distribution agency. They operate 'Coursemos', the number one LMS (Learning Management System) market share in South Korea, and have been at the forefront of the digital transformation (DX) of university education.
For Ubion, this ProQuest contract represents a quantum leap in expanding the company's identity from a 'system provider' to a 'knowledge IP platform company'. Starting in April 2024, Ubion secured the global service operation rights for 'Great Minds' and has been meticulously re-packaging the broadcast content into a format suitable for academic databases.
Foundation Built on ODA, Leap into Developed Markets
Ubion's global sensibility was not built overnight. Over the past decade, they have paved the way for the export of 'K-Edu' through educational ODA (Official Development Assistance) projects targeting developing countries such as Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Colombia, and Paraguay. The experience of building e-learning systems in the poor infrastructure environments of developing countries paradoxically provided them with the flexibility and technical prowess needed to target the most advanced markets in the United States and Europe.
Winning the '3 Million Dollar Export Tower' is merely a mid-term report card of these efforts. Now, Ubion has transformed from a 'builder' laying the groundwork to a 'transportation provider' supplying the high-end train 'Great Minds'. This is a groundbreaking shift in terms of profitability. Service-oriented ODA projects yield one-time revenues, while IP licensing generates recurring revenue, allowing the company to be re-evaluated in terms of value.
In January 2026, Ubion rebranded the global service name of 'Great Minds' to 'Grecture' and opened a new domain (www.grecture.com). This new name, a combination of 'Great' and 'Lecture', embodies the intention to provide a next-generation learning experience that goes beyond simple archiving and incorporates AI technology.
Ubion's 'Coursemos Transfer' technology and AI translation technology break down language barriers. Even lectures produced in Korean (though most of 'Great Minds' are in English) can be learned in any language through real-time AI subtitles and translation features. Additionally, learning tutoring through AI chatbots and personalized curation features elevate 'Grecture' from a simple video player to an 'intelligent learning companion'. This aligns with Ubion's philosophy of 'AI Vision Lounge'.
The Curation of South Korea Captivating the World: "At the Forefront of the Climate Crisis: 'Focus On'"
One of the aspects that ProQuest particularly noted is the timeliness of the topics covered by 'Great Minds'. A representative example is the 'Focus On' series addressing climate change and sustainable development (SDGs).
Jeffrey Sachs: As the representative of the UN's Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), he seeks solutions to the climate crisis from an economic perspective. His lectures, which emphasize the need for carbon taxes, energy transitions, and global governance, are essential texts for policymakers and public administration majors.
Ian Redmond - The Reality of the Jungle Book: Known as 'the friend of gorillas', British biologist Ian Redmond offers an overwhelming sense of presence in his lectures. He testifies in a calm yet powerful tone about his experiences studying mountain gorillas with Dr. Dian Fossey since 1976 and the tragic story of losing his friend, the gorilla 'Digit', to poachers. 'Elephant Economics', which reveals that elephant ivory poaching stems from economic motives, exemplifies the integration of ecology and economics.
Such content serves as excellent teaching materials for the 'Interdisciplinary Studies' increasingly emphasized in higher education. Environmental engineering students learn policies from Jeffrey Sachs, while economics students learn the value of ecosystems from Ian Redmond. This embodies the 'multidisciplinary' values that ProQuest pursues.
Reinterpreting History: Beyond Eurocentrism
'Great Minds' is not solely a stage for Western scholars. This platform possesses a sense of balance that reexamines world history from an Asian perspective.
Alexis Dudden: In her lecture 'Korea and Japan: An Unfinished Modern History', she sharply analyzes how the legacies of imperialism and colonial rule define current Northeast Asian conflicts as a history professor at the University of Connecticut. This helps Western students understand the peculiarities of Korea-Japan relations, which may be unfamiliar to them, by expanding it into a universal post-colonial discourse.
Fang Beichen: Through 'Heroes of the Three Kingdoms', he unravels the world of the Three Kingdoms from the perspective of official history. This elevates the Western curiosity about Eastern classics into the realm of academic inquiry.
Additionally, John Robert McNeill's 'History of the Environment' re-narrates history after the Industrial Revolution from the perspective of the new geological epoch known as the Anthropocene. He proves the destructive impact humanity has had on the Earth's environment since 1945 through the concept of 'The Great Acceleration'.
Diagnosing the Pathological Phenomena of Modern Society
Lectures that delve into the concrete life issues of modern individuals stand out, rather than remaining in the realm of ivory tower theories.
Anna Lembke - The Age of Dopamine: A professor at Stanford Medical School, she defines modern society, rife with smartphone and social media addiction, as the 'Age of Dopamine Overload'. Her lectures, which explain the seesaw mechanism of pleasure and pain from a neuroscientific perspective and propose digital detox and the restoration of a balanced life, resonate immediately with college students worldwide.
Jacques Attali - The Economy of Life: French intellectual Jacques Attali provocatively names the current economic system the 'Economy of Death'. He argues that only a transition to an 'Economy of Life', led by sectors that save lives such as health, education, and culture, can prevent the extinction of humanity by breaking away from an economy reliant on fossil fuels, war, and waste.
The Global EdTech Battlefield and South Korea's Winning Move
The global education market is currently experiencing explosive growth. According to a report by HolonIQ, the global education market size is projected to reach $10 trillion (approximately 1,300 trillion won) by 2030. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of education by more than a decade, and non-face-to-face video lectures have now become the 'default' rather than an 'option'.
In this vast market, giants like MasterClass, Coursera, and TED are already established. However, EBS 'Great Minds' takes a distinctly differentiated positioning from these competitors.
While MasterClass sells 'inspiration' and Coursera sells 'certificates', EBS sells 'Intellectual Authority'. The contract with ProQuest is evidence that this 'authority' has been recognized by the academic market. Gordon Ramsay's cooking class on MasterClass is entertaining, but university libraries do not subscribe to it. However, EBS's biology lecture by Paul Nurse can become a must-have item on university library collections. This is the irreplaceable competitive edge that 'Grecture' possesses.
The Evolution of K-Content: From Hard Power to Smart Power
South Korea's external image has undergone dramatic changes over the past few decades. After the 'hard power' of manufacturing represented by Samsung and Hyundai, and the 'soft power' of popular culture represented by BTS and Squid Game, South Korea has now entered the stage of 'Smart Power', exerting influence on the world through knowledge and education.
EBS 'Great Minds' is evidence that Korea is not just a 'country that plays well' but a 'country that thinks deeply'. The scenario where a public broadcaster in Korea gathers intellectuals from around the world and supplies the results back to universities worldwide signifies that Korea has begun to function as a 'hub' of the global knowledge network. This is the ultimate form of attractive power as described by Joseph Nye.
Towards the Completion of Knowledge Democracy
Starting in 2026, 'Grecture' will evolve from a simple VOD service into an AI-based EdTech platform. Ubion's technological prowess will make this platform a living organism.
Hyper-Personalized Learning Paths: AI analyzes learners' interests and levels to recommend the most necessary chapters among over 1,300 lectures.
The Collapse of the Tower of Babel of Knowledge: Real-time AI translation technology will completely break down language barriers. A Korean student will be able to listen to a lecture by a French scholar in Korean, and a Brazilian student will be able to listen to a lecture by a Korean scholar in Portuguese.
Metaverse Campus: In the future, immersive learning discussions with scholars' avatars in virtual spaces will become possible through the integration of metaverse technology.
One Earth Becomes One Classroom
The grand narrative being written by EBS, ProQuest, and Ubion ultimately flows towards a single goal: 'knowledge democracy'. In the past, only students from Harvard or Oxford could enjoy the intellectual luxuries that now, wherever there is an internet connection, can be accessed even from rural schools in Uzbekistan or small libraries in South America.
This is the true meaning of a 'Great Class'. The greatness of a class does not come from the reputation of the lecturer, but from how much that knowledge changes the lives of many people and how widely it spreads into the world.
Carried on the massive ship called ProQuest, EBS's content is pioneering the 'Intellectual Silk Road' of the 21st century. On that path, South Korea's status will rise from a 'cultural powerhouse' to a 'knowledge powerhouse', and from a 'content producer' to a 'civilizational contributor'. Magazine Kave records the beginning of this great voyage and eagerly anticipates the new continent of knowledge that awaits at its end.
