[Power K-Women] "My wheelchair is my personality... I will voice 'disabled women,' not just as a representative of the disabled"

YouTube Channel Name 'Gulleora Gureunim'
Named after wheelchair rolling
Creating videos that evoke empathy and interest, not portraying misfortune or super-disabled images
Insufficient to break non-disabled stereotypes
Future content will focus on women's stories
Will put effort into 'Disserters' videos

Editor's NoteAsia Economy will select women active not only in Asia but around the world as 'Power K-Women' at the Women's Leaders Forum to be held this October. We have chosen individuals who have overcome and broken down barriers such as race, borders, and disabilities as 'Power K-Women.' This is to widely promote the value of those who have not been intimidated by discrimination or confined by boundaries but have fought back, in order to convey new values of leadership to youth and women. Their stories will provide comfort to a weary world, become role models for someone, and give communities the strength to move forward again.

Date ｜ Wednesday, October 19, 2022, 9:00 AM ? 5:20 PM

Venue ｜ Crystal Ballroom, Lotte Hotel Sogong-dong (2F)

※For details, please refer to '2022 Women's Leaders Forum' at the top of the Asia Economy homepage.

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] Kim Ji-woo (21), a YouTuber in her 6th year, named her YouTube channel ‘Gulreora Gureunim’ (Roll, Gureunim). Initially, she used ‘Kim Ji-woo’ but later found a name that better expressed her individuality. "The wheelchair is an inseparable part of me and since the wheelchair rolls, it became ‘Gulreora Gureuri’ (Roll, Gureuri), and then I removed ‘ri’ and added ‘nim’ (a respectful suffix) to make it ‘Gulreora Gureunim.’"

For Kim, disability and the wheelchair are not something to hide or overcome. They are her individuality and identity. The reason she started YouTube was "because I wanted to reveal my story." In the early days of her channel, she calmly captured her daily life on video. She wanted to share her story of living an ordinary life rather than the ‘extreme’ portrayals of disabled people often shown in mainstream media. Representative videos include domestic travel vlogs and videos of traveling abroad in a wheelchair.

'Wheelchair of the Month' and Showing Ordinary Disabled Women

Kim observed that media treats disability in two ways. One is objectifying disabled people as extremely unfortunate and pitiable, like those appearing in charity broadcasts. The other is showing so-called ‘super disabled’ people with abilities that surprise non-disabled people, like in ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo.’ Kim wanted to break away from this. She aimed to create videos that disabled people could relate to and that would also interest non-disabled viewers. Her acceptance of herself as she is was greatly influenced by her father. From when she was in her mother’s womb until now, her father has organized all photos and videos by month and year. Kim also recorded herself without filters and posted the videos on her blog. Since disability is part of her individuality, there was no need to hide it. "(Being) the me who appears in videos and the me who goes online felt very natural."

The wheelchair became another part of her individuality starting in middle school. She has used a wheelchair since she was eight due to cerebral palsy. Until middle school, she wanted to hide the wheelchair. When sitting in the wheelchair and then standing for photos, she needed help from others, and she disliked that image of herself. Then in 2018, she made a video titled ‘Decorating My Wheelchair.’ She invited friends to her home to put suitcase stickers on her wheelchair. She grew to cherish her wheelchair, which had become part of her body, and people who saw it showed interest.

This led to ‘Wheelchair of the Month.’ After a year of YouTube, she suddenly thought, ‘Why don’t I want to show videos of myself in a wheelchair when I make videos about disability?’ ‘Wheelchair of the Month’ is a monthly video series featuring various activities centered on wheelchairs. It attempts to overturn stereotypes held by non-disabled people, such as wearing hanbok or hip-hop styles. ‘Wheelchair of the Month’ ended last September. Kim said, "Children sometimes said, ‘I want to go quickly and brag to my friends,’" and added, "I hope it became an opportunity to help overcome difficulties like being teased with ‘You’re disabled’ a little bit."

The most memorable video among her YouTube content is . Kim thought her gait in childhood was like ‘tiptoeing’ and felt others found it unpleasant to watch. She wanted to fix it and underwent surgery to walk ‘pretty.’ However, while filming, a physiology professor told her, "Everyone tiptoes when running," and "Ji-woo, you have a gait specialized for running." She felt a ‘ding’ in her head. Until then, she had only heard people say, ‘Walk slowly,’ or ‘Walk prettily,’ but no one had told her she could run well. The video received the most feedback from disabled viewers and many personal DMs (direct messages).

YouTuber Kim Ji-woo, who belongs to the "COVID-19" class, is looking at the campus of Seoul National University while sitting in a wheelchair. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Stereotypes and Discriminatory Views Persist... Focusing on 'Disabled Women' and Publishing a Prose Collection

Kim tried to break the stereotypes held by non-disabled people through YouTube but feels it is still insufficient. Many people still ask her questions like, ‘How do you feel doing these activities as a representative of disabled people?’ Kim said, "I felt that the stereotype of seeing disabled people as a single block with only one interest still exists." Because disabled people have fewer social activities, she is made to represent all disabled people, even though she is just one among many. This perception is based on misunderstanding of disabled people and prevents hearing diverse stories. It is even more so when a disabled woman dates a non-disabled man. Kim said that when she walks with her boyfriend, people sometimes say things like, ‘How can you date a woman like her?’ or even applaud as they pass by.

Discriminatory views also persist. Kim said, "Some people think that if a non-disabled person likes fashion and takes photos, it’s just a hobby, but if a disabled person acts that way, they are seen as greedy." For example, she has heard comments like, ‘You have a physical disability, so why do you wear uncomfortable clothes and grow your hair so that others have difficulty washing you?’ or ‘Dress up a bit.’ People who see her as disabled tell her not to dress up, while those who see her as a woman tell her to dress up.

Kim plans to focus her future content not only on disabled people but on ‘disabled women’ who express women’s stories and voices. Although she lives as a disabled woman, she always feels only half accepted wherever she goes. When she goes to places discussing disability, there are many stories of middle-aged men, and when she goes to places discussing women, there are no stories of disabled people like her. She said, "The word ‘disabled women’ is not spaced because it contains a context that can only be discussed within the identity of disabled women. I plan to put effort into ‘D-sisters’ videos that can be shared by visually impaired women, hearing-impaired women, physically disabled women, and others."

Kim is a member of the class of 2020, called the ‘COVID-19 generation,’ and has been attending school since last September. Interested in structural issues faced by people like herself, she aspired to study sociology. In June, she debuted as a writer by publishing a prose collection. Kim said, "Disabled YouTubers joke among themselves, ‘Would you be okay if you became non-disabled?’ and I laugh saying, ‘Absolutely not. That would cut off our livelihood.’ Because I can tell many interesting stories because of my disability, and if I remove the disability from that, I think I am no longer myself."

Kim Ji-woo Profile

Kim Ji-woo is an ordinary disabled woman. Since 2017, she has operated the ‘Gulreora Gureunim’ channel, capturing her life as a woman in her twenties with cerebral palsy and as a university student. She was selected as one of the ‘50 Creators Who Grew with YouTube’ by YouTube. In June, she published her first prose collection , sharing her experiences as a disabled woman. Currently, she is studying sociology at Seoul National University, exploring her minority identity and studying social structures.