[Manbo Jeongdam] "A Movie Told to the Visually Impaired... I Unknowingly Felt My Eyes Well Up"

Film 'Sopung' Narrated by Minister Yoon In-chon of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Conveying the Sorrows of the Elderly with a Deep Voice
Barrier-Free Performances and Exhibitions Increase... Starting with Actor Sign Language Training
Walking 10,000 Steps a Day Across 500 Locations in a Year
Finding Practical Answers from Voices on the Ground

"I have been on the field my entire life. All the answers are there."

This is a phrase that Minister Yoo In-chon of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism often repeats. He has consistently emphasized this since serving as the inaugural Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism under the Lee Myung-bak administration. He is that active and proactive. He is even called a 'field-oriented' minister. He listens attentively to the difficulties of the working-level staff and actively reflects them in policies. He also maintains a sense of balance in the face of recurring conflicts and confrontations.

Manbo Jeongdam - Yoo In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, attended the Gachibom Film Festival held at CGV Piccadilly in Jongno, Seoul, watched the movie "Sopung," and had a conversation with the cast, invited people with disabilities, and other audience members. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

He was appointed as the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration in October last year. Over the course of one full year, he has visited the field more than 500 times. He is so busy that he handles more than three schedules a day on average. His secretaries are amazed by the tight schedule. "The minister is seventy-three years old, but his stamina seems much better than mine."

'Field-Oriented' Minister, Powered by Walking

This would be difficult without good physical strength. Minister Yoo maintains it through healthy habits. The foundation is walking. He walks whenever he gets a chance.

"I don't deliberately count my steps, but these days I think I move about 10,000 steps a day. If there is nothing special, I walk most distances. Even when using public transportation, I get off one or two stops early and walk. Walking has gradually become a part of my daily life rather than just exercise."

Since taking office as the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, opportunities to walk have significantly decreased. This is because he often moves between provinces to visit sites. Even weekend schedules are tight, making it difficult to set a fixed route for walking. Minister Yoo said, "I use spare moments on-site to walk." "No matter how busy the schedule is, if I have even a few dozen steps to walk while moving, I try to walk."

Yoon In-chon. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

The reason he keeps up walking is not simply for health. He believes it is the best solution when he has many things to think about or when his mind is complicated. He emphasized, "One of the good things about walking is that you can have a conversation with yourself while walking."

"When you walk for a long time, at some point you hear the honest voice of your inner self. That often becomes the clue to solving complicated problems. You can also experience new scenery and culture. Even on the daily commute, if you walk, you encounter things you cannot see from a car or public transportation. Sometimes you see unexpected landscapes on a wrong turn. I think each of these is a driving force that enriches life."

Learning on the Field

On the 4th of last month, Minister Yoo visited CGV Piccadilly 1958 in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where the Gachibom Film Festival was held. He watched the special screening of "Picnic," for which he provided audio description. The Gachibom Film Festival is the oldest disability film festival in Korea, screening about thirty films either about disabilities or involving people with disabilities in production. "Gachibom" means watching movies 'together' by people with and without disabilities, and it is the name of the Korean subtitle audio description service.

"Picnic" deals with the sorrows of the elderly. Go Eun-sim (played by Na Moon-hee), who suffers from Parkinson's disease and often shakes her wrist, and her friend and in-law Jin Geum-soon (played by Kim Young-ok), who suffers from a back condition due to daily farm work, both hope to have the right to decide about their own death. The poignant and heartrending story was conveyed to the audience through Minister Yoo's deep voice.

Manbo Jeongdam - Yoo In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, attended the Gachibom Film Festival held at CGV Piccadilly in Jongno, Seoul, watched the movie "Sopung," and had a conversation with the cast, invited persons with disabilities, and other audience members. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

"Geum-soon and Eun-sim climb a mountain path where yellow wildflowers bloom profusely, supporting themselves on wooden sticks. Geum-soon breathes heavily but keeps walking steadily. The two are climbing stairs with handrails. One hand holds the railing, the other supports a cane, taking one step at a time. They climb the stairs almost unable to straighten their backs, staggering."

Many visually impaired audience members wiped away tears. Minister Yoo also reddened his eyes. Although he had watched and recorded the audio description on a small screen a month earlier, he could not suppress the rising emotions. The actors present shared the same feelings. All of them gave thumbs up to Minister Yoo's audio description. Na Moon-hee said, "It was warm and good to feel things through the audio description that I had not realized." Park Geun-hyung said, "I didn't know how helpful it was to narrate the film, but it made me aware of things I had missed. It felt like the emotion of the film was conveyed twice as much."

Some audience members expressed regrets. A hearing-impaired person said, "Watching only with subtitles, the emotional delivery was not as smooth as expected," and suggested, "It would be much better if sign language interpretation videos were also provided." A visually impaired person said, "There are hardly any theaters that offer audio-described films," and hoped, "I wish there were more opportunities like this." Minister Yoo agreed, saying, "These are advices you can only hear on-site."

Manbo Jeongdam - Yoo In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, attended the Gachibom Film Festival held at CGV Piccadilly in Jongno, Seoul, watched the movie "Sopung," and had a conversation with the cast, invited people with disabilities, and other audience members. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

"As an actor on stage, I did not realize the need for barrier-free performances or videos. In April, I watched the play 'Scapin' at the National Theater of Korea in Myeong-dong as a barrier-free performance and realized it. A sign language interpreter went on stage with the actors, delivering the content like a shadow, and the story conveyed through sign language and facial expressions was very moving. It was truly a cultural and artistic scene created and enjoyed together by people with and without disabilities. I will expand such environments not only to guarantee the 'right to know' for basic living but also to enable free cultural enjoyment and creativity for the deaf."

This is not an issue that can be easily resolved. There is a shortage of barrier-free specialists in the cultural sector, and additional production costs are considerable. Minister Yoo plans to spread barrier-free performances and exhibitions mainly through national arts organizations and national cultural arts facilities. The start will be sign language education for theater actors.

"In sign language interpreted plays, the existing script must be translated into sign language, rehearsed, and performed. In fact, this requires time and cost comparable to the entire theater production process. If actors familiar with the stage and acting learn basic sign language, the situation could change. Various problems accompanying the establishment of barrier-free culture can be naturally resolved. The utilization can also increase beyond the stage to other cultural scenes."

Finding Joy on the Field

Na Moon-hee encouraged the audience to live a healthy life and smile. "Last year, my husband passed away and I live alone. When the sun sets, I wish 'Please take me soon,' but when I wake up in the morning, I feel fine and wonder 'Why did I think that yesterday?' To soothe loneliness, I often communicate with childhood friends. At 8 p.m., I call and talk about the day's events and sing traditional songs together. After singing joyfully, we end the call saying, 'Let's smile again today.' Having lived, I realized nothing is more important than that."

Manbojeongdam - Yoo In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, attended the Gachibom Film Festival held at CGV Piccadilly in Jongno, Seoul, watched the movie "Sopung," and had a conversation with the cast, invited people with disabilities, and other audience members. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

Minister Yoo smiled brightly as requested and saw Na Moon-hee off outside the theater. He is naturally cheerful. Although his position involves many stressful situations, he is positive and proactive in everything. He believes that if one works with sincerity, problems can be resolved.

"I am not free from stress, but I believe in the power of sincerity. Even if misunderstandings arise, I think the other party will understand someday. So I do not exert pressure or become impatient in any situation. I feel at ease. That is how the world works. When you try to initiate something new or improve something, you face opposition from those who already have their positions. At such times, I repeatedly consider what is truly right and what is more valuable. If the conclusion remains the same, I accept misunderstandings or criticism. I believe that over time, understanding will come. Therefore, I do not get overly affected by minor issues."

He has one more way to relieve tension and anxiety: cycling. Every time he rides swiftly cutting through the wind, he feels his chest open up. During the first half of last year, when he was active as an actor, he enjoyed cycling so much that he rode 30 km one way from home to the theater daily. He has also cycled 2,000 km across Europe.

Since becoming the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, opportunities to sit on a saddle have greatly decreased. He rides bicycles with staff during regional visits. Strictly speaking, this is also work. He inspects bicycle tourism courses and guidance systems and concretizes related projects. The bicycle pilgrimage routes to historic sites are a representative example. They develop tourism products by linking meaningful battlefields and memorial facilities scattered throughout the Korean Peninsula into stories.

On the 14th, Yoo In-chon, the nominee for Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is commuting by bicycle to the minister nominee's office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

Recently, Minister Yoo rode a bicycle to visit 'National Defense Hero Kang Seung-woo Road' and the 'Korean War Veterans Memorial' in Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo, as well as security historic sites in Gapyeong and Yangpyeong. He said, "To not forget the memorials of countries that participated in the Korean War and the battlefields where the Korean military distinguished themselves, I will develop pilgrimage routes as tourism products so that bicycle enthusiasts can travel nationwide."

"I have traveled to many countries, but none have bicycle paths as well developed as ours. It is sufficient infrastructure to revitalize local tourism. Since it is an excellent resource, I will keep pedaling hard whenever I get the chance to promote the charm of bicycle travel and the beauty of the regions."

Because of the minister who loves walking and cycling, the entire Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is being reborn as a 'field-oriented' organization. They diligently meet with industry, academia, and administrative officials to identify problems and seek solutions. Minister Yoo had a special request: "As a field-oriented person, I met many people and constantly listened to their stories. Just listening to the voices from the field is meaningful. The voices from the arts scene are very different from when policies are made at desks. Those of you in Sejong City have to keep coming back and forth and endure hardships."