CONTENTS

Jongmin’s Page

Artist Statement

I’m an actor and a person with a disability so I call myself a disabled actor. So I have lots of experiences with art. I often watch performances or act in them. When I watch performances, I feel that disabled people can perform on stage just like those without disabilities.

When I write stories about those with disabilities for plays like other writers and present the plays, when people talk to me about my work, I think that I’m at least making efforts to become creative, even though I’m not creative. 

I’m disabled but I want to make a disabled person’s work that can be enjoyed by those without disabilities.

If a performance made by a disabled person is only for those with disabilities, that work would be regressive and fail to fully communicate with the audience.

Jongmin

So even if a work of art is made by a disabled person, it should also be watched, shared and discussed by those without disabilities. I want to make that kind of art. I want to make works that wouldn’t generate any discrimination between those with and without disabilities and that can be enjoyed without any discrimination (I’m sorry to use the word “discrimination”). I want to make works that can be enjoyed by everyone, whether they be disabled or not.

Art is important to me because it enables me to communicate with the world. That is what art is about.

The Daily Life of an Actor

Renovated tank building with modern windows

I Remember the Moment the Tank was Filled with Fuel

This place is now a venue used for a coffee shop and performances. But in the past, it had a fuel tank and it supplied fuel whenever there was any shortage. Even if it is now a performance venue, it still looks like a space with a fuel tank. So it feels amazing even now.

Grey storage shed

Storage Space in the Rehearsal Room. Don’t I Look Great?

The storage space in the rehearsal room of Wheel (arts and culture organization for persons with disabilities) looks like a nice house. I want to open it and look inside but I can’t. This is a storage space where things used for plays are kept. We open it only when it’s necessary to use what is inside. It is in the rehearsal room but it doesn’t look like a storage space. It rather looks like a miniature. I chose this photo because the storage space is so beautiful.

Close up of steel dumbell

Do You Think It Is a Dumbbell?

This is my most precious thing. Thanks to this, I can stay healthy and strengthen my masculineness so this is the most precious object for me. It is 7 kilograms but it’s not easy to lift it at all. It’s heavier than you think. I lift this with my left or right hand 100 times. I make myself fit with this.

Closeup of black microphone

What Do You Think It Is?

It looks like a microphone but it is actually my mobile rehearsal room. It’s now black. It was gray but I used it too much so I made a bold decision to buy a new one. For you, it would be just a microphone but for me, I now have another rehearsal room.

Stone statue of folk story character

Who Is the Person Welcomed by Dol hareubang?

This is Jeju Island. You would have no idea why I took this picture. That is because this is the first place I traveled to on a plane and also my first performance venue. Living 34 years, I took a plane for the first time in my life. I went to Jeju Island and performed there for the first time. So I chose this picture of Dol hareubang, a rock statue representing Jeju Island. At Jeju Arts and Culture Center, there is a dol hareubang. Every year, the National Theater Festival for Persons with Disabilities is held in Jeju Island. So the dol hareubang warmly welcomes us every year.

My Self Portrait

3 photos of Jongmin wearing a red cape and crown holding ancient weapons against a red and purple cloudy sky

My Portrait Concept

I want to have Solomon’s wisdom, David’s courage, Samson’s strength and Moses’ faith, loyalty, leadership and eyes of a prophet. I thought of growing older with these four heroes’ talents. If their talents are incorporated into a person’s years of experience, this world could become a better place. This is how I came up with my portrait.

Monologue

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