The third daughter of five siblings

In 1959, Choi Yun-Jeong was born as the third of four sisters and one brother in Sinchon of Seoul. She was born with brain lesions. Her second oldest sister also had the same disability, so her mom was always depressed. Yun-Jeong’s mom who had no other choices but to send the siblings without disabilities to school first promised her ‘to send her school later no matter what’, but her turn never came around until all of her siblings graduated from school.

“When there was a disabled person in a family, it was regarded as a flaw at that time. Whenever guests visited our house, my mom drove me and older sister in a room by saying ‘I’m sorry’ in a low voice. At that time, I saw some tears in her eyes. I also cried with the look of making the rest siblings greet after we had to hide ourselves. Due to the aftereffect, I and my older sister of five siblings are still living just like a ghost.”

She becomes a poet through self-expression

An ordinary daily life of having a talk with other people is an earnest wish to Yun-Jeong. She started writing because she wanted to talk to somebody and also to express her mind. Because of the disability in her hands, she briefly recorded her own thoughts, which became poems. After being encouraged by somebody, she applied for a contest for the first time in her life. She won the runner-up in the 3rd Gomduri Literature Awards with ‘Window’, and she got confidence after that.

In Choi Yun-Jeong’s poem ‘Cat’, a cat who quietly walks around with scared eyes looked like herself. This work was inspired by the look of people who were scared and avoided Yun-Jeong in a wheelchair. With this work, Yun-Jeong won the Rookie Award in a literary magazine 『Hwabaek Literature』 in 2016.

Meanwhile, after publishing her first collection of poetry , she published , , , and a collection of poetry in 2021.

Loving just like cats

Her activity assistant, Cho Seong-Rak who becomes a shadow of her, is her only better half. The two people who met with each other for the first time in the middle of working as an activity assistant ten years ago, are growing their belated love by continuing their tie as if water flows. Yun-Jeong fully expressed her love for Seong-Rak who helped her drink juice and delivered her messages on behalf of her with speech disorder by saying ‘He is not friendly, but caring about me so much’.

Many people envy poet Choi Yun-Jeong who is lovey-dovey with her much-younger boyfriend. Thanks to literature, she can have love like that because the love expressed in writing can deliver more sincere heart than any other loves.

Writer Choi Yun-Jeong’s soaring-up

At a comparatively older age, she passed the middle/high school qualification examinations and then graduated from the Department of Social Welfare in Korea Soongsil Cyber University, which was resolving her deep sorrow. After meeting with many people in the process of social activities, she has no problem to have daily talks, so she can now fully express herself, which resolves her dissatisfaction with communication.

Choi Yun-Jeong’s pen-name, ‘Wooyeo’ contains her free will to soar up just like a feather. This freedom is not just her dream. She hopes that her second oldest sister who is still staying only at home can enjoy freedom in the outside world; all the disabled artists can freely work; and all the disabled can live free lives.

Choi Yun-Jeong

2020 Graduated from the Dept. of Social Welfare in Korea Soongsil Cyber University

2003 Won the Excellence Award in Jao Literature Awards

2017 Made her debut as a writer in Hwabaek Literature