Who?! Series

2023 Who?! Series 10 kinds

The Beautiful Poet, Seol Mi-hee (Female, Poet, Brain Lesion) 

At the age of four, Seol Mi-hee became a brain-disabled person due to a high fever.
While attending regular school, she wrote to fill the constant emptiness she felt. 
She studied literature at the Department of Korean Language and Literature of the Korea National Open University. After receiving the Grand Prize in the South Korean People with Disabilities Literature Prize in 2009, she consistently published works. 
In 2022, after winning the Gusang Sotdae Literary Prize, she published her first collection of poems titled . 
She is currently studying in the Department of Culture and Liberal Arts of the Korea National Open University.

The Heart-touching Painter, Choi Ji-hyeon (Female, Oriental Painting Artist, Physical Disability)

After majoring in traditional dance in college, Choi Ji-hyeon engaged in various activities such as broadcasting reporting. 
However, at the age of 27, just two months away from her birthday, she became a person with physical disabilities due to a fall accident.
After overcoming difficult times, she started painting as if it were her destiny. Currently, she majors in Oriental painting at Hongik University Graduate School of Fine Arts. She has won the Iwonhyeong Prize (2020) and was selected as a finalist in the Planning Section of the Grand Art Exhibition of Korea (2022).
She teaches with a friendly and interesting story as 'A Painter with Cat Hands' while devoting herself to her artistic endeavors.

Left-Handed Pianist, Lee Hoon (Male, Pianist, Physical Disability)

Lee Hoon is a left-handed pianist.
While attending Sunhwa Arts High School, he went to Germany and continued his studies at the The Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. He has won awards at the Le Muse Competition and the Terme AMA Calabria Competition in Italy.
In 2012, while working on his doctoral dissertation at the University of Cincinnati in the United States, he suffered a stroke which resulted in right-side paralysis and language disorders. Since 2016, he has been performing solo concerts and engaging in various musical activities as a left-handed pianist.

The Entertainer Who Expresses Silently, Kim Li-hu (Male, Actor, Hearing Impairment)

Kim Li-hu is the first deaf actor in Korea.
He made his debut in the short film directed by Kim-Jho Gwangsoo in 2010 and appeared in the short film directed by Kang Ji-sook in 2014. He also serves as a sign language news anchor for the Deaf Broadcasting Network and teaches sign language. As a sign language interpreter, he is actively engaged in domestic and international activities.
He is proficient in Korean, Korean Sign Language, English, American Sign Language, International Sign Language, Japanese, and Japanese Sign Language. He is also active as a YouTuber on the channel 'Li-hu TV’.

The Truth-seeking Poet, Choi Myeong-sook (Female, Poet, Brain Lesion)

Choi Myeong-sook acquired a brain lesion due to complications during childbirth and miscarriages in a medically poor rural environment.
She wrote poetry while working for 25 years at the Korean Society for Cerebral Palsy Welfare.
After receiving the Newcomer Award of in 1992, she won the Gusang Sotdae Literary Prize in 2002.
Continuously publishing poetry collections, she supports authors with disabilities as the representative of the disabled literature group 'Borisurearae'.

The Painter who Expresses Emotions with Paints, Kim Jae-ho (Male, Painter, Brain Lesion)

Kim Jae-ho spent his childhood and adolescence at Jumong Rehabilitation Center, completing high school education at a special school. He studied basic art at the Animation Department of the Korea National University of Welfare. Selected as an artist in residence of the Jamsil Creative Studio, he actively engaged in his artistic activities. In 2019, he received the Iwonhyeong Prize.
Using short, thick, and stiff brushes dipped in black paint, he sketches on canvas. With his uncontrollable arms, he squeezes paint tubes and vigorously applies colors. That's why he's called the 'Painter of Paints.‘

The Wheelchair-Bound Tenor Singing Miracles, Lee Nam-hyeon (Male, Tenor, Physical Disability)

In the summer of 2004, Lee Nam-hyun became a person with quadriplegia after hitting his head on the pool floor and breaking his neck. Despite being a college student majoring in music, he was told that singing with only 20-30% of normal lung capacity was impossible. However, he refused to give up and dedicated himself to practice.
He obtained a doctoral degree in Arts Management from the Graduate School of Performing Arts at Kyung Hee University. He has been invited to perform with the KBS Orchestra, at the UN Headquarters in New York, and at the opening ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Wherever his singing is needed, he rushes to sing, spreading miracles as 'Lee Nam-hyeon, the Wheelchair-Bound Tenor Singer.‘

The Autistic Twin Brothers Turned Professional Musicians, Im Seon-gyun & Im Je-gyun (Male, Flutist & Trumpeter, Developmental Disabilities)

In 1996, twin boys were born. Their mother took them to various therapy sessions to treat their autism. During this process, she discovered their musical talents by chance and nurtured Seon-gyun in flute playing and Je-gyun in trumpet playing, raising them as musicians.
Both twins majored in music in college, became members of the Heart To Heart Orchestra, and now are employed through the system of the support for artists with disabilities, earning a modest salary.
In addition to their musical performances, they also lecture in front of many people to raise awareness of people with disabilities. Both of them have a total of 35 qualifications, are highly talented, and continuously take on challenges.

The Mouth-Painting Artist Drawing Dreams, Im Gyeong-sik (Male, Western Painting Artist, Physical Disability)

At the age of nineteen, Im Gyeong-sik experienced a motorcycle accident that left him with total body paralysis. For ten years, he struggled with a sense of helplessness, doing nothing. It wasn't until he turned thirty-one that he picked up a brush with his mouth and began to paint.
Within a year of starting to paint, he participated in group exhibitions, and in 2013, he held his first solo exhibition, followed by six more solo exhibitions. In 2016, he became a member of the Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists of the World.
He appeared in an LGU+ advertisement which garnered 8 million views, and lectured about his story on EBS's <15 Minutes to Change the World>. Through his 'Dreaming' series, he expresses freedom using a goldfish coming out of a fishbowl.

Singer Between Light and Music, Kim Gook-hwan (Male, Musician, Visual Impairment)

Kim Gook-hwan has had a cloudy vision in one eye since infancy due to congenital cataracts. He enrolled in the Seoul National School for the Blind, where he won awards in school song contests with his juniors. In his third year of high school, he participated in the KBS Singing Contest for People with Disabilities and won the gold medal, paving his path as a musician.
In 2009, he drew a lot of attention by reaching the finals of the M-net audition program . That same year, he released a single album and made his official debut in the music industry through the broadcast called 'M Super Concert'. He expanded his activities as part of the group 'The Blind', and currently continues his singing career while engaging in activities to raise awareness of disabilities through performances and interactions with visually impaired juniors.