'Art for everyone': Korea's first theater actor with Down syndrome on stepping into the spotlight

Theater actor Baek Ji-yoon, center, poses with her mother Lee Myeong-hee, right, and Modu Art Center's operating manager Oh Se-hyeong during an interview with the JoongAng Sunday at the theater in Seodaemun District, western Seoul, on Nov. 3. [JOONGANG SUNDAY]

 
Baek Ji-yoon once aspired to become a ballerina like the famous Kang Sue-jin. 
 
Now she is Korea's first theater actor with Down syndrome and has already stepped into the spotlight at Myeongdong Theater in Jung District, central Seoul.
 

Related Article

• U.S. politics, sports and theater memorabilia on display at Kensington Hotel Yeouido restaurants

• Popcorn out, prayers in: A movie theater in Seoul becomes a Buddhist temple

• CGV closes its LA location, marking end of U.S. theater business's 15-year run

• Sanwoolim Theater marks 40 years of Korean stage history (KOR)

• Sanwoolim Theater marks 40 years of Korean stage history

 
While the lead in the play “Jellyfish” — which ran at Modu Art Theater from March to April and at Myeongdong Theater in September — Baek boldly addressed the experiences of love and sexuality among women with Down syndrome. 
 
“Jellyfish” is a work of “inclusive art,” in which the abilities and identities of disabled actors are fully embraced. Baek's debut in this play was not simply a feel-good, triumphant spectacle, like a kind of Paralympics for theater, but something more significant: a disabled actor stepping into the mainstream alongside her nondisabled peers.
 
Of course, Baek's journey to becoming a professional artist wasn't driven by family support alone. The Korea Disability Arts and Culture Center was also behind this milestone. The center celebrated its 10th anniversary this year and opened its Modu Art Theater two years ago.
 
“Jellyfish,” written by British playwright Ben Weatherill, was Modu Art Theater’s inaugural production. The JoongAng Sunday recently spoke with the theater’s operating manager Oh Se-hyeong, Baek’s mother Lee Myeong-hee and Baek herself. 
 
“It’s not easy to stand on stage for two hours and recite dialogue, you know. At Modu Art Theater, it felt like a family event, but at Myeongdong Theater, the audience was so much larger — and we still got a standing ovation. The original author said [Baek] outdid her British counterpart,” Oh said.
 
“It’s all thanks to my manager and seniors who guided me well,” Baek said. “At first, I was scared [the audience] might look at me strangely, but a fan I met on the street even gave me a bag as a gift.”
 

Theater actor Baek Ji-yoon, right, hugs her mother Lee Myeong-hee during an interview with the JoongAng Sunday at the Modu Art Center in Seodaemun District, western Seoul, on Nov. 3. [JOONGANG SUNDAY]

 
Much has changed in the past 15 years. Just a decade ago, Baek’s future looked uncertain, and Lee struggled with depression.
 
“[Baek] graduated with a dance major and had no path forward — the despair was overwhelming,” Lee said. “I thought, ‘Was I wrong for letting her learn ballet while others were already searching for a job?’”
 
It’s why Baek, who was working as a sanitation worker at the time, saw the news of an audition for a dance troupe for people with disabilities as a ray of light.
 
“Jobs for artists with disabilities were slowly starting to emerge,” Lee said. “Ji-yoon worked with a dance troupe for a few years, and when she turned 30 and her body couldn’t keep up, she moved on to ‘Jellyfish.’ If she doesn’t use her body, her cognitive function can decline, but the repetition in rehearsals helps with that. Looking back now, I realize that all the activities Ji-yoon has taken part in were supported by grants from the Korea Disability Arts and Culture Center.”
 
As a parent, Lee worried about contingency plans in case Baek gave up, but the production team promised to accommodate Baek's physical and psychological needs.
 
“There were 1,700 lines and scenes where I had to scream or say sexual words. It was hard,” Baek said. “Director  Min Sae-rom would hold my hand and say, ‘We’re doing this together.’ Now I have my own little trick. I tell myself, ‘Just show what you’ve practiced — nothing more.’ I try to control my thoughts, reminding myself that my mom is always by my side, as are the theater’s manager and director.”
 
Despite the extra time and effort required, Baek flourished among her nondisabled peers.
 
“The biggest concern was the sexual dialogue. I thought that she wouldn’t understand it, but a social welfare group told me it was a limit we needed to overcome,” Lee said. “In the end, even that part was naturally resolved during rehearsals. What I’ve come to realize through theater is that people with disabilities learn life patterns and ways of speaking by working alongside those without disabilities. When Ji-yoon was only around others with disabilities, she didn't really change. But now, the way she lives is astonishingly similar to that of nondisabled people. That’s thanks to the support of her peers. I found myself wondering if she’d ever received such encouragement and support before. In a world like this, I felt that even with a disability, one can truly live a full life.”
 

A scene from the play, "Jellyfish" [KOREA DISABILITY ARTS AND CULTURE CENTER]

 
As a mother, the most moving moment wasn’t the applause or cheers; it was witnessing her daughter transcend the limits of her disability.
 
“She was bullied when she was young, so the phrase ‘Down syndrome’ itself was traumatic,” Lee said. “During rehearsal, we tiptoed around it, but when she said it confidently on stage — something sank in. Her empathy skills grew as well. As a disabled person, you might be emotionally numb — but after experiencing this life on stage, she began to understand others better. It was such a relief for me too.”
 
Now, Baek is actively preparing to stand on her own as a professional actor. She is currently in rehearsal for the upcoming musical “Neverland,” not only acting but also singing, dancing and rapping.
 
She even dreams of buying her parents a house like the one in the SBS drama series “The Penthouse: War in Life” (2020-21).
 
“After turning 30, I'm tired of hearing my parents bickering, so I plan to move out,” Baek said with a laugh. “When I become the head of the family, I need strength to protect Mom and Dad. So I hope Modu Art Theater can continue putting on shows.”
 
For many years, the focus in discussions about disability and the arts was on “accessibility.” Today, the field has evolved to include a new issue: the sustainability of artistic activity for people with disabilities.
 
“There was a time when nondisabled actors were praised — even awarded — for playing characters with disabilities, but authenticity has become the norm,” Oh said. “The first work that drew real attention was ‘Jellyfish,’ and its impact was huge. Audiences saw it and began saying, ‘We actually knew nothing about disability, [how] it can be this beautiful and full of life.’ [Korea's] production, too, is a collaboration with a private production company, and partnerships between disability-led and nondisabled arts organizations are happening across all fields. It shows that values are changing.”
 
Meanwhile, as the Korea Disability Arts and Culture Center marks its 10th anniversary, the field of disability arts is reaching a turning point. Some 30,000 artists with disabilities are now active nationwide, and Korea has built dedicated infrastructure — including the Ieum Center, Modu Art Theater and Modu Art Space — and enacted world’s first Disability Arts Support Act. Yet the challenge remains to spread this momentum beyond Seoul and the greater capital area.
 
Bang Gui-hee, the chair of the Korea Disability Arts and Culture Center, pointed to promoting excellence as the key to improving public awareness of disabilities, especially in the arts.
 
“Many people still see disability arts as amateur work or just a hobby, and there are barriers to being fully recognized as art,” she said. “We’re simply making art, so rather than calling it ‘disability arts,’ please think of it as art for everyone.”


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY YOO JU-HYUN [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]