Following are excerpts from the interview with professor Lee Sang-mook of Seoul National University. ― Ed.


Korea Herald: What happened after the accident?

Lee: A helicopter came to the middle of the desert (to rescue us) after 40 minutes, and I slipped in and out of consciousness for three days. A nurse told me that I didn’t know how to speak.

It was as if an executioner cut off my neck but was ordered to put it back on. The accident severed all the muscles in my neck. The spinal cord, which is like the broadband network, was cut so I am paralyzed below the neck. Luckily the blood vessels remained intact so the oxygen and nutrients continued to be supplied to the brain.

The operation is called neck fusion, which is reconnecting the neck.

I came back to Korea after three months, and began teaching at the university after six months.

People like me can’t get any better. I accepted the fact that what is dead is dead, and thought about what I could do in this condition. And since my brain remained whole, I decided to be self-reliant. 

Herald: How were you able to go back to teaching so soon after the accident?

Lee: When you get hurt, it becomes clear if nerve functions will come back or not within three months. The probability that they will return within one month is 70 percent, and 25 percent for within two months. The probability that they will return after three months is close to zero. So, after three months in intensive care I realized that they will never return so I came back to Korea.

In the past everyone (with similar injuries) would have died, but medical sciences have improved and computers and other equipment allow me to continue working.

I didn’t know I had such strength. Before I got hurt, people said that I was weak and that I had lived a sheltered life. But I have not once cried because I felt self-pity about my circumstances, and each time I go to a new hospital they conduct a psychological analysis and the doctors always say that I don’t need (counseling).

Herald: How would you rate Korean society’s views on the disabled?

Lee: Korea is not behind advanced countries. In the 1960s and the 1970s, even able-bodied people had difficulty going to university, finding jobs and marrying. In such a society, it is impossible for those with disabilities to do well.

But our economy has developed rapidly, and to put it simply, people have become comfortable enough to care about others.

In the old days people would say “there goes a cripple” when a disabled person went by, but nobody does that now. Nowhere have views about disabled people changed as much as they have in Korea.

People always compare us to the U.S. but there are fundamental differences.

First, the U.S. is a Christian nation, and in Christianity the weak are the best; they teach that the meek are the most loved by Jesus Christ.

Compared to that, under Buddhist concepts, people say, “I wonder what crime they committed in a past life” when they see a disabled person.

Second, it is related to economic power. People only see others once they are comfortable.

Third, the U.S. is always engaged in war, and those injured in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are treated as heroes.

Fourth, the U.S. experienced race-related troubles in the 1950s and the 1960s, and because they solved the racism problems, they have a template for resolving human rights issues.

But Korea has never had racial issues, and for this country the disabled problem is better, because it is an issue everyone can sympathize with.

In this regard, I think that Korea can become a world leader in this field. Because there are no foundations, we can adopt the best laws and systems in place abroad and establish the best framework.

Herald: How did you become involved in the QoLT project?

Lee: When Choi Young became the first blind judge, a local newspaper requested me to write a column about it.

In the column published on November 1, 2008, I wrote that the current administration was focusing only on practical values, that only the economic aspects were being emphasized. I asked why the economic value of the hope delivered by someone like this isn’t being calculated. Three weeks later I received an email from an official with the Ministry of Knowledge Economy’s technology policy department saying that the ministry has a 4 trillion won ($3.5 billion) annual R&D budget, and that he is in charge of the additional 500 billion won that will be added in the coming year.

He asked to meet me to discuss ways to use the money for helping disabled people, and afterwards it was decided that the ministry will allocate 10 billion won each year for 10 years to conduct a project for improving the quality of life of disabled people.

A year and a half later and after approvals from 16 review boards, the QoLT program got underway on June 1, 2010, and since then the project has been built from scratch.

Herald: What does the project mean for you?

Lee: There was one thing that was strange. I thought about why Choi Young took the national judiciary examination as I was writing that column.

Then I learned that there were other disabled people who took the exam and succeeded in life. Those people chose that path because then, the government can’t discriminate against you.

At the time, there were 60 disabled students at Seoul National University, and 80 percent of them were studying humanities or the arts.

I am not saying that those subjects are bad, but I am asking why disabled students were not going into the sciences in a country that relies on exports, in a country that calls for innovation and development.

To lead disabled people into science and engineering, a success case is needed to show that they can go into the area, and go on to work in a booming field and to become an active part of society.

To achieve true unity, disabled and able-bodied people should be able to do the same jobs. That is why I conduct the QoLT project.

Herald: How do you rate the QoLT project?

Lee: Whether we succeed or not is not something that can be decided through a simple assessment. (The project) is a success only if we succeed in changing the public’s view, and change society.

To this end, of course we have to do well, but society and the media need to help us.

The reason I went on the 40-day trip to the U.S. was not some show of overcoming disabilities. The point was that while getting hurt was a personal tragedy for me, I am an opportunity for getting society’s attention, for getting more people to take part.

The government organizations in charge of disability issues such as the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology really don’t have much money.

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy has trillions of research and development funds. Societal advancements come when ministries with sufficient funding take on meaningful projects.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)