DistantNews
Support us
🇰🇷 South Korea /Good News

“A path opened like the parting of the Red Sea”: Friendship group heads to Busan International Rock Festival

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources New plan
  • The Friendship Expedition project will take disabled participants, relatives and friends to the Busan International Rock Festival on Oct. 4.
  • Organizers previously created wheelchair-priority areas, access routes, standing spaces and other facilities at a festival in Cheorwon.
  • Participants said the experience helped them enjoy live music, feel welcomed and gain confidence in public life.

When a stranger led wheelchair user Kim Jae-eun toward the centre of a crowded festival, a path opened through the audience. Her companion, Jeon Yeon-ju, described the moment as being “like the parting of the Red Sea.”

A stylish person with smoky makeup and a wolf cut pulled my wheelchair and said, ‘If you are comfortable, come to the middle,’ and a path opened like the parting of the Red Sea.

— Jeon Yeon-juShe recalled how another festivalgoer helped her and a wheelchair user join the crowd.

The encounter took place at the DMZ Peace Train Music Festival in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, in June. Kim, who enjoys music, had worried that a festival where audiences move and collide intensely would not accommodate her wheelchair. Instead, the experience helped ease that fear.

The nonprofit Stair-Breaking Club and the social enterprise Something Different are now organizing a second Friendship Expedition, this time to the Busan International Rock Festival on Oct. 4. The project includes 30 disabled participants with cerebral palsy, physical, visual and developmental disabilities, together with family members and friends. More than 20 non-disabled staff members will accompany them.

Could friends with mobility difficulties enjoy this place too?

— Lee Dae-hoThe idea behind the Friendship Expedition began with the Stair-Breaking Club co-director’s question after attending a festival.

At the Cheorwon festival, organizers created a comfortable zone with wheelchair-priority areas, access routes, cushion spaces and a safe standing area. They also installed supports for people to lean on during performances and rope boundaries to help visually impaired participants navigate the space.

The moment best suited the name Friendship Expedition.

— Ha Ji-seongHe described dancing while standing on a wheelchair for the first time.

Participants said the arrangements changed more than their festival experience. Ha Ji-seong, who has cerebral palsy, danced while standing on a wheelchair for the first time. Jeon said she had kept her social media private because she feared being judged, but made it public after the expedition and later tried stand-up comedy. Organizers say repeated projects can help festivals treat disability-inclusive environments as a normal part of event planning rather than a special favour.

I gained the courage to show myself, which gave me the chance to try stand-up comedy.

— Jeon Yeon-juShe described how the festival experience affected her life beyond the event.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog