EBS documentary to feature five lives starting November 9

The EBS1 interview documentary 'Ordinary Records: Reflections' will air five stories from 30 life confessions between November 9 and November 13. The series features individuals such as Im Gyeong-su, a former emergency medicine pioneer who became a rural doctor in Jeongeup, Jeollabuk-do, and Lee Jeong-seong, who has maintained Nam June Paik's works for nearly 20 years.

The EBS1 interview documentary 'Ordinary Records: Reflections', which follows the lives of seemingly ordinary individuals to record the time and choices accumulated within them, will air on weekdays at 5:50 PM from November 9 to November 13. This installment will first reveal five stories out of the life confessions of 30 ordinary people. The stories of Im Gyeong-su, who treats patients at a rural health subcenter in Jeongeup, Jeollabuk-do; Yang Jeong-suk, who adopted and raised a child born with disabilities; Lee Jeong-seong, who has maintained Nam June Paik's works for nearly 20 years; Yu Jin-gyeong, who chose the path of a carpenter late in life; and Jo Hwan-jin, a Jeju stone wall artisan, will be broadcast in succession. The production team captured how professions, families, regions, and skills have connected by following each individual's life. Starting with the first broadcast on November 9, the schedule features one person's reflections each day for five days.

In a rural village in Jeongeup, Jeollabuk-do, there is a health subcenter where the only medical device is a stethoscope. Im Gyeong-su (69), the director of the Gobu Public Health Subcenter, is introduced as a pioneer in the field of emergency medicine who helped establish the foundation of emergency medical services in Korea. He worked at a general hospital in Seoul for 33 years, and after retiring, he turned down high-paying hospital director positions to choose the path of a rural doctor in November 2024. While medical volunteerism had long been a dream, he stated he could not ignore the poor medical reality of rural areas where there are not even pharmacies, let alone hospitals.

The program also introduces his life living in a small rooftop room on the second floor of the health subcenter, treating residents and sharing daily life with the villagers. The starting point of this episode is the current life of Im Gyeong-su, who transitioned from an emergency room doctor caring for patients at the crossroads of life to a rural doctor living alongside his neighbors. The program follows his process of letting go of the success defined by the world to discover a unique happiness he had not known before.

An emergency medical pioneer staying at a Jeongeup health subcenter

The second episode begins with the story of Kim Se-jin, who was born without two legs and three fingers on his right hand due to congenital aplasia but went on to compete in the 2016 Rio 2016 Olympic Games qualifiers. People called him 'Robot-leg Se-jin,' and behind his miraculous challenge was always his mother, Yang Jeong-suk. The production team begins the story from the moment Yang Jeong-suk held a newborn baby she happened to meet at an orphanage while visiting with her eight-year-old daughter. At that moment, she decided to become a mother.

During a time when adopting children with disabilities was unfamiliar, Yang Jeong-suk became 'Se-jin's mother' after seeking permission from the court, and she had to endure the cold gaze, prejudice, and discrimination of the world simply because she was raising a child with a disability. The program stated it would illuminate the life of Yang Jeong-suk, the individual hidden behind the name 'Robot-leg Se-jin's mother.' She is described as a person who, despite living with the void of a mother her whole life, became a mother herself by embracing the children who came to her.

Nam June Paik's hands continuing at Sewoon Plaza

The protagonist of part three, Lee Jeong-seong, appears as an 82-year-old technical master sitting among old cathode-ray tubes, electric wires, and circuit boards in a shabby office at Sewoon Plaza in Euljiro, Seoul. The world calls him 'Nam June Paik's hands.' He is described as the hands that touch old parts and turn on stopped screens. Lee formed a connection with Nam June Paik following the installation of in 1988, and since then, he has been responsible for the production, installation, and repair of numerous video art works by his side for nearly 20 years.

Even after Nam June Paik passed away in 2006, Lee Jeong-seong continues to care for his works. The program follows his journey from a poor rural boy to a phonograph repairman, and finally to a person who creates works for a world-renowned master. It is introduced that his life is contained within the time engraved on those hands. The production team stated they will look into his life, where he has silently walked his own path behind the name of the master, and the longing he still holds in a corner of his heart.

Skills of life engraved in wood and stone

In part four, carpenter Yu Jin-gyeong appears. She is introduced as someone who says that building furniture is like cooking a meal or building a house—something done for someone nearby. Her successful career was shaken by the great upheaval of the IMF crisis, and one day, while walking until her thoughts vanished, the scent of wood flowing from a semi-basement woodworking shop caught her attention. Her second life began at the age of forty. The program reports that because she started late, she lived each day as if it were three days, but only after losing a finger due to rushing did she realize that both wood and people have their own pace.

The production team introduced Yu Jin-gyeong as a holder of the National Intangible Heritage title of So-mok-jang (traditional small furniture maker), and noted that she continues to breathe with the wood 'leisurely' today. It mentions that just as a single wedge driven into a gap supports the wood, she learned from the wood that a warm word can serve as a support for a person.

Jo Hwan-jin in part five appears as a 'Dol-chaeng-i,' an artisan who builds Jeju stone walls. Once dreaming of being a painter, he became aware of the beauty of Jeju stone walls after encountering landscapes without them during his travels, and he learned the skill of building stone walls while building stone houses with his father. After his father passed away, he realized the importance of the stone wall building techniques that had not been recorded and expanded his interest to the life and culture embedded in stone walls. The episode concludes with the Jeju stone walls that have been maintained by rebuilding them whenever they collapse, the wisdom of the community embedded within them, and the years of the 'Dol-chaeng-i.'

Scheduled for weekdays at 5:50 PM starting November 9

'Ordinary Records: Reflections' will air on EBS1 from Monday, November 9, to Friday, November 13, at 5:50 PM on weekdays. It can also be viewed on the EBS website. EBS introduced it as an interview documentary that listens to the special life confessions of 30 ordinary people. The five episodes continuing for five days from the first episode capture different fields of life: medical, family, technology, woodworking, and stone walls. Related photos are uploaded to the Cyber PR Office highlights on the EBS official website according to the broadcast dates.

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