Youth wheelchair users perform stage play and magic show in Seongnam

Twelve youth wheelchair users performed the stage play "Our Long, Long Night" and a magic show at the Yatap Youth Center on October 24. The event, held for approximately 70 audience members, allowed the club members to lead all aspects of the production from script composition to rehearsals.

The SK Happiness Foundation's Saesang File Team announced on the 26th that it held "Our Stories Written with Wheels," a presentation for a club of youth wheelchair users, at the Yatap Youth Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on October 24. Approximately 70 audience members attended the event.

The presentation featured 12 youths, ranging from fourth-grade elementary students to second-grade middle school students, who have been active in the club for six months since May. The youths took direct responsibility for script composition, performance planning, and rehearsals. In the first part, they performed the stage play "Our Long, Long Night," and in the second part, they conducted the magic show "Stories of Little Pieces."

This project was designed to allow youth wheelchair users, who have limited opportunities to interact with peers due to lives centered around homes, schools, and hospitals, to build relationships and develop autonomy through collective activities. The process, in which the youths led everything from planning to the stage, appears to have placed significance on experiencing cooperation and self-expression beyond just the performance itself.

A participating youth stated that they enjoyed the time spent learning new things and taking on challenges together with friends in the club, adding that they gained confidence by accomplishing difficult tasks one by one. Kim Ju-won, a manager from the Saesang File Team in charge of the project, noted, "The children, who were awkward even with greetings at first, shared opinions and encouraged one another to complete the performance themselves," and stated that they would continue to expand experiences where youth with and without disabilities grow together. The SK Happiness Foundation is cooperating with the Yatap Youth Center of the Seongnam Youth Foundation.

Read the original (Korean)