Disabled receives doctorate at 56

Bang Gui-hee

By Kwon Ji-youn

Bang Gui-hee, president of the Korea Disabled Artist Association, suffers from poliomyelitis ― but that won’t stop her from receiving her doctorate degree at age 56.

Bang’s dissertation, titled “A Study on the Experiences of Creative Activities by Artists with Disabilities,” has been approved by Soongsil University and next month she will be granted her doctoral degree.

Bang is the first to receive a doctorate on the topic of disabled artists. In her thesis, she researched those artists who are actively contributing to culture, art, music and performance. She studied a total of 12 artists.

Bang’s first 10 attempts at a doctorate failed because schools were unwilling to accept severely disabled people. But in 2010, she was accepted into a doctoral program at Soongsil University.

“Disabled artists deserve opportunities as well,” she said. “We are often denied the opportunity to draw or write. I was able to receive my doctorate because I was given that opportunity.”

While attending school, Bang also founded the one and only literary magazine for disabled artists called “Sottdae.” She now serves as publisher of the magazine.

She served as a special presidential advisor for culture from March 2012 to February 2013, and worked as a writer at a radio station for 30 years.

As to why she desired a doctoral degree, Bang said that it wasn’t because of vanity or greed.

“I wrote the dissertation to voice my thoughts, our thoughts, about disabled artists,” she said. “There needs to be theory to an idea in order to persuade policymakers.”

Bang noted that disabled artists do not receive support under the artist welfare law.

In her dissertation, she suggested that proactive policies be set to help disabled artists finance their projects. She also called for the creation of a meeting hall for them.

She also said that disabled artists should be offered education, and that they need to launch a marketing service for them.

“Disabled artists suffer double the pain, once because they are disabled and again because they are artists,” Bang said. “I will continue to become the voice of disabled artists through my organization, magazine and lectures.”