Inspiring disabled people with music

Visually impaired

civil servant

plays ocarina

Park Kyung-tae

By Jhoo Dong-chan

A visually impaired 43-year-old civil servant in Ulsan, South Gyeongsan Province, taught himself to play the ocarina as an inspiration to other people suffering from disabilities.

Partially losing his eyesight after being hit by a rock throw by a playmate when he was only six, Park Kyung-tae can barely read without his glasses.

Park was ten when he entered elementary school because of his visual disability.

Interested in music and in playing instruments, however, he taught himself via the Internet how to play the flute when he was a middle school student.

“Music and playing instruments helped a lot in getting beyond my disability,” said Park.

After graduating high school, Park first got a job at a community center for disabled people in Seoul and then transferred to the Ulsan Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities (UAPPD).

He passed the civil service examination in 2012.

After becoming a civil servant, Park branched out musically and started to teach himself how to play the ocarina, before performing live.

“Playing in front of people was not easy at first, especially as a disabled person,” said Park.

“But I decided to move forward in order to change people’s perceptions about the disabled.”

Park performs two to three times a month at parks where people gather during the weekend.

In 2014, Park organized a blind musicians’ community with other people who play the piano, saxophone, guitar and ocarina as well. It was the first of its kind in Ulsan. Members visit hospitals and nursing homes to inspire others with their musical talents.

“I was one of the lucky ones, what with all of the people and foundations that have helped me through,” said Park.

“It is time for me to pay back what I received.”