[Power K-Women] Author Jeong Eun-hye: "I Remember More Kind Hearts Than Prejudices"

Editor's NoteAsia Economy will select women who are active not only in Asia but around the world as 'Power K-Women' at the Women's Leaders Forum to be held this October. We have chosen individuals who have overcome and broken down barriers such as race, borders, and disabilities as 'Power K-Women.' This is to widely share the value of those who have not been intimidated by discrimination or confined by boundaries but have stood up and fought, thereby delivering new values of leadership to youth and women. Their stories will provide comfort to a weary world and become role models for someone, giving communities the strength to move forward again.
Date ｜ Wednesday, October 19, 2022, 9:00 AM ? 5:20 PM
Venue ｜ Lotte Hotel Crystal Ballroom (2F), Sogong-dong

"The biggest change is that people now look at me with loving eyes."

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunju Lee] When asked about the biggest change after appearing in a drama, artist Jeong Eun-hye cited the change in people's gaze. Jeong, who gained attention for her role in the drama Our Blues, has Down syndrome just like her character in the drama. Jeong’s mother, artist Jang Cha-hyeon-sil, said, "Eun-hye hasn’t changed, but the way the world looks at her has changed so much," adding, "That truly makes life worth living."

Asia Economy met artist Jeong Eun-hye on the 26th of last month at Gallery Topo House in Insadong, Jongno-gu. As an adult woman with Down syndrome, she is active as an actress, caricature artist, and painter, showcasing various artistic worlds to the public. From the 24th to the 30th of last month, her solo exhibition Embrace Exhibition was held at Topo House. The exhibition captured warm moments of embraces with people she personally met. The works conveyed messages that the strength to cheerfully confront a prejudiced world comes from accumulated kindness in every moment.

Jeong gained great popularity playing Young-hee, the twin sister of Young-ok (played by Han Ji-min), in Our Blues. Like her character, she has Down syndrome and portrayed the life of a woman with a disability authentically, moving the audience deeply. She calmly showed how society views adult women with disabilities with prejudice and demonstrated a healthy attitude of life that does not turn away from the world despite discriminatory gazes.

She cheerfully told the reporters, "I want to draw pictures for you." She smiled naturally as if accustomed to the media spotlight and lightened the atmosphere with constant jokes. However, Jeong also experienced difficult times as a person with a disability. At one point, she repeatedly asked herself, "Why am I so different?" and "Why am I unlike others?" suffering from self-hatred. After entering elementary school, she wrote poems every day after school, repeating phrases like "I want to die. I want to rest" in her poems.

Ultimately, Jeong did not graduate from elementary school. She believed alternative schools could be a solution, but they were no different. Even after becoming an adult, she was still 'alone.' Eventually, she decided to graduate early from the alternative school. She became 'uneducated.' Jeong’s father, film director Seo Dong-il, said, "Even as an adult, Eun-hye had nowhere to go and nothing to do, so she created 'imaginary friends.' She shouted, cursed, fought, and cried with these imaginary friends." She made friends in her imagination every dawn and shouted. The sadness of isolation kept accumulating.

Every time she went out, cold stares from people made Jeong shrink further. Director Seo recalled, "Before she became famous, people’s gaze toward Eun-hye was not kind. They treated her as a strange, unfamiliar being with odd looks, speech, and behavior, someone they could not easily approach." Although she wanted to build social relationships, the cold stares she received caused many mental illnesses. She began stuttering and showed symptoms of schizophrenia.

The turning point in Eun-hye’s life was 'art.' She began to communicate with society by painting in the studio run by her mother, artist Jang Cha-hyeon-sil. Director Seo recalled, "One day, Eun-hye was copying children’s drawings, and I noticed an extraordinary sense in her work." Later, through a flea market called 'Munhori River Market,' she started drawing people’s faces. She participated as a seller and began drawing caricatures of people. Although it was not a situation where she earned enough money, Eun-hye painted every day because she could meet people.

As experiences of drawing faces and talking with people accumulated in a barren space, Jeong finally became a 'member of society.' She painted at the market held every weekend from 10 AM to 8 PM. Taking orders and drawing while communicating with people helped relieve her depression. Her schizophrenia symptoms eased. Jeong said, "I like the people who like and love me."

After the drama aired, the respectful gaze toward Jeong increased. Many people looked at her warmly, and Jeong moved further away from depression. Both Jeong and Jang Cha-hyeon-sil agreed after the drama aired that "life feels worth living." Jeong said, "People started looking at me with loving eyes and expressions, and that feels good and makes me happy." Jang also said, "She lives in a completely different world now. The way people look at Eun-hye has changed so much that it feels like living in another world."

Rather than digging into past prejudices or wounds, Jeong tends to deeply embrace the kindness people offer her now. This attitude is reflected throughout her works. The Embrace Exhibition, created intermittently from 2021 to 2022, is full of gratitude and warmth toward people. Jang explained, "If you look at the themes of Eun-hye’s paintings since 2016, it has always been 'people.' It shows the process of embracing people, becoming healthy herself, and healing emotional difficulties."

Jeong does not have an unusual desire for recognition. She simply does her best to live happily with people today and in this moment. Jang said, "Usually, even the act of painting is seen as a process to achieve the goal of doing better next time or to gain recognition from someone. But Eun-hye rarely shows such attitudes. She just immerses and focuses on the subject while painting." She added, "Eun-hye lives happily today. Seeing her life makes me feel comfortable and light."

Throughout the interview, Jeong expressed a desire to draw the faces of the reporters. She smiled, saying, "Because you are important to me now, I definitely want to draw you." She joked comfortably. She was happy and kept recalling the warm feelings people had toward her during the interview. Especially, she never forgot the affection shown by writer Noh Hee-kyung, who offered her the drama role. Because of this, she cherishes the artwork featuring Noh Hee-kyung the most. Jeong said, "Noh is a warm-hearted and good person. She is a happy person. Although she is small in stature, I painted her large figure on a big canvas with pen and acrylic."

Artist Jeong Eun-hye Profile

▲ July 15, 2017 Solo Exhibition ‘Faces of a Thousand People’ Outdoor Exhibition at Munhori River Market
▲ September 2017 Participated in Public Art Project ‘Running Art Museum’ with the opening ceremony of Bukhansan Ui Station
▲ May 4-5, 2019 Yangpyeong Abandoned Factory Exhibition spring Jeong Eun-hye and 8 others / Alternative exhibition at a 50-year-old textile factory in Yangpyeong
▲ May 22 ? June 13, 2019 Solo Exhibition - ‘Your Face, Eun-hye’ / 1st Floor, Seochon Gallery B, 7-gil Jahamun-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
▲ June 12-16, 2019 PLAS 2019 Formative Art Seoul / COEX Trade Center 1st Floor B1, B2 Hall
▲ October 16-30, 2019 Good Morning Studio 10th Resident Artist Planned Exhibition ‘Mumu’ / Platform L Contemporary Art Center
▲ June 29 ? August 28, 2020 Solo Exhibition ‘Artist Drawing Faces Jeong Eun-hye’ / Yangseo Eco Healing Center Opening Exhibition
▲ October 15-29, 2020 Solo Exhibition ‘I Like It As It Is - Your Face’ / Changseong-dong Laboratory / 2020 Disabled Artists Creative Activation Support Project / Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture
▲ January 2-30, 2021 2021 Container Art Lab Selected Artist Exhibition / Yangpyeong County Art Museum
▲ May 24-28, 2021 Jeong Eun-hye [My Face, My Expression] Self-Emotion Moment / Culture Project Episode 1 (culture project ep.1) Jeong Eun-hye Artist Invitational Exhibition / Smilegate Campus 1st Floor Everyone’s Lobby / 344 Pangyo-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do
▲ October 20-30, 2021 Solo Exhibition ‘Dogs and People’ / Changseong-dong Laboratory / 2021 Disabled Culture and Arts Support Project / Korea Disabled Culture and Arts Institute
▲ 2019, 2020, 2021 Resident Artist at Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture Jamsil Creative Studio
▲ 2020 Appeared in Documentary ‘Your Face’ / Produced by Dumoolmeori Pictures, Directed by Seo Dong-il
▲ 2022 Appeared in tvN’s Our Blues

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.