Interview: Wheelchair-using author pioneers disability representation in children's literature

Korea Herald

29-03-2025

Astrid Lindgren nominee Ko Jung-wook dreams of world where people with and without disabilities live together in harmony
Last fall was a surreal time for children's book author Ko Jung-wook. Amid the whirlwind of his writing and lecture schedule, his nomination for the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in October gave him a rare opportunity to reflect on his long and prolific career — a journey spanning over three decades and resulting in over 350 published books.
"I can certainly say I've written a lot, truly a lot," Ko said in an interview with The Korea Herald in March. "Looking back, I realize I've poured everything I had into my writing. There's no regret. I've spent nearly 35 years writing, and in that time, I've experienced immense joy and happiness. I'm filled with gratitude."
His latest book, "The Ghost at Lost & Found," marks his 379th publication, and there are more to come this year.
"Fall is always the busiest time for me, especially with lectures, and to have the nomination come in the midst of all that was overwhelming."
With the announcement of the winner just days away, set for Tuesday, Ko hopes that, should he win, it will bring younger readers into bookstores.
"If I were to win, I'd be thrilled, of course. I believe it could help bring readers — young readers — into bookstores, just like how Han Kang's Nobel Prize win sparked a reading boom.'
379th books and still counting
"If you say it, it becomes real. That's the power of words," Ko said with a laugh, reflecting on how he had spent decades speaking about his dream of winning the Nobel Prize as a disabled author. (The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is often dubbed the Nobel Prize of children's literature.)
The 64-year-old author also shared another long-held ambition: to write 500 books — a goal that helps explain the remarkable volume of his publications.
"When I speak to children, I encourage them to dream big, work hard and find their path (because) although it's important to set a concrete goal, many don't have one," Ko explained.
It was through these conversations with children that Ko began to set an example himself.
"I told them that my goal isn't just to publish 'a lot' of books; my dream is to publish 500 books by the time I die. I repeated it often, and now, it's a dream I believe I can truly achieve.'
What started as a casual statement soon became a deeply ingrained aspiration. And his impressive number of publications stand as a testament to a life lived with relentless determination.
"People like me, who had polio, don't have a long life expectancy because of post-polio syndrome. So I've always thought that while I'm alive, I should live like a blazing flame, giving my absolute best."
Trailblazer in Korean disability representation
Due to contracting polio at the age of one, Ko lost strength in his legs and relied on crutches throughout his childhood and adolescence. Now, he gets around in a wheelchair.
As a child, he was a voracious reader. Unable to run and play outside, he found adventure in books.
Initially, his dream was to become a doctor, but he later discovered that medical schools at the time refused to admit students with disabilities who couldn't stand for lab work. He then turned to Korean literature, earning a Ph.D. and hoping to pursue an academic career. But Ko met yet another painful setback — no university in Korea was willing to hire a professor with a disability.
'Literature was my last bastion,' Ko recalled. He first wrote short stories but later shifted to children's books — a transition sparked by a question from his son: "Don't you write books for children?"
Ko set out to write about disabilities, a subject he knew intimately, and from the outset, he was clear about his purpose: 'I wanted to use literature to raise awareness and improve the understanding of disability.'
His first children's book, "My Very Special Brother" (1999), tells the story of a young boy struggling to accept his older brother, Jong-sik, who has cerebral palsy. It was one of Korea's first children's books to center on disability. The book became the bestselling children's book of the year.
His next book, "The Boy Who Carried the Bookbag" (2002), inspired by Ko's school memories, follows a boy who uses crutches. The book became another bestseller, was included in the fourth-grade elementary school curriculum, and went on to sell over 1.2 million copies.
Many of his books consistently center on children with disabilities, including "The Pianist with Four Fingers" about a girl with a congenital physical disability who plays the piano, and "Tansil the Guide Dog" about the lives of guide dogs working alongside visually impaired individuals.
"The reason I write stories with disabled children as protagonists isn't just because I'm disabled myself. It's because I want to create a world where all people with and without disabilities live together in harmony," Ko wrote in the author's note of the reprinted edition of "My Very Special Brother."
Advocate for reading and storytelling
On the nomination website, Ko is described not only as an author but also as a promoter of reading and storytelling.
This dual role is rooted in his long-standing commitment to reading education, which he carries out through lectures at schools across Korea. He has set records, delivering 300 lectures in a year, with a peak of 45 lectures in a single month.
It was this desire to improve societal attitudes toward disabilities that led Ko to write children's books. As his literary career took shape, his lectures followed suit. Ko said the goal is to give children a "rare" opportunity to hear firsthand accounts of people with disabilities.
"They say people with disabilities make up 10-15 percent of the global population. But you don't see them walking around, do you? Because they stay at home — they can't get out," Ko pointed out. "But when you don't know, you don't understand, and that's how prejudice begins."
Ko, a board member of the Korean branch of the International Board on Books for Young People, served as a judge for IBBY's Korean collection of Books for Young People with Disabilities. He noted that 87 children's books on disabilities were published in South Korea in 2024, specifically curated for the initiative.
"That's the number of submitted books, so there are likely even more out there," he said. "These days, disability-related themes are no longer rare — they even appear in shows like 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo.'"
"Writing good children's books is about changing the future," Ko said. "Children have pure souls; their minds are like blank canvases. The stories they read at a young age stay with them for life. I believe it's important that they read a diverse range of stories — stories about disabilities and ones with positive messages."
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