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link to original article : 독서도 나눔이 되나요? > 나눔 人 | Story | 한국장애인재단 웹진
"The moment you’re reading a book is when you have to delve into the moment. Unlike watching TV or youtube where you can just leave it on and do something else"
Park Jeongmin a famous book-loving actor, said this about the meaning of reading. He can’t read hundreds of books a year, but he enjoys doing almost all activities about a book. He not only reads, but he’s also a writer who writes books and publishes them as a book publisher. He opened a book cafe with a collection of his favorite books and he also enjoys discussions about books. This time, he shares the joy of reading with those who are alienated from reading. This move is aimed to give access to the blind people who can’t access the printed book through audiobook.
Among the things I can do, this is the most precious one
Park Jeongmin, who is busy with stage greetings for the movie "Smugglers," recently recorded his second book in the "Sorisori Masori" project. Sori Sori Masori is a project to produce audiobooks for the visually impaired, which has been organized by the Korea Foundation for the Disabled since 2022 with the support of Aladdin Communications. Last year, there were 100 audiobooks produced with 40 volunteers and donated them to the National Library for the Disabled.
If there are 100 books that non-disabled people can read in Korea, there are about six alternative materials (voice conversion and braille books) that blind people can access. According to a survey by the National Library for the Disabled, recorded books are used by 7 out of 10 visually impaired people and are alternative types of data that 6 people said were most needed. It was natural for him to participate in this reading service, which allowed more blind people to feel the joy of reading.
"as I was thinking about what kind of activities I could do that would be meaningful, I thought I should continue to volunteer to read for audiobooks. Since it (job as an actor) is not a job where I could make time regularly at fixed time, it has to be an activity where I could freely use my break time, so what I could start with was recording for audiobook."
It usually takes about 20 hours to record an audiobook. It might seem like all you have to do is read the book aloud, but it's not a simple task. The writer's concerns, intentions, and speech that was put on the printed paper should be intensely considered (while recording for the audiobook). For example, there is a phrase that makes you think, "so the writer wanted to make readers laugh lightly," and in some parts there is one that makes you think, "so the writer is trying to convey information seriously." The author’s tempo is also what grabs my attention. Especially when it comes to books written by Korean authors there are some that’s easier to feel the author’s tempo. In that case, I try harder to catch a tempo while reading . When I read a book while paying attention to such small details, the focus of my eyes becomes blurred and my tongue even feels stiff and my throat becomes hurt.
So, prior to recording audiobook Park Jeongmin would prepare his physical strength more instead of reading the book several times. “sleeping and eating well is the secret to do the long-hours recording” he said with a smile. That's true, usually audiobook reader volunteers sometimes find it hard to do recording for one to two hours at a time, but actor Park Jeongmin records for three to four hours at a time. Because of his busy schedule it’s difficult for him to be at recording studio often, although it is said he can multi-task at one time, it is difficult to do it with the usual concentration.
When asked if it is easier for him to record audiobook since there is a similarity in his job as an actor with reading scripts and delivering the contents through voice, he said that recording audiobook and acting preparation are completely different. While preparing for a project, he doesn’t practice his lines aloud. It's because he’s worried about “in case I’ll memorize the acting”. Even more, it consumes a lot of energy and emotion to deeply think about what the scene means and why the character would have said such a line in the movie. On the other hand, reading something in a certain format loudly is naturally have different feeling. For actor Park Jeongmin, this activity was a new challenge in many ways.
Until more people participate
Last year, Park Jeongmin participated as a special reading volunteer for "Sorisori Masori," an audiobook production project for the visually impaired. When Park Jeongmin first decided to participate in the reading service, it is hoped that the reading volunteers "Genie Supporters” would be recruited smoothly. It is thanks to Park Jeongmin s efforts. The results were good enough to overshadow worries. Like the supporters' name Genie, there were so many good people who wanted to share the gift of reading to the visually impaired. When he first heard during the interview that more than 500 people participated in the recruitment of “Genie supporters”, he just nodded calmly as if he was glad.
During the interview, it is reflected that the nature of Park Jeongmin is a very cautious and careful person. Since his job might be an influence to others even without his intention, he is always worried that it will have a negative impact. He said that even when he does something altruistic like donating talent, he’s worried that such activities will be seen as a self-promotion. However, he also explained that he would continue his audiobook production activities.
"If I can be an influence to others, I want to be a good influence. Because my job (is an actor), there are moments when it might seem like like I'm pretending to be doing these activities (volunteering). It looks like I'm pretending to do something for my job (for making him look good because he’s an actor). I don't want that, even more since I've started doing something meaningful, I want to do it consistently."
What would the future he look forward to like if these kind of efforts continue? Jeongmin thinks that if there are even more contents for the disabled, there will be wider choices for them. If the number of books such as philosophy books and economic books increases as well as novels and science books, the world that blind people can access will expand that much. Furthermore, what he’s doing are expected to help blind people know that such services are available.
A time that is like a gift to me, reading
The reason why he was able to show such passion for producing audiobooks, which is not easy, maybe because he has a deep affection for books. It was after entering college that Park Jeongmin first became interested in books and began reading them. He had a short part-time job at a stationery store in a local bookstore. There were not many customers, so he got time to spend, but at that time, there were no smartphones, so the only activity that could kill time was books. His first book at that time was by Kim Youngha, "I have the right to destroy myself." He finished the books more easily than he thought, and since then, he steadily read books and developed affection for it.
Last year, Park Jeongmin read "The Theory of Light and Matter" by American author Andrew Porter in his first audiobook (for the project). It was a book that he became interested in because the name was impressive, but he like it more because the psychological description is very delicate. Even though one isn’t the type to like the sentences of the translation*, the book expresses the emotion in detail that everyone would feel it as well, so he thought it would be nice for others to read them.
(*Jeongmin used the word 번역투 it’s a term that refers to a translation that is unnatural to the culture or expression that is not like a target language because it is excessively influenced by the source language, and the causes are socio-cultural factors, educational factors, and media factors.)
The second book he chosen for audiobook is a science book called <The Science Bluff of Orbit>. The reason he decided to record a popular science book because he was once fascinated by an introduction to science book. Park Jeongmin, is also close to YouTuber "궤도/ Orbit" (Unreal Science) who wrote the book. He also sympathized with the author's intention to popularize science, and thought this activity was meaningful in many ways.
It is difficult to read books at a fixed time because the filming schedule of movies or dramas is not regular. Usually, he has a lot of waiting time when he had to travel to countryside to filming. He sometimes play cell phone games while staying at the hotel, but after 1-2 hours, he gets bored quickly. It’s the right time to concentrate and read books for the longest time. He also try to read when he spend longer time at home. He tends to read one or two books a month, and the reason why he likes reading is because the time to read seems to be a gift to himself.
"When I read a book, I sit still and look into myself. Take the time to read, underline, and be influenced by someone's sentences. I like this kind of moment and the way I enjoy it. It's a world where there are so many things to enjoy like YouTube and Netflix, but that's why I think reading is more necessary in this day and age."
He chose author Lee Kiho's book as the next book he wants to read. He is a writer who writes novels that can be read lightly and has a lot of implications. For people who asked “How should I start if I want to make reading a habit but keep failing?” he said that it would be nice to develop "reading muscles."
"Reading muscles are the concentration and endurance to read books consistently and exclusively. Instead of trying to hit "3:500" (a term to do 3 weight training; squat, deadlift, bench press and one have to lift 500kg combined from the 3 workouts) from the beginning, someone with no muscles should start with a 2kg pink dumbbell. I think reading is the same. If you start with a light and interesting book, your muscles get bigger and bigger, creating a kind of "proudness." "Oh, I read this much." It's like this. When you get better, you'll think about lifting more “weight”. So you have to start with the books you're interested in. I think it's good to start with a comic book."
Something that we should do together
It is natural that the act of reading, which Jeongmin likes so much, needs efforts from society as a whole to become common to blind people. The proportion of alternative books in advanced countries such as the United States and Japan already exceeded 30% of all books in 2019. Meanwhile in South Korea the number is only in single digits, which is too insufficient.
Park Jeongmin knows something about the difficulties that visually impaired people and their families face. This is because one of his precious family members lost his sight in an accident three years ago. Around the same time, he set up a publishing company named “무제/Untitled” and published a book called “살리는 일” which unfortunately that family member of his couldn’t read. It's been a while since the accident, but Park Jeongmin still seemed to feel sorry. He also has a little sense of helplessness, "What did I do for my family who lost sight?" It was also one of the reasons that led him to record audiobooks.
Although 100 new audiobooks have been created through the blind audiobook production project, it can be difficult for blind people to know that there is such a service. The life of a blind person, which actor Park Jeongmin saw for a short time, it is difficult to be interested in books first. It is difficult to use the smartphone that we always hold on to, and we have to help someone use it next to us. The main channels for obtaining information are video platforms such as TV and YouTube. It is a way of consuming content by searching for the desired information by voice. Therefore, Park Jeongmin thought that services for the visually impaired need to be promoted a lot through such sound and video media.
When asked what he wanted to say to subscribers of “세상을 여는 틈” (the name of this webzine), Jeongmin said he thought they’re "very good people." The people who will see his interview will be those who consistently watch the content posted on the webzine if they are not his fans, and if so, those who are interested in the reality and treatment of the disabled. He says he knows that it will be difficult to be interested in others who are more difficult than me, it is overwhelming even to just live a full life.
Jeongmin also wanted to delivered a message of support to continue its efforts to look into the lives of others. It was until a few years ago, that the volunteer work he did was for high school activities. But now, he’s trying to continue what he started even if it’s small. He expressed his mind that he would be more encouraged if there were people who participated in this effort.
Actor Park Jeongmin who enjoys feeling the lives of various characters on the screen and listening to the stories of many people through the book. He, who describes himself as "lucky" to live such a life, now seems to have begun to take steps to share the gift-like experiences with people around him. Just as how he’s working hard as an actor, many people also looking forward for his future that will continue to expand the path of sharing. Just like his hope, we hope that more blind people will be able to experience happiness and joy after the reading.