Taking Aims At A New Lease On Life

[Drizzt]

Copyright 2002 Hankook Ilbo
Korea Times


July 10, 2002, Wednesday

LENGTH: 590 words

HEADLINE: Taking Aims at a New Lease on Life

Since the invention of gunpowder and guns, untold numbers of people have been killed in numerous wars and battles. For some people, however, these are inventions that have saved their lives.

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''I can say that shooting is sort of my life saver,'' said Pyun Moo-jo, who is participating in the week-long IPC World Shooting Championships at Hwasong shooting range in Kyonggi-do.

''It is a real thrill to my life,'' said the 48-year-old former soldier.

Pyun, who started serving in the army as a career soldier from 1975, has had to use a wheelchair since being injured in an accident in 1988 when a military truck overturned. Pyun began his new competitive career in lawn bowling, where the general object of the game is for participants to roll each of their bowls as close as possible to a single small white ball called the jack or kitty. ''In 1992, I went to England to participate in an international lawn bowls competition. There, I had used the same room with some shooting players. I have been interested in shooting since then because I was with my rifle all the time in the military,'' said Pyun, who finished in fourth place in an international air rifle competition in Denmark last August.

He said although he has a lot of experience of shooting in the army, it is a different world from the general shooting.

''That's totally different. In the army, the priority of shooting is to hit the targets accurately. In the general shooting competition, however, difference of 0.01 mm will decide the winner,'' he said.

The sport is not only a matter of micro-differences but also a matter of money. According to the Korean Disabled Shooting Association, it costs approximately 7 million won ($5,800) to purchase the basic equipment for rifle competition. Another 30 million won ($25,000) is needed to train an athlete per year.

''Disabled sports are viewed as a form of rehabilitation and recreation. But now, they have evolved into elaborate and highly competitive sports. Whenever I go abroad for international competitions, I feel that it is a war of money. It really is. If you don't support the sports financially, you can't survive in the world competition,'' Pyun explained adding that he feels a sense of alienation compared with other shooters who don't have disabilities.

''I am not asking to be treated the same as other able-bodied players. But we should be treated as similar as their levels,'' said Pyun, who runs his own small business to support his family.

Before the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, state pensions for the disabled medallists amounted to 30 percent of those for Olympic winners. So some 80 Paralympic competitors issued a statement, urging the government to increase the sports budget for them. After the rally, the government increased the pension for Paralympic medallists, raising it to 60 percent of that for Olympic winners.

Pyun's son Dae-su points out another problem within society toward disabled sports.

''Peoples' indifference, in particular the mass media, is another big hurdle for the development of the sports, too,'' he said. Dae-su is also working as a volunteer at the competition.

''They don't report a lot about the sports. Even if they do, there are only couple of sentences,'' he said adding that he would like to study about disabled sports in the future.

Despite a lack of support, Pyun Moo-jo doesn't give up. Rather, he aims at another target for his life.

''Many other bed-ridden disabled soldiers are in hospitals without any hopes for their lives. I would like to be a good example for them. I hope they pick up another type of gun and aim at a new target in their life. If they keep doing it, they will hit the target successfully someday.''