Disabled man hits the road to lift spirits, keep promise

Lee In-haeng, right, 47, crippled by polio, runs on a road in Wando County, South Jeolla, on Sept. 1 with his physical therapist, Lee Byeong-gu, 44. By Jang Jung-pil

In an effort to bring hope to the disabled, a disabled man in his 40s Saturday embarked on his goal of completing a cross-country walk.
Crippled by polio, Lee In-haeng, 47, left Wando County Office, South Jeolla in the pouring rain and walked 15.8 kilometers (9.8 miles) in 12 hours.
Lee’s goal is to accomplish a 32-day walk to Imjingak, the pavilion at the demilitarized zone seperating North and South Korea. He hopes to average 10 hours of walking a day.
During the trip, a physical therapist, Lee Byeong-gu, 44, will accompany Lee.
At the age of two Lee was stricken with polio. Since then he has learned to move by hopping two times on his left foot and then the right.
His therapist, Lee Byoeng-gu, also acts as a trainer. He holds Lee In-haeng’s hands when he walks, but Lee In-haeng becomes short-winded. Inevitably, Lee In-haeng has to stop to catch his breath.
He is walking the distance to keep a promise he made to himself 20 years ago and also to bring hope to the disabled. This cross-country trek is not the first one for Lee. In 1987, from Sept.1 to Oct. 2, he finished the 511-kilometer walk from Busan to Seoul. Completing the walk on the Gyeongbu line between Seoul and Busan, he pledged to walk the Honam line from Seoul to South Jeolla.
He started walking distances to overcome the agony he faced after graduating from college when he couldn’t get a job because of his disabilities. Lee currently operates a hanja, or Chinese calligraphy, center.
“At first my family didn’t like the idea of me walking so long, but now they are my biggest sponsors,” Lee said.

By Chun Chang-hwan JoongAng Ilbo [yhwang@joongang.co.kr]