Many people think disabled people are poorer than non-disabled people. However, there is a YouTube streamer who breaks this prejudice. A nineteen-year-old disabled YouTuber, creator of the channel "Studio GURU", lives a normal high school senior life while working on human rights for the disabled, women, and queer. While GURU mainly posts videos related to the human rights of disabled people, she often posts daily life as a student and ordinary YouTube content and is currently on a break for the scholastic ability test. 

▲ GURU`s YouTube channel ˝Studio GURU˝

GURU, who began airing YouTube in 2017, introduced herself as a disabled person from congenital cerebral palsy and posted videos criticizing hatred of minorities, including the disabled. Her nickname was based on the Korean word "Guruda" which means "rollover". She said in her first video that disabled people do not appear well on TV shows such as dramas, movies, and entertainment shows, so people may think there are only a few disabled people, but she wanted to let them know that disabled people live with healthy people. As well as videos about disabled rights, she posted videos about her common life, including decorating wheelchair, studying V-log, and more. Nowadays, she is taking a break and studying for a scholastic ability test in order to go on to the sociology department.

GURU has appeared in various human rights-related media since she began her YouTube career as a high school student and a human rights activist for the disabled. In a lecture program in which Korean teen rappers appear, she appeared as a special guest and said that she hates to be asked and told "When do you get better?" and "You look pretty for a disabled person." Also, she participated in interviews as an honorary ambassador of the South Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled and said that the disabled are not objects of sensation, they are just people. She also participated in the "Meet the YouTubers" event on the theme of "Diversity" and mentioned about why she started YouTube. She said that she thought something while watching TV or movies on why there are no disabled celebrities. Sometimes, when she watches a movie with a disabled person, it is just a new drama where a non-disabled person acts. Other than that, she could see disabled people on the show. She even said that it is going to create more discrimination because the media always show that. She thought she would do it, and she is not sorry. She started making videos to show that she is also disabled, and she is living like this.

▲ GURU asking ˝Why there are no disabled in TV?˝

▲ GURU in ˝Meet the YouTubers˝ event

In GURU's latest upload, she said that she will come back when the College Scholastic Ability Test and college entrance examinations are over with more diverse content and topics. She also thanked the fans for their warm support. Because of her effort, many people realized that the disabled are not poor or less distant than others, and they could give more attention to the human rights for the disabled.

November 2nd, 2019
By Lee Yeonseo