Hearing-impaired shooter shines

[Anchor]

Despite being born with a hearing impairment, there is an athlete who has set a new Korean record in shooting for the general category.

This is Kim Woo-rim, a male air rifle shooter.

Reporter Lee Mu-hyung met Kim Woo-rim, who aims to bloom as a national representative despite his disability.

[Report]

The shooting range is filled with the sound of gunfire.

However, for Kim Woo-rim, who pulls the trigger of the rifle, it is just silence.

["I am Kim Woo-rim, a shooting athlete from the Boeun County Office. I have a level 2 hearing impairment and I am currently a national representative for the Deaflympics."]

For Kim Woo-rim, who has been unable to hear since birth, shooting, which he started by chance in the sixth grade, has become everything in his life.

Despite not being able to learn sign language properly and using the same hearing aid for 20 years, he learned how to communicate with the world through shooting.

["While shooting, I found a phrase that resonates with my life and shooting career. It means 'Wait, and have hope,' which signifies not losing hope while enduring through adversity."]

Using this determination as a stepping stone, Kim Woo-rim has grown step by step.

Since last year, his scores have gradually increased, and in May of this year, he shot a score of 635.2 points in the Daegu Mayor's Cup, becoming the first hearing-impaired athlete to hold a general category Korean record.

["I think of it as a sport where I fight only against myself, not against others. The effort to seize only my strengths seems to have made my skills grow endlessly."]

Currently leading the national team selection series, Kim Woo-rim is determined to get one step closer to wearing the Taegeuk mark at this year's President's Cup competition.

["My mother taught me that my disability is a blessing. If I keep hope and endure life, one day the flowers will bear fruit, and I can live a life of sharing with the earth. I want to be an athlete who remains in the memory of everyone in the world."]

This is Lee Mu-hyung from KBS News.