EBS introduces a young autistic character, Byeori, in Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten

Byeori, a character with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) who appears on the EBS children’s TV show, Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten. Courtesy of EBS

A character with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) will appear on the EBS television series, Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten, for the first time in a Korean TV show for children.

On August 15, EBS announced, “We have created Byeori, a character with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), on the children’s show, Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten, to provide an opportunity for our audience to learn and understand the characteristics of children with developmental disabilities,” and said, “It is another challenge for Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten to help children accept a broader spectrum of values, such as diversity, respect and boundaries, in infancy and childhood when they establish their attitudes and awareness of other people.” In the past, Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten introduced a child from a multicultural family and a character overturning stereotypes on gender roles.

This will be the first time an autistic character will appear on a Korean children’s show. In the U.S., Julia, a character with ASD, appeared on the popular children’s show Sesame Street (PBS) in 2016. The show explained, from the eye-level of children, how to play with Julia and received a warm welcome from both families with autistic children and families without disabilities.

Byeori in Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten shakes her arms and body. She is sensitive to sound, and she shows a keen interest in toy cars. Byeori enjoys naming vehicles with difficult names just by looking at a toy vehicle, but can react strongly when she hears a car honk or other loud noises.

Byeori will make her first appearance in “Hi, Byeori,” an episode scheduled to air on August 18. In the episode, the kids at Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten meet Byeori, and the teacher describes Byeori’s unique characteristics to the children. The teacher says, “If we can know and understand what Byeori is thinking, then we are already prepared to be friends,” and stresses the value of integrated education.

The producers deliberated over the creation of Byeori. They sought the advice of experts to realistically portray the characteristics of a child with ASD, studied books on the topic and interviewed families with children with ASD. As the word “spectrum” indicates, the disorder has a wide range of symptoms, so the producers had a hard time trying to explain and portray the disorder. They met several times to discuss the matter. They also collaborated with the writer and the editor of The Box Child, a children’s book on communication written from the perspective of artists with developmental disabilities to create Byeori’s theme song and music video.

The show’s producers continued and said, “Children with developmental disabilities are also members of our society, and we really hope that this can become a foundation for seeking answers to the question, ‘What do we need in our society right now for us to live together with them?’”

However, the show’s introduction stirred controversy after describing that in the first episode, “Byeori does not appear as a student at Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten, but as a member of society who naturally meets the other kids while living in Ding Dong Dang Village.” In the online viewer’s board, people posted opinions that children with ASD also went to kindergarten and received integrated education.

On August 16, the producers of the show released a statement and said that they contemplated the most natural way to introduce the new character Byeori and how she would become a member of the Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten in the future. They explained that in the following episodes after her debut, they wanted to show Byeori joining the group playing and learning at Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten and that they have already prepared the following episodes.

They also said, “The aim of Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten is clear. No child should be subject to discrimination or exclusion, and in order to convey the values of understanding and respect, we must understand the circumstances of other people.”