1.

Introduction
The story revolves around a mentally ill father, Yong-go, and his lovely daughter, Yesung. It all started when Yong-go and Ye-Sung visited a storefront with a coveted Sailor
Moon backpack on display and Yong-go was desperately wanting to purchase the bag for YeSungs first day of school. However, the last bag they were eyeing was purchased by the
Chief Commissioner of the National Police Agency for his daughter so Yong-go and his
daughter rushed in the store to try and stop them. Yong-go was then physically assaulted by
the Chief Commissioner.
One day, the Chief Commissioners daughter, Ji-Young approached Yong-go to tell
him that there is another store that sells the same backpack. Yong-go follows the little girl and
shortly after, hears a sudden and short scream. He ends up finding the girl lying in the street
with a head wound, and doesnt understand enough to know that shes dead. He only knows
the CPR routine that his employers trained him in, so in his efforts to revive the girl, he
applies the CPR technique on her. A woman in her late 40s wrongly witnessed his action and
with her perceived misconception accuses him for the death and murder of the girl. Yong go
is then incarcerated by the big house and sent to cell no. 7, the harshest cell in a maximum
security prison.
What follows is a story that takes place in two time periods. Theres the modern
storyline, where the Ye Sung is all grown-up and works as a lawyer to clear Yong-Gos name
and the flashback to 1997, the year that her father was accused and imprisoned in Cell No. 7.
It was there that he met the cellmates who at first scorned Yong-Go for the crime he
committed but after Yong go rescued the gang leader, Yang Ho, the cellmates would become
not only his friends but also family to him and his daughter after they devise an (admittedly
improbable) plan to sneak her into the prison. The chief jail warden who first scorned him
with the cell mates have also came to realise that Yong-go is an innocent young man and was
incapable of even hurting a fly. Together, the cell mates drilled Yong-Go on what to say
during his testimonial that would prove his innocence before his appeal in court. However,
Yong-Go was blackmailed by the Chief Commissioner to lie by admitting he committed his
crime or else Ye-Sung will be harmed. Thus, Yang-Ho wanting to protect his daughter
admitted he committed the crime he was framed for and was sentenced to death. In the
present, Ye Sung was able to prove her fathers innocence and she brought justice to his
name.
The word miracle used in the movie title is used to describe the miracle, Ye-Sung
and her series of meeting with her father in prison.

2. The character that you like most in the movie and reasons for adoring
the character.

The character I like most in the movie, Miracle in cell no. 7 is Ye-Sung. There are
several reasons for why I adore this character so much.
Firstly, I like Ye-Sung because she loves her father unconditionally despite him being
mentally challenged. Ye-Sungs love for her father is shown when she was taken away from
her imprisoned father, and she was hospitalized because she refused to eat. When the Chief
Warden visited her, she asked him to arrest her too. She could not imagine a day living
without her fathers company.
Besides that, I like Ye-Sung because she is a very responsible young, little girl for her
age. She is like the parent of their little family, no matter the fact that shes only a child. She
manages the household finances, pays the bills, and keeps her dad on track for the simple job
he holds in order to keep the pair of them afloat.
Furthermore, Ye-Sung is a very caring daughter. She advises her father on simple
matters like not to drink tap water, but only boiled water and to not eat snacks for lunch but
have proper food before he goes off for work. On the day of Yong-gos death sentence, she
even promised him that she will get perfect scores and come see him. She also mentioned to
Yong-go not to worry about her when he has gone to a better place.
Moreover, I like Ye-Sung because she is very determined. She grew up to become a
lawyer so that she could re-open the case to exonerate her father and after an emotional court
battle, she was finally able to prove her father's innocence although it was too late since
Yong-Go was sentenced to death.
Lastly, Ye-Sung is a very kind-hearted person. She taught her fathers cell mate, YangHo how to read and write, who eventually turned over a new leaf and became a pastor at a
church. She also snuck in her classmates cell phone into the prison cell so one of the cell
mates could make a call to his beloved.

3. A) What would you do if one of my family members has the syndrome

as Yong-Go (The father in the story)

If one of my family members for example my son has the syndrome as Yong-Go, I will
find the best treatment for him barring all expenses. Besides, I will see to his needs every day.
I will send him for special skills training to a special home for special needs people so that he
will be able to acquire the necessary skills needed to care for himself and be able to be part of
my family institution and society. I will ensure that my brother will not develop inferior
complex but will be able to be confident and normal in his thoughts and behaviour. In
addition, I will employ a nanny to take care of him whilst I am away at work. If my brother is
a preteen or an adolescent, I will not stop him from having proper education. I will send him
to a school that has specially trained educators for teaching mentally impaired students and
have a private tutor to teach him so he will enjoy learning while at the same time develop
skill training. When he grows up into an adult, I will encourage my brother to work and I
will help him find a job that requires him to use the special skills learnt. I will ensure that his
employer understands and accepts his medical condition and does not strain or put pressure
on him during working hours. I will also be aware of my other family members feelings and
treatment towards him so that he or he will feel contented and is able to be connected with the
others. I will ensure there is no discrimination or biasness of treatment towards him. I believe
every other family member should understand and accept his condition. Therefore, I will
arrange for them to do their part by accompanying him in doing daily chores and
communicating and helping out in any way possible. I will also bring him for trips and
sightseeing so that he will feel loved and accepted by others.
I also believe that I need the support and help of other families who face similar
problems with their mentally challenged children or family members. Therefore, I will join
social support groups who care for special needs people such as Kiwanis Down Syndrom and
become a member so that I will be able to gain knowledge and experience in handling my
brother through the various discussions and therapy these group conduct. At the same time, I
will bring my brother for talks and therapy conducted so that he will be able to socialise with
the others. I believe that when I am able to accept his condition and work towards making
him fit into society, he will not see his mental or physical disabilities as obstacles but instead
use it as strength to progress in life. In short, the love, care, understanding and support given
to my mentally challenged or special needs family member will allow him to overcome the
disability.

B) Do you think Malaysia is a country that provides adequate facilities and

fair treatments toward special needs people?

In my opinion, I think Malaysia provides adequate facilities and fair treatment

towards special needs people. However, the efforts towards fulfilling these needs are still
inadequate and needs to be further enhanced. For example, in the field of education, special
needs people seem to be marginalised from the mainstream. This can be seen in terms of the
facilities provided in schools. While there are many schools built in the country to provide
education for our children, facilities such as special toilets and walkways is lacking. Not all
schools are built with such needs for the disabled especially in the rural area where funds to
incorporate these facilities are also lacking. As such, the needs of these special group of
people in not taken into account. Therefore, these special groups of people may face
difficulties using the facilities in the schools and may refrain from attending school after all.
In addition, Malaysia is still lacking in having special therapists, training centres,
trainers and counsellors to address the needs of these special needs people. Schools and
institutions of higher learning are not equipped with special training rooms for these special
needs children to enhance their motor skills. It is also costly for the government to build such
schools equipped with these facilities as education in Malaysia is seen as a need to address
the needs of the majority and in this instance special needs children are often neglected and
marginalised from the mainstream or even excluded from obtaining general education
although there are policies governing their needs. As such, the problem still exists in finding
the forms of schooling for these special needs children that will enable them to experience
success in their learning.
Besides that, these special needs people may also face discrimination in the
workforce. In Malaysia, although these people are recognised as belonging to a special
category, they are not given enough opportunities to enter the workforce. Many job sectors do
not employ them. Most of them do not hold high positions at work for fear and
misconception that they are unfit or unable to do the task required. The publics perception of
their capabilities is also undermined by biasness at work. Most often, these special needs
people end up doing odd jobs for example working in small cottage industries such as pottery,
clothes, or food industries. There are not enough jobs set up for these special needs people
that portray their abilities. Most often the wages paid out to them is also minimal due to their
disabilities.
The curriculum in our country also does not cater enough for the needs of these
special needs people. For example, in the field of sports and physical education, Malaysia
still lacks having enough facilities and training for these special needs people. There is a lack
of good trainers who are trained to coach and support these special need children in physical
education for example. Most often these special needs children do not attend normal school
as they are unable to follow the syllabus which caters only for the normal mainstream. Most
of the training centres are in urban or town centres and only the rich are able to send their
children there as the fees is costly. The field of sports such as Paralympics is still not fully
developed. While Malaysia has sent a team of athletes for special games such as Paralympics
sports, the number is still very small as the emphasis for special education for these special
needs children is still lacking.
Public amenities and facilities for special needs people are also inadequate. Although
there is awareness that these groups of people exist in our society, our government, NGOs
and the public need to provide more amenities to ensure their safety and facilitate their
movement in daily life. For example, building more special toilets in public places such as

supermarkets, hypermarkets; having special seats in transports such as busses, commuter

trains and even elevated floors so that they could be comfortable to move around.
In conclusion, Malaysia has acknowledged the existence of special needs people in
our society and though efforts are being made to provide adequate facilities and fair
treatments towards them, it is still inadequate and lacking. Perhaps a larger portion of the
countrys budget, when tabled and approved in Parliament should be allocated to this special
needs people so that their needs are addressed in a fair manner as others.