ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dong Woo Jang - Bow designer
Dong Woo Jang turns an unusual stick of bamboo into an archer’s bow, an exploration of his cultural heritage and a metaphor for his perfect world.

Why you should listen

His parents wouldn’t let him play video games, so Dong Woo Jang had to invent other ways to entertain himself in and around his Seoul apartment. First, he studied spider anatomy and hunting skills for three years, creating their habitat in his room. Next, Dong headed outside, where he picked up fallen tree branches and turned them into archery bows.

Later, while researching the age-old craft, he discovered that his optimal design was strikingly similar to that of his ancestors. Though he concedes that, during his process of “fixing, breaking, redesigning, mending, bending, and amending” bows, he accidently set his building on fire. The 15-year-old says that working with wood -- and traveling back and forth in time -- makes him feel free.

More profile about the speaker
Dong Woo Jang | Speaker | TED.com
TED2013

Dong Woo Jang: The art of bow-making

Dong Woo Jang: A arte de fazer arcos

Filmed:
2,472,005 views

O hobby que Dong Woo Jang pratica após as aulas é bastante incomum. Jang, que deu esta palestra aos 15 anos, conta como viver em Seul, uma selva de pedra, inspirou-o a confeccionar o arco perfeito. Veja-o demonstrar como funciona um de seus magníficos arcos feitos a mão.
- Bow designer
Dong Woo Jang turns an unusual stick of bamboo into an archer’s bow, an exploration of his cultural heritage and a metaphor for his perfect world. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
It is said that the grass is always greener
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Dizem que a grama é sempre mais verde
00:16
on the other side of the fence,
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do outro lado da cerca,
00:19
and I believe this is true,
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e acho que é verdade,
00:22
especially when I hear President Obama
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especialmente quando ouço o presidente Obama
00:25
often talk about the Korean education system
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falando sobre o sistema educacional da Coreia,
00:27
as a benchmark of success.
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como se fosse um modelo de sucesso.
00:31
Well, I can tell you that,
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Bom, eu digo que
00:33
in the rigid structure and highly competitive nature
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na estrutura rígida e na
natureza altamente competitiva
00:37
of the Korean school system,
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do sistema educacional coreano,
00:39
also known as pressure cooker,
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também conhecido como "panela de pressão",
00:41
not everyone can do well in that environment.
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nem todo mundo se dá bem com esse ambiente.
00:47
While many people responded in different ways
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Muitos reagem de maneiras diferentes
00:50
about our education system,
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ao nosso sistema educacional,
00:53
my response to the high-pressure environment
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mas minha reação a esse
ambiente de alta pressão
00:56
was making bows with pieces of wood
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foi começar a fazer arcos
com pedaços de madeira
00:59
found near my apartment building.
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que achei perto do meu prédio.
01:02
Why bows?
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Por que arcos?
01:04
I'm not quite sure.
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Não sei muito bem.
01:07
Perhaps, in the face of constant pressure,
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Talvez, diante da pressão constante,
01:11
my caveman instinct of survival
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meus instintos de sobrevivência
de homem das cavernas
01:13
has connected with the bows.
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se ligaram aos arcos.
01:18
If you think about it,
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E se você parar pra pensar,
01:19
the bow has really helped drive human survival
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o arco ajudou muito
na sobrevivência do homem
01:23
since prehistoric times.
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desde a pré-história.
01:25
The area within three kilometers of my home
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Toda a área até três quilômetros da minha casa
01:29
used to be a mulberry forest
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já foi uma floresta de amoreiras,
01:31
during the Joseon dynasty,
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na dinastia Joseon,
01:33
where silkworms were fed with mulberry leaves.
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quando os bichos-da-seda eram
alimentados com folhas de amora.
01:38
In order to raise the historical awareness of this fact,
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Para conscientizar a população
sobre esse fato histórico,
01:42
the government has planted mulberry trees.
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o governo mandou plantar amoreiras.
01:47
The seeds from these trees
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As sementes das árvores que plantaram
01:48
also have spread by birds here and there
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foram sendo espalhadas pelos passarinhos
01:51
nearby the soundproof walls of the city expressway
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por toda parte, perto dos muros à prova de som
01:55
that has been built around the 1988 Olympics.
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da via expressa que construíram
nas Olimpíadas de 1988.
01:59
The area near these walls,
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As áreas próximas a esses muros,
02:02
which nobody bothers to pay attention to,
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às quais ninguém se dá ao
trabalho de prestar atenção,
02:05
had been left free from major intervention,
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ficaram livres de grandes intervenções,
02:08
and this is where I first found my treasures.
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e foi lá que eu encontrei meus tesouros.
02:14
As I fell deeper into bow making,
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Á medida que eu me aprofundava
em fazer arcos,
02:17
I began to search far and beyond my neighborhood.
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comecei a procurar em lugares
mais distantes, fora do meu bairro.
02:21
When I went on school field trips,
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Quando saía pra passeios da escola,
02:23
family vacations, or simply on my way home
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férias com minha família,
ou até voltando pra casa
02:26
from extracurricular classes,
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depois das aulas extracurriculares,
02:29
I wandered around wooded areas
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eu ia passear nas áreas arborizadas
02:31
and gathered tree branches
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e pegava galhos de árvores
02:33
with the tools that I sneaked inside my school bag.
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com as ferramentas que eu escondia na mochila.
02:37
And they would be somethings like saws, knives,
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Seriam coisas como serras, facas,
02:41
sickles and axes
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foices e machados,
02:43
that I covered up with a piece of towel.
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cobertos com um pano.
02:48
I would bring the branches home,
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Eu levava os galhos pra casa,
02:50
riding buses and subways,
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de ônibus e metrô,
02:52
barely holding them in my hands.
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quase sem segurá-los.
02:55
And I did not bring the tools here to Long Beach.
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E, não, eu não trouxe as ferramentas
pra cá, em Long Beach.
02:59
Airport security.
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Segurança do aeroporto.
03:00
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
03:02
In the privacy of my room, covered in sawdust,
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Na privacidade do meu quarto,
coberto de serragem,
03:06
I would saw, trim and polish wood all night long
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eu serrava, podava e polia a madeira a noite toda,
03:10
until a bow took shape.
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até que tomasse a forma de um arco.
03:13
One day, I was changing the shape of a bamboo piece
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Um dia, eu tentei mudar a forma de um bambu
03:17
and ended up setting the place on fire.
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e acabei pondo fogo no lugar.
03:22
Where? The rooftop of my apartment building,
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Onde? No terraço do meu prédio,
03:27
a place where 96 families call home.
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o lar de 96 famílias.
03:30
A customer from a department store across from my building
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Um cliente de uma loja do outro lado da rua
03:33
called 911,
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chamou a polícia
03:34
and I ran downstairs to tell my mom
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e eu saí correndo escada abaixo,
pra contar pra minha mãe,
03:37
with half of my hair burned.
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com metade do cabelo queimado.
03:42
I want to take this opportunity
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Eu quero aproveitar essa oportunidade
03:44
to tell my mom, in the audience today:
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pra dizer pra minha mãe,
que está aqui na plateia:
03:48
Mom, I was really sorry,
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mãe, eu me arrependi muito,
03:50
and I will be more careful with open fire from now on.
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e terei mais cuidado com o fogo
daqui pra frente.
03:54
My mother had to do a lot of explaining,
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Minha mãe teve que dar muitas explicações,
03:56
telling people that her son did not commit
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dizendo às pessoas que o filho dela
03:59
a premeditated arson.
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não causou um incêndio premeditado.
04:05
I also researched extensively on bows around the world.
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Eu também pesquisei exaustivamente
arcos de todo o mundo.
04:09
In that process, I tried to combine
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Ao longo da pesquisa, tentei combinar
04:11
the different bows from across time and places
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os diferentes arcos de várias épocas e lugares
04:13
to create the most effective bow.
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para criar o arco mais eficiente de todos.
04:17
I also worked with many different types of wood,
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Também trabalhei com muitos tipos de madeira,
04:20
such as maple, yew and mulberry,
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como bordo, teixo e amoreira,
04:23
and did many shooting experiments
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e pratiquei meus disparos
04:25
in the wooded area near the urban expressway
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na área arborizada perto da via expressa
04:27
that I mentioned before.
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de que falei anteriormente.
04:30
The most effective bow for me
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O arco mais eficiente de todos, para mim,
04:32
would be like this.
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seria desse jeito.
04:35
One: Curved tips can maximize the springiness
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Um: extremidades curvas que
maximizam a flexibilidade
04:39
when you draw and shoot the arrow.
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quando você prepara e dispara a flecha.
04:43
Two: Belly is drawn inward for higher draw weight,
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Dois: a parte da frente é voltada
para dentro, para maior apertura,
04:47
which means more power.
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que significa mais força.
04:51
Three: Sinew used in the outer layer of the limb
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Três: tendões na camada externa da lâmina
04:55
for maximum tension storage.
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para maximizar o acúmulo de tensão.
04:58
And four: Horn used to store energy in compression.
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E quatro: chifres, utilizados para acumular
mais energia na compressão.
05:07
After fixing, breaking, redesigning,
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Depois de muito consertar, quebrar, redesenhar,
05:10
mending, bending and amending,
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juntar, curvar e emendar,
05:12
my ideal bow began to take shape,
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meu arco ideal começou a tomar forma,
05:16
and when it was finally done,
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e quando finalmente acabou,
05:20
it looked like this.
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ficou assim.
05:24
I was so proud of myself
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Eu fiquei tão orgulhoso
05:26
for inventing a perfect bow on my own.
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por ter inventado sozinho o arco perfeito.
05:32
This is a picture of Korean traditional bows
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Essa é uma foto de arcos tradicionais coreanos
05:36
taken from a museum,
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tiradas em um museu,
05:38
and see how my bow resembles them.
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e repare como meu arco se parece com eles.
05:43
Thanks to my ancestors
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Sou grato a meus ancestrais,
05:45
for robbing me of my invention. (Laughter)
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por roubar minha invenção de mim. (Risos)
05:51
Through bowmaking,
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Confeccionando arcos,
05:53
I came in contact with part of my heritage.
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entrei em contato com parte
da minha herança cultural.
05:56
Learning the information that has accumulated over time
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Descobrir o conhecimento
que foi se acumulando através do tempo
06:00
and reading the message left by my ancestors
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e ler a mensagem deixada por meus ancestrais
06:02
were better than any consolation therapy
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foram melhores do que qualquer terapia
06:05
or piece of advice any living adults could give me.
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ou conselho que qualquer
adulto vivo poderia me dar.
06:10
You see, I searched far and wide,
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Vejam, eu havia procurado
pelos lugares mais distantes,
06:13
but never bothered to look close and near.
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mas nunca me preocupei
com os lugares mais próximos.
06:16
From this realization,
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Quando percebi isso,
06:19
I began to take interest in Korean history,
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comecei a me interessar pela história da Coreia,
06:21
which had never inspired me before.
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que nunca tinha me inspirado antes.
06:25
In the end, the grass is often greener
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No final das contas, a grama é mais verde
06:28
on my side of the fence,
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do meu lado da cerca,
06:30
although we don't realize it.
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embora a gente não perceba.
06:33
Now, I am going to show you how my bow works.
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Agora, vou lhes mostrar como meu arco funciona.
06:38
And let's see how this one works.
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E vamos ver como funciona este aqui.
06:43
This is a bamboo bow,
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Esse é um arco de bambu,
06:45
with 45-pound draw weights.
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com apertura de 20 quilos.
06:49
(Noise of shooting arrow)
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(Som de flecha sendo disparada)
06:51
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
07:00
A bow may function in a simple mechanism,
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Um arco pode funcionar
com um mecanismo simples,
07:04
but in order to make a good bow,
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mas para fazer um bom arco,
07:07
a great amount of sensitivity is required.
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é necessária muita sensibilidade.
07:11
You need to console and communicate
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Você precisa consolar e se comunicar
07:13
with the wood material.
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com o material de madeira.
07:16
Each fiber in the wood
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Cada fibra da madeira
07:18
has its own reason and function for being,
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tem sua própria função e motivo de estar lá,
07:21
and only through cooperation and harmony among them
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e só através da cooperação
e da harmonia entre elas
07:24
comes a great bow.
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pode surgir um grande arco.
07:28
I may be an [odd] student
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Eu posso até ser um estudante estranho,
07:29
with unconventional interests,
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com interesses pouco convencionais,
07:32
but I hope I am making a contribution
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mas espero estar fazendo uma contribuição
07:34
by sharing my story with all of you.
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compartilhando minha história com vocês.
07:38
My ideal world is a place
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Meu mundo ideal é um lugar
07:41
where no one is left behind,
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em que ninguém seja deixado para trás
07:43
where everyone is needed exactly where they are,
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onde todos sejam necessários
exatamente onde estão,
07:46
like the fibers and the tendons in a bow,
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como as fibras e os tendões de um arco,
07:50
a place where the strong is flexible
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um lugar onde os fortes são flexíveis
07:53
and the vulnerable is resilient.
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e os vulneráveis são resilientes.
07:57
The bow resembles me,
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O arco se parece comigo,
07:58
and I resemble the bow.
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e eu me pareço com o arco.
08:01
Now, I am shooting a part of myself to you.
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Agora, estou disparando uma
parte de mim para vocês.
08:06
No, better yet, a part of my mind
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Ou melhor, uma parte da minha mente
08:09
has just been shot over to your mind.
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acaba de ser disparada para as suas mentes.
08:12
Did it strike you?
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Sentiram o impacto?
08:14
Thank you.
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Obrigado.
08:16
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Ryan Martinez
Reviewed by Gustavo Rocha

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dong Woo Jang - Bow designer
Dong Woo Jang turns an unusual stick of bamboo into an archer’s bow, an exploration of his cultural heritage and a metaphor for his perfect world.

Why you should listen

His parents wouldn’t let him play video games, so Dong Woo Jang had to invent other ways to entertain himself in and around his Seoul apartment. First, he studied spider anatomy and hunting skills for three years, creating their habitat in his room. Next, Dong headed outside, where he picked up fallen tree branches and turned them into archery bows.

Later, while researching the age-old craft, he discovered that his optimal design was strikingly similar to that of his ancestors. Though he concedes that, during his process of “fixing, breaking, redesigning, mending, bending, and amending” bows, he accidently set his building on fire. The 15-year-old says that working with wood -- and traveling back and forth in time -- makes him feel free.

More profile about the speaker
Dong Woo Jang | Speaker | TED.com

Data provided by TED.

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