Actress Kim Hee-ae, who narrated KBS's four-part grand documentary series for the corporation's founding, 'Seongmul,' tells the story of a boy in Ethiopia who dreams of becoming a priest but faces a harsh reality.
The first episode, 'The covenant,' of KBS's four-part grand documentary series for the corporation's founding, 'Seongmul' (producer Kim Dong-il, Lee Song-eun, Kim Eun-gon), which premieres at 10 p.m. on the 3rd, highlights the Tabot, an ark of the covenant said to bear the Ten Commandments that Moses received from God. Much of Ethiopia is a highland plateau, and a sacred relic carrying a mysterious promise has been passed down there. The Tabot is a replica of the ark of the covenant said to contain the Ten Commandments, but Ethiopian Orthodox believers consider the Tabot and the ark of the covenant to be the same and revere the Tabot. The Tabot, which holds the mystery of God, is always covered and can be seen only by the priest who guards the church. However, once a year during Timkat, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's largest festival commemorating the baptism of Jesus, held every January, the Tabot, which no one normally sees, comes out into the world for a single day.
In northern Ethiopia's Tigray region is the Gheralta area, where rugged mountain ranges and dizzying cliffs hang like a folding screen. Kebrrom, a 13-year-old boy born and raised in the Gheralta area, is poor but bright. Since 2020, a bloody civil war has raged in Tigray between the Ethiopian government forces and rebel groups. After three years the gunfire has stopped, but the war took countless lives and property. In this land of long drought and poverty, Kebrrom mentioned the sacred place here, the Abuna Yemata Guh church, saying, "I believe God protected my family so everyone is alive without injury." Abuna Yemata Guh church is located in a place reachable only by climbing a 300-meter vertical cliff with bare hands, making it difficult for anyone to go. The Tabot is kept there, and people in the Gheralta area believe this place has sacred power.
Kebrrom considers the time he climbs to the church and meets God to be his happiest. He also wants to become a priest someday, guard the Tabot at Abuna Yemata Guh church and be a support to his family and village. Kebrrom confesses, "I feel joy every time I read the Bible. If I become a priest someday, I want to share what I have learned with people and lead them on the right path." Narrator Kim Hee-ae warned of the harsh reality Kebrrom will face, saying, "The path to becoming a priest may be more treacherous than climbing a cliff." Kebrrom's older brother, who also dreamed of becoming a priest, became a deacon but was unable to complete his studies and left for the capital, Addis Ababa, to earn money. In a harsh reality where poverty still presses on their lives and the wounds of the civil war have not yet healed, the journey of faith to see whether the boy Kebrrom, who wants to become a priest, can overcome the arduous path and safely achieve his dream will be revealed in the broadcast.
KBS's four-part grand documentary series for the corporation's founding, 'Seongmul,' premieres with episode 1, 'The covenant,' the story of Ethiopian boy Kebrrom, at 10 p.m. on the 3rd. Episode 2, 'The invitation,' airs at 10 p.m. on the 4th; episode 3, 'The word,' at 10 p.m. on the 5th; and episode 4, 'The heart,' at 10 p.m. on the 12th on KBS1.
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