Lee Moon-tae, the former executive director of entertainment at Korean Broadcasting System, says he wants people to leave the Ceremonies "feeling uplifted, joyful and, crucially, more educated about the Paralympic Games, more educated about the world for people with an impairment".

He has also outlined the themes of the two Ceremonies.

"The major theme will be harmony, with a huge number of people performing together," he said.

"We want to show a sphere of co-existence, showing harmony between people with and without impairments.

"The key theme of the Opening Ceremony is 'Passion moves us' - a call to open up to a new world of co-existence.

"The theme of the Closing Ceremony is 'We move the world.'"

Lee says he has enjoyed the creative freedom he has been given for the Paralympic Ceremonies as opposed to the more commercially-orientated Olympic Ceremonies.

"The Olympic Games are about showing the world 'this is Korea,'" he said.

"They will inevitably focus on some of the commercial elements as well but, for us, we are about celebrating humanity.

"We will show off Korea's beauty, the sense of merriment, our traditions, but we want to highlight more the challenges humans face and the victories they achieve."

Lee also hopes that the upcoming Games here will aid the development of Para-sport in South Korea.

"We will showcase the six major sports," he said.

"I want to create a market for Para-sport.

"I want to inspire businesses to invest in the Para-sport market.

"I hope, for instance, that in Gangneung there will be a wheelchair curling venue kept as a legacy, so Para-sport starts to generate revenue.

"In Canada (hosts of the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver), for example, there are lots of wheelchair curling events attended by the public."

Lee has insisted on a full South Korean cast in the Ceremonies, despite a lack of accomplished actors with an impairment in the host country.

This means the Ceremonies will star local able-bodied actors alongside disabled ones in a bid to emphasise unity.

"For the extinguishing of the flame, we will have a mixture of able-bodied performers and those with an impairment," Lee said.

"It's a really important signal."

One of the problems Lee faces, however, is a low level of local interest in the Games. 

With this in mind, he has called on the Pyeongchang 2018 Organising Committee to launch a final promotion campaign. 

"We hope a concerted campaign is staged to publicise the Paralympic Games," Lee said.

The Opening Ceremony for the 2018 Winter Paralympics is scheduled to take place at the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium on Friday (March 9).

The Closing Ceremony is due to be held at the same venue on March 18.