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A few years ago, a Japanese reporter arrived in Seoul with his family to work as a correspondent. Their first day in town, after unpacking at a hotel, they went out for a look around, taking their wheelchair-bound daughter. They attempted to walk from Gwanghwamun Intersection towards Sogong-dong, but the only way to cross the street were underpasses. They wandered for a while, trying to find a surface crossing, but eventually gave up. These days, several new crossings have been built near City Hall so that pedestrians can cross streets on the surface. But the streets in Seoul are still a jungle for the disabled.
ĒšSome time ago, a reporter from WithNews, an Internet newspaper associated with CAMP - Center for Asian Mission for the Poor, volunteered to tour downtown Seoul in a wheelchair. Small inclines which the reporter had never noticed on foot appeared like vast mountain ranges when viewed from the wheelchair. He found it hard to maneuver over small pavement bricks. He feared for life while passing through a narrow gap between the platform and the train at a subway station. Many wheelchair lifts were out of order. The walk signal at intersections didn't give him enough time to cross. He could understand what it meant when the disabled said they leave their homes "at the risk of their lives" and the streets were pure "hell."
ĒšMost American colleges operate support centers for the disabled. Hearing-impaired students can apply for sign language interpreters or written lecture notes. Special vans and buses arrive to pick up disabled elementary and secondary schoolchildren to take them to school and deliver them home. Special low loading-deck buses are also available for handicapped people who want to go to baseball games or concerts. The right to move about is a basic freedom that everyone, even the disabled, should enjoy.
ĒšThe 2007 7th Disabled Peoples' International World Assembly in Korea will be held at the Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX) in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, from Wednesday. The event will bring together some 2,600 disabled people from 160 countries. But because of the lack of elevators at the closest subway station, they will have to spend 20 minutes on the wheelchair lifts that will take them 100 meters up to reach the ground level. Many parts of the road from the subway station to the convention center are obstructed by uneven bricks. There are no specially marked sidewalks for the visually impaired. The stairways at their hotels and restaurants have no wheelchair ramps and many doors are too narrow.
ĒšScott Rains, a high-profile advocate and author on disabled travel says, "You can't be happy if you just stay home." Travel to advanced countries and it's quite common to meet handicapped people on the street. Those countries encourage the handicapped to come out with carefully designed facilities and special environments that allow comfortable and easy access. In contrast, there are no handicapped people seen on the streets of North Korea. I hope that the DPI World Assembly in Korea will provide our country with an opportunity to remove the mental wall that was impervious to the pain and discomfort of the disabled.
This column was contributed by Chosun Ilbo in-house columnist Kang In-sun.
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