Source: The Korea Herald, 2005-05-19
Following is the second article in a two-part series examining the problems of disabled people in the nation and possible solutions.
Although the government estimates there are 1.6 million disabled people in Korea and civil activist groups say there are 4.5 million, "Where are they?" is a question which many ask.
It reflects the isolation in which the disabled live. Despite the apparent invisibility of the disabled population, however, what is currently going on behind the scenes is a volatile and compelling movement for a new law to protect disabled rights.
"Go anywhere in the world and see if you can find a nation with a more dynamic activist movement. Korea has gained the greatest momentum for change in the rights of the disabled right now," said Shin Yong-ho, director of the Research Institute of the Differently Abled Persons Rights in Korea. Civil activists fighting for the rights of the disabled are themselves disabled, making them more passionate about the urgency of the issue at hand.
The formation of a coalition of 68 organizations, the Joint Association Struggling for the Human Rights of the Disabled, and government efforts to meet their demands have created an opportunity to address the injustice and discrimination that affect the disabled.
On the most practical level, what Korea needs is the basic infrastructure to support the daily lives and mobility of the disabled population - an elevator in every subway station, buses with lower platforms which people in wheelchairs can easily access, buildings and bathrooms with wheelchair ramps.
Most disabled people live in isolated group facilities, or rehabilitation centers and are often preyed upon.
On March 15, the discovery of an illegal housing facility called the 'Paul Missionary' brought charges of fraud and usurpation of money against the manager and the Anyang City Social Welfare director.
The owner operated the facility illegally, admitting disabled people with an entrance fee and taking their welfare money and donations, using only a small portion to support the residents. Inside the facility, authorities said, incidents of physical and sexual abuse were common and the living conditions were dire. The district's social welfare director was charged with neglecting his duties of managing and directing social welfare facilities.
The residents at Paul Missionary took their chaotic environment for granted.
"After I had a stroke, my friends just abandoned me here. I just lie here all day, and drunkards come here to beat me up. These drunkards also take the girls out all the time. It's obvious what they do to them." said Kim, 59, who suffers from paralysis.
"The manager knows about this, but she doesn't do a thing. I am a recipient of government welfare, but I don't know what's being done with that money, I've never seen it. This is a lawless place; we have to follow the laws of the facility," said Ms. Hyun, 42 who has cerebral palsy, "The manager is like the president of a nation here. I am afraid of the night. Something always happens in the night. Men come into the women's room whenever they get the chance. Many girls have become victims of rape. But my parents tell me that I should live and die here."
Because there is no basic infrastructure for them in society, the disabled find it impossible to live on their own. Currently, there are about 240 facilities legally registered to house disabled, and 1,000 facilities illegally operated, according to available figures. The illegal facilities lack the basic infrastructure and money to be registered by government standards.
Alternative solutions
A movement for Independent Living presents an alternative solution to these facilities. The IL movement began in the United States in the 1960s and thinks of disability as something that can be corrected and complemented, such as poor eyesight may be improved by eyeglasses.
The basic idea is that the disabled can live independently outside of facilities because it is possible to change the environment to meet the needs of the disabled population. Rather than leaving this role to the government, IL centers are operated by the disabled, offering peer counseling, information and referral, advocacy, independent living skills training, and creating a community network in which the disabled can rely on each other to live independently. The IL centers also hire personal care attendants to help those who need assistance. For IL to be fully implemented, society needs to provide the basic infrastructure and IL centers must be available to the whole disabled population.
There are currently 400 IL centers in the United States and 133 in Japan. The IL movement in Korea began in 2001, and there are now 10 IL centers receiving government support, and 20 are self-supported.
Both the United States and Japan are moving away from facilities for the disabled toward IL centers. "The expansion of IL centers goes along with the natural integration of disabled persons into local society. This means the disabled will not be thrown into facilities hidden from society, but will be living as your next door neighbor," said Park Chan-oh, director of the Seoul Center for Independent Living.
"In order to establish more IL centers, the government needs to turn the support for facilities to pension money for disabled people. In Japan, people receive a pension if they are disabled, whether they have worked or not," said Park.
The directors of legal facilities have a different perspective on IL centers. "It is impossible to achieve IL because the disabled need so many people to take care of them. One disabled person needs caretaking by three to four people. Facilities can overcome the problem of isolation by increasing contact with local community," said Kim Jeong-yeon, head of the Shin-a Rehabilitation Institute for the mentally retarded.
Asked if facilities do not restrict the freedom of its residents, he answered, "They have relative freedom. They are able to wear their hair the way they want, and also wear the clothes they want," he said. How about education? "It is possible to raise their social etiquette but impossible to increase their learning capabilities."
Not all facilities are equal. Some create an environment in which residents feel happy and at home, such as the Eunpyeong Angel's Haven Disabled Children's Home, a facility for orphans and disabled persons.
Established in 1959 as a facility for war orphans, it has since been operated by the government as a home for children from ages 4 to 18. The government supports the children with scholarships to go to college and to study for careers. The facility started taking in disabled children from 1980 and has established a special school in order to educate these children.
Free from dependency
"There are some residents who have tried IL, living in group homes outside of our facility, and they come back here asking for a place to live," said Yoon Kyung-sook, director of Angel's Haven. This is the result of the general dependency that society fosters in the disabled, the paradigm which the IL is trying to overcome. "IL has the potential to emancipate persons with disabilities from the servitude of unjust, unwanted dependency, and to initiate a quantum leap forward in the quality and productivity of their lives," said Justin Dart, a longtime advocate for the rights of people with disabilities, in 1988.
Government efforts to support the movement for disabled rights are occurring in small but incremental stages. The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced an enforcement ordinance on the Disabled Person Welfare Law on May 11 to expand the policy of giving a quota to governmental and public agencies to purchase goods produced by disabled people.
It is expected to increase employment opportunities for the disabled, and raise their wages. "This is just a temporary remedy on the government's part; it will not solve all the structural problems that we have," said Kim Gi-ryong, head of the Disabled Rights to Education Commission.
Also, starting next year, all private and government-run companies must reserve at least 2 percent of their total work force for the disabled. The current quota is 1 percent.
These efforts come not long after the Joint Association Struggling for the Human Rights of the Disabled pushed for a policy change, with demands across 11 areas. Top of their agenda is a Disability Discrimination Act along the lines of the U.S. ADA and the Australian and British DDA.
After the association handed their policy demands to President Roh Moo-hyun, committee leaders have been meeting with representatives from the ministries of Health and Welfare, Construction and Transportation, and Education and Human Resources Development.
Jang Hyang-suk, who is Korea's only female parliamentarian with a disability and uses a wheelchair, is working to pass three laws for disabled people's rights: a pension plan for poor disabled persons who have never worked, a revision of the Disabled Employment Act and Disabled Welfare Act which includes specific proposals for more support for the Independent Living movement, a re-establishment of the grading system for disability, and the increase of political participation of disabled persons in policymaking.
There are three other lawmakers with disabilities: Jung Hwa-won, who is blind, Lee Sang-min and Shim Jae-chul, who rely on canes when walking. This is the first time in history that the Korean National Congress has had so many disabled representatives at one time.
With the active movement of disabled activists, lawmakers and the increasing awareness and support of ordinary people, a new world for disabled rights seems close at hand.
Relevant Web sites:
Korean Network for Independent Living: http://www.knil.org. The Seoul Center for Independent Living: http://www.scil.or.kr. Joint Association Struggling for the Human Rights of the Disabled: www. 420.or.kr. Disability Discrimination Acts of Solidarity in Korea (committee promoting the establishment of disability rights law): www.ddask.net, Research Institute of the Differently Abled Persons Rights in Korea: http://www.cowalk.or.kr
By Kwon Ji-young
2005-05-19