"Wheelchair Not Allowed" Restaurant Turns Away Disabled YouTuber... Eventually Left Outside and Walked In

YouTuber with Brain Lesion Disability Shares Story

A YouTuber who has a brain lesion disability and relies on a wheelchair for mobility shared a story about being refused entry at a restaurant, shocking many. Netizens criticized the still poor perception of people with disabilities in Korea.

On the 30th of last month, the YouTube channel 'Gulreora Gureunim' posted a video titled "A restaurant that told me to leave because I was in a wheelchair." The channel is run by Kim Ji-woo (22), a YouTuber with about 70,000 subscribers. Kim mainly uploads video content of traveling in a wheelchair.

Kim recently visited a restaurant that sells ramen but said she was refused entry by the restaurant owner. Around 60 seconds into the video, there is audio evidence recorded of the situation at the time.

Kim Ji-woo, who runs the YouTube channel 'Gulreora Gureunim,' revealed that he was denied entry to a restaurant simply because he was in a wheelchair. [Image source=YouTube capture]

Kim said, "I was refused entry at the restaurant. I wanted to eat snack ramen, but all the nearby restaurants had thresholds, so I wandered for a long time before finally finding a restaurant in the underground shopping mall." She added, "When I greeted and tried to enter, the owner saw me and immediately said, 'No seats, please leave.' This was the first time I was treated like this."

The restaurant owner reportedly refused entry on the grounds that having a wheelchair would be inconvenient. Kim said she felt that if she left quietly, it would set a precedent that restaurants could kick out people with disabilities. So she said, "I will leave my wheelchair outside and walk in. I will just eat ramen and leave quickly." Only then did one of the owners signal to take her order quickly.

Kim expressed, "It was the first time I was kicked out just because I was in a wheelchair." She also emphasized in the video comments that there were definitely empty seats in the restaurant at the time.

She said she did not post the video to criticize the restaurant that kicked her out but wanted to highlight that many people with disabilities still experience refusal of entry. Kim said, "It is already difficult to find restaurants that are accessible, and if you are refused even at the restaurants you visit, you become more withdrawn and it becomes harder to go out into society."

However, she added, "Although these situations happen often, just moving a seat or saying 'Please don't do that' can be comforting." She also mentioned, "Thanks to a customer who gave up their seat, I was able to bravely place my order and finish my meal."

Netizens who saw the video reacted with shock. Comments poured in such as, "I didn't know the perception of people with disabilities was this poor," "I'm ashamed even though it's my own country," and "Sidewalks are still full of thresholds. Are they telling people with disabilities not to go outside?" Messages of support for Kim also flooded in.

Meanwhile, under the current Disability Discrimination Act, refusing or excluding people with disabilities without justifiable reasons, or refusing to provide reasonable accommodations, is defined as 'discrimination.' If such discriminatory acts are found to be malicious, the perpetrator can face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won.