Gwangju Seo-gu Holds 'Early Disabled Persons Day' Event...Public Officials Experience Wheelchair Use

Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Kim Ikang) has launched a public-private partnership initiative to improve awareness of disabilities ahead of the 44th Disabled Persons Day on the 20th.

Seo-gu announced on the 2nd that it held a 'Pre-Disabled Persons Day Event' the day before at the Deulbul Hall of Seo-gu Office in collaboration with the Disabled Persons Division of the Community Social Security Council.

Kim Ikang, the head of Seo-gu Office, and public officials shared their experiences of disability simulation and had a time for policy proposals.
[Photo by Seo-gu]

This event was promoted to enhance disability sensitivity, increase public officials' understanding and interest in welfare for disabled persons, and lay the foundation for developing Seo-gu's disability policies.

The program included ▲ wheelchair experience for public officials during work ▲ disability awareness improvement education by disabled persons themselves ▲ disability awareness improvement sports experiences (Showdown, Boccia, Bowling) ▲ and a disability experience on-site talk show with the mayor.

In particular, Mayor Kim Ikang and 15 public officials personally used wheelchairs to move around various parts of the district office while performing their duties and took time to organize their impressions on reflection cards through the disability experience.

After the experience, a sympathy talk show was held where participants shared their written experiences and proposed realistic policy suggestions.

Mayor Kim, who attended the talk show, said, “I visited from the restroom to the meeting room and realized that the disabled urinal was located at the innermost part and that opening the meeting room door was difficult, showing that more attention to detail is needed. Rather than seeing disabled persons differently and doing things for them, we will create an infrastructure where everyone can enjoy life without inconvenience together by improving awareness and providing comprehensive education throughout Seo-gu’s projects to build a ‘Barrier-Free City Seo-gu.’”

Meanwhile, Seo-gu is carrying out various projects such as improving disabled parking zones and supporting the installation of ramps in small-scale workplaces to secure mobility rights not only for the disabled, elderly, and pregnant women but for all residents.

Additionally, Seo-gu has received great responses by promoting various policies and projects for creating a barrier-free city, such as the Seo-gu-type job project for persons with severe disabilities.

Reporter Shin Dongho, Honam Coverage Headquarters, Asia Economy baekok@asiae.co.kr