Ministry of Culture and Tourism Organization Celebrate Disability Day
Promotional Activities in Gangneung, the First Barrier-Free Tourism City
Jang Mi-ran, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, will visit Gangneung City on the 19th with about 40 visually impaired and physically disabled young people to promote travel for people with disabilities.
Vice Minister Jang Mi-ran of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism delivering a greeting at the national team encouragement event held ahead of the opening of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. [Image source=Yonhap News]
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization announced on the 19th that they conducted a "Happiness Sharing Trip" in Gangneung City, the "No. 1 Barrier-Free Tourism City," on the 18th and 19th with about 40 visually impaired and physically disabled young people ahead of the 44th Disabled Persons Day. Vice Minister Jang will attend the "Sharing Trip" commemorative event and visit open tourist sites with the experience group.
This is a photo of Jang Mi-ran, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, participating in the Blue House K-Climbing event held at the Cheongwadae Sarangchae in Seoul on September 5 last year, along with broadcaster Fabian and others, hiking up to Cheongundae. [Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism]
Since 2017, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has been planning and providing customized travel courses according to the type of disability through the "Sharing Trip." A total of 2,037 people have been supported to date.
This year, the ministry planned the "Happiness Sharing Trip" as a barrier-free travel product and intends to promote travel for people with disabilities by producing a short video of the 1-night, 2-day journey. Kim Han-sol, a visually impaired YouTube creator known as "One Shot Hansol," who was the first in Korea to receive the "Braille Silver Button," also joined the "Happiness Sharing Trip" to share stories about travel for people with disabilities.
Gangneung City, which has seven open tourist sites, was selected as the "No. 1 Barrier-Free Tourism City" in 2022. It is equipped with transportation, food and beverage facilities, accommodation, and travel services so that people with disabilities can travel without inconvenience.
On the 18th, the experience group visited Wolhwa Street, Jungang Market, and the Coffee Museum. On the morning of the 19th, they toured the Heo Gyun and Heo Nanseolheon Memorial Hall, an open tourist site, and in the afternoon, held a commemorative event for the "Sharing Trip" with Vice Minister Jang Mi-ran.
They will then experience a walking tour and water wheelchair at Yeongok Solhyang Camping Site, which has caravans and camping facilities accessible to wheelchair users as well as walking paths. They will also visit the Sogeumgang Village Eco Center and try making Chodang soft tofu. Notably, this trip uses a specially equipped bus with a wheelchair lift for transportation.
Vice Minister Jang Mi-ran stated, "There are still insufficient tourist destinations in our country where people with disabilities, their families, and friends can travel safely and conveniently together. We will create an open tourism environment, expand barrier-free tourism infrastructure, and actively foster travel products like the Sharing Trip to continuously improve travel conditions for people with disabilities."
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