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10 - From Invisible Beneficiaries to Rights Bearers

How the Disability Rights Movement Changed the Law and Korean Society

from Part III - Mobilizing Rights for the Marginalized

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2021

By
JaeWon Kim
Edited by
Celeste L. Arrington  and
Patricia Goedde
Celeste L. Arrington
Affiliation:
George Washington University, Washington DC
Patricia Goedde
Affiliation:
Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul
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Summary

Government policies and South Korea’s legal system historically regarded people with disabilities as objects of compassion and protection, rather than human beings equal to nondisabled people. Starting in the 1980s, disabled people began protesting for equal worth and dignity. People with disabilities then established organizations and sought changes in policies and the legal system with support from civic groups and the media. Their claims, mostly grounded upon natural law ideas and the equality protections in the Constitution, were for formal equality. The chapter traces the struggles by Korean disability communities, civic organizations, and lawyers to raise public consciousness and press the National Assembly to revise or enact laws, such as the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). The chapter also examines the outcomes of movements for the rights to mobility, independent living, and special education. It concludes by highlighting shortcomings in Korean disability law and suggests necessary reforms for a more inclusive and integrated society.

Keywords

disabilitiesrightsDisability Discrimination Actantidiscriminationspecial educationmobilitytransportationsocial welfareprotesthuman rights
Type
Chapter
Information
Rights Claiming in South Korea , pp. 217 - 235
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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