South Korea: 'Protesting for 20 years and still no equal rights' - BBC News

Disability rights activists are disrupting rush hour in Seoul's subway stations to demand better access.

2 days agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage caption, Park Kyoung-seok says there aren't many places in Seoul he can access as a wheelchair userBy Nick MarshBBC News, SeoulIn his neighbourhood in Seoul, there aren't many places Park Kyoung-seok can visit in his wheelchair.

"I can't go to the theatre because of the steps. I can't go to the convenience store or the new café that's just opened for the same reason," he says.

"Even when I do get in somewhere, there is the problem of the bathroom. Most of the time I can't use it."

But things get worse when he tries to leave his neighbourhood. Public transport in South Korea, Kyoung-seok says, is not designed for disabled people: "A normal journey can take twice or three times as long for a disabled person, compared to a non-disabled person."

Kyoung-seok was involved in a hang-gliding accident in 1984, making him paraplegic at the age of 24. He has been fighting for equal access to public transport for a long time - he is now the face of disability rights in South Korea, where he leads the group Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64369810?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

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