[Letters] Ending discrimination against the disabled

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[Letters] Ending discrimination against the disabled



Regarding your April 20 editorial, “An investment long overdue,” I would like to suggest a few ways to stop prejudice and discrimination against people with disabilities.

The press and the mass media should show interest in the physically and mentally disabled during the entire year, not only on Disabled Persons’ Day. They should assume responsibility for raising awareness about the prejudice and discrimination against the disabled in Korean society and let people think of human rights and ways to live together on an equal basis. The mass media can do this through public service advertisements and programs such as discussion, documentary and reality programs.

To end prejudice and discrimination, education is crucial. Students need to have more chances to think about this issue from their elementary school years. They can read a story about the difficult, inconvenient life of the disabled in textbooks and think about how it relates to human rights. It could also be a good idea to sponsor class discussions and school essays or invite a disabled persons to school to talk about their experiences. These kinds of activities have to be included in the regular school curriculum. In addition, education by parents is necessary. Parents should teach their children how to treat people, especially the disadvantaged, as equal human beings.

Above all, the Korean government should increase spending to fight against discrimination.

In a nutshell, it is time that we take action as well as increase public awareness that we are all equal as humans and any one of us could become disabled at any time.

Kim Bok-yeong,

a teacher in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi
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