This study examined the changes of the disability rights movement in Daegu, Korea from 1977 to 2020’s, and tried to figure out who was the subject of the disability rights movement by period, and what the paradigm shift was like when analyzing accor...
This study examined the changes of the disability rights movement in Daegu, Korea from 1977 to 2020’s, and tried to figure out who was the subject of the disability rights movement by period, and what the paradigm shift was like when analyzing according to Priestly’s multiple paradigm of disability.
The disability rights movement in Daegu can be divided into the period from 1977 to 1992 as the beginning of rights movement composed mainly of young-physically disabled people, the period from 1993 to 1999 as the period of the movement to improve the facilities composed by disability organization, the period from 2000 to 2012 as the period of movement for civil rights by people severe disabilities, the period from 2013 to 2016 as the emergence of the self-advocacy movement by people with developmental disabilities, and the period after 2016 as closure of institutions, deinstitutionalization, and movement of dealing with infectious diseases. The implications of the study are as follows.
First, it can be seen that the disability rights movement in Daegu have improved from petitions to include some people with disabilities to standards and systems set by non-disabled people to a movement of social integration to obtain civil rights for people with disabilities to live as members of society, without being discriminated, excluded, segregated or rejected as equal citizens with non-disabled people.
Second, it can be seen that the main participants of the disability rights movement have diversified from polio, physically disabled people to people with severe physical disabilities using electric wheelchairs, women with disabilities, people with developmental disabilities, and have expanded to parents of people with disabilities and people without disabilities.
Third, the disability rights movement in Daegu has developed in solidarity and cooperation with other social movements, not only by those with disabilities.
Fourth, when I analyze the disability rights movement in Daegu according to Priestly’s multiple paradigm of disability, it can be seen that there has been a paradigm shift from ‘individual materialism’ and ‘individual idealism’ to ‘social creationism’ and ‘social constructionism’. However, the paradigm shift was not a monolithic one, and it can be seen that ‘individual materialism’ and ‘individual idealism’ co-exist in the 2000’s and beyond, depending on the context of the times and the needs of the movement’s subjects.
Fifth, in the history of the disability rights movement in Daegu, it can be seen that the ‘social constructionism’ position, which is characterized by the recognition of differences in disability, education for eliminating discriminating culture, awareness-rising projects, and cultural activities, received relatively less attention.
Based on these findings, the following suggestions for future studies can be made;
First, the research would be made more lively by interviewing the participants’ thoughts and feelings about the changes in the disability rights movement in Daegu.
Second, more in-depth analysis would be made by researching human rights abuse and corruption that occurred in institutions in Daegu, other than Daegu municipal institution, House of Hope, and the movement of institution closure and deinstitutionalization, and the process of deinstitutionalized people with disabilities becoming involved in disability rights movement.
Third, a more three-dimensional analysis would be made by examining how the disability rights movement in the central region and the movements Daegu intersected and changed, and how the disability rights movement changed in the response to the changes in disability policies and systems.