RUSH HOUR in many of the busiest train stations in Seoul has decelerated in light of the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD)’s subway protests over the past year. The activists, the majority of them being wheelchaired elderly people, demand elevators in all train stations and an overall increase in government spending for disability-inclusive infrastructure. SADD has attempted to achieve such goals by blocking numerous passengers’ entry to their trains. While these protests ultimately seek inclusion in Korean society, the manner in which they are protesting hinders their overarching goal by possibly disregarding the needs of other underprivileged groups and antagonistically dividing the country’s able-bodied and disabled people. 

What is happening?

   Since December 2021, South Korea’s largest disability rights group, SADD held over 50 protests during rush hour, 6:30-9:00 a.m., at Seoul’s major train stations such as Samgakji, Haehwa, and City Hall[1]. Demanding elevators in every subway station in Seoul and a greater budget for disability infrastructure, the protestors have been blocking busy commuters from either entering or exiting the subways during their early morning commutes. The protests’ methods have generated much controversy in both the public and government’s responses to an issue with no end in sight. 

A demand for undivided attention

   While SADD argues for more inclusive spaces, no other disabled groups other than those in wheelchairs, are represented in the protests’ interests. One of the protests, held on January 4, 2023[2], called the attention of the Seoul Mayor, Oh Se-hoon, so that Park Kyoung-seok, president of SADD, could meet with him alone, without other disability groups present[3]. Mayor Oh denied such request on the grounds that other disability groups deserved to be heard as well[3].

        SADD’s mission for its “2023 Subway Movement” translates “Resistance towards a world that does not listen to the voices of those who are considered to have no voice in the world     [4]” in English. Such a statement, while well-intentioned and just in its own right, is quite ironic when considering the specifics of the issue. On one hand, the purpose of the protests is for the voices of the voiceless to be heard. Yet, by protesting to obtain an individual meeting with Mayor Oh, thereby silencing the voices of other disability groups, the SADD is violating its own objective. On the other hand, it could be inferred that SADD is unaware that people with different types of disabilities, other than those in wheelchairs, exist and are an underprivileged minority as well.  

   Furthermore, their statement is further hypocritical considering the number of benefits that people in wheelchairs enjoy from the accommodations at Seoul’s train stations when compared to other major cities. Currently, 19 out of 275 or 7% of subway stations in Seoul do not have elevator access[5]. Contrastingly, in cities such as London and New York, stations without access through elevators are a whopping 69% and 71%, respectively[5]. Moreover, the South Korean government has more than doubled its spending on mobility provisions in 2023[5]. These numbers may demonstrate that, in terms of infrastructure, the voices of SADD are not so silent after all. 

Losing the bigger picture

    Equality, in a society with multiple dynamics between minorities and the majority, is more often a continuous responsibility for everyone rather than an achievable goal. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s recent comment in response to the protests has caused even more tension between two groups—the able-bodied and disabled—in a society that should cooperate together towards equality, leaving no one to fix the actual problem. 

   In his second meeting with SADD, Mayor Oh recently said that the civilians whose schedules were affected by the protests are the real victims of society, not SADD[6]. Indeed, as the subway station blockages interfere with their daily livelihoods, several have stated that the nature of these protests makes it difficult for them to empathize with SADD and support their cause[5]. SADD, in turn, has responded with more raucous protests—alienating non-disabled people from them and their cause. 

   People using wheelchairs are an underrepresented minority in Korean society. Their struggles for more inclusive infrastructure should not be ignored solely because the government has shown some infrastructural progress. Even more important, their pain and afflictions should not be taken lightly by comparing it to the slight inconveniences that the able-bodied people have faced due to the protests. Nevertheless, SADD’s protests, by attempting to paralyze the society, have only antagonized the relationship between disabled and able-bodied Korean citizens in the quest for equality—a struggle that pertains to us all.

[1] The Korea Herald

[2] Beminor

[3] Seoul Economy Daily

[4] Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination

[5] BBC News

[6] The Kyunghyang Shinmun