I arrived in Korea early 2019, within a few weeks I found myself on crutches for three months, followed by my arm in a sling for a couple more months.
I've also had two surgeries, one to treat a nasty sphenoid sinus infection and the other to remove an extra bone in my left ankle.
This ordeal has taught me a lot about how Korea views disabilities. Korea is not a "disability friendly," country, in terms of infrastructure and public facilities. In fact you don't see many people on mobility scooters, wheelchairs or crutches. I've been here almost five years now and in that time I've only see three people with a disability out in public.
I said to Aaron, "where is everyone?" And he simply said "they are at home, hidden."
It broke my heart to hear this. It also made sense that I recieved so many sympathetic looks, almost as if my life was over, when I was in a wheelchair for a week following ankle surgery. Or I recieved the complete opposite - don't look, don't make eye contact. Pretend you didn't see anything.
A few years ago I was sat on a bench in the park when a beautiful little girl came up to me patted me on my knee. She would have been around five or six years old and had Down Syndrome. I smiled at her and we chatted. Her mother was horrified, she quickly apologised and bowed to me numerous times, while I smiled and tried to reassure her everything was fine.
The other Koreans looked away. Aaron explained that it was the polite thing to do. Look away.
I've adapted to Korean culture, I absolutely love living here and I'm madly in love with my Korean husband but sometimes the culture shocks are very real. I don't quite know how to react or what to say.
I can say that attitudes towards disabilities are slowing changing, or so I'm told from those around me who have lived in Korea longer, that they are becoming more inclusive, but it's going to take a while.
It's very common to see heavily bandaged people who've had plastic surgery walking around with an IV, out shopping and going about their day to day lives but a person in a wheelchair is extremely rare.
*this is all just my experience. It's not good or bad just what I've experienced.
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