Day 4 in Gwangju, South Korea -- 5-18

Late last summer, my wife learned there was a remote possibility of a trip to Tajikistan.  If the trip were to happen, she would leave within just a few weeks.  Knowing that the trip might never happen, she spent hours on the computer, studying the government, culture and people of Tajikistan.  She never made the trip, but my wife inspired me to research South Korea when I received an invite to present at a conference in Gwangju.  One of the first things I learned about when researching South Korea was the the May 18th People's Uprising, an event that helped shape democracy in South Korea and that appears to still have a dramatic impact on the day-to-day lives of many people who live in Korea.  I was thrilled to learn that, as a guest at the World Human Rights Cities Forum 2014, I could request an invitation to attend a government ceremony commemorating the May 18th People's Uprising.

On May 18th, my fourth and final full day in South Korea, many of us from the conference boarded one of the four buses lined up outside the Holiday Inn and headed for the National Cemetery for the 10 a.m. event.  On the bus, we were told that just as many people are furious with the government for the way it handled, and continues to handle, the Sewol Ferry Disaster, many people are unhappy with the official, government sanctioned event to commemorate the May 18th Uprising.  The details about the fury I didn't understand, but the disconnect was so significant that families of victims from the May 18th Uprising refuse to participate in the government event.  Rather than participate in the government event, the families and other progressive organizations staged an alternative event about half a mile away from the government ceremony. 

Guests in white hats before Official May 18th Event

Though I've never been to an event on the White House Lawn, the government sponsored May 18th Event reminded me of what a White House Lawn event might look like.  After disembarking from the buses, we checked in at security, picked up a pass, then passed through another security check point with bag inspection and metal detectors.  Once through the two check points, we found seats among hundreds of plastic chairs set up for the event.  Each chair had a program and a funny looking, but effective, white paper hat lay on top of it.  The hat was designed to protect us from the sun. The ceremony itself was barely 25 minutes long.  Two government officials spoke and a choir sang a few songs.  By 10:30, we were out of our seats, milling around, and ready to head back to the buses, which weren't scheduled to return to the hotel until 11:30.  That's when the Director of the Gwangju International Center announced that he would be willing to lead a group up the road to the people's alternative event.  That announcement made the difference between my time in Korea being a memorable, rewarding experience and being a deeply moving, significant experience.  I never figured out what connection the Director had to the May 18th People's Uprising, but during the walk up the road, he spoke about the events with clarity, as if he knew directly people who had been there and were impacted.  The People's event was in the middle of a hilly cemetery.

People's May 18th Event

A stage was at the base of the hill.  Rather then chairs, people sat on the grass.  Toward the top of the hill, some people stood, or kneeled next to graves, a few of them with their heads down and a few of them weeping.  I made my way to the top of the hill, where I could better see all the people on the hill and the surrounding landscape.  The program reminded me of the program from the candlelight ceremony the previous night.  Two different singing groups sang empowering songs that inspired the audience to join in with raised arms and fists.  I was on the hill for about 10 minutes, watching the performance, looking at grave sites, and observing the people. 

Grave Site at Cemetery

We couldn't stay long.  We had to head back to the buses. On the walk back, I overheard the International Center Director and a Conference Guest from Sweden talking about the May 18th Uprising.  They brought up the United States Involvement in 1980, at the tail end of the Carter Administration.  I asked the Director to repeat what he had said.  He told me that the United States supported the military, not the people's uprising.  According to the U.S. Government, what happened in 1980 was not a democracy movement, but rather a movement that threatened national security. 

Of course, I don't know much about the issue.  But if that's true, it would seem to be disappointing.  

Cities, Disability, and a Candle Light Ceremony

Day Three of the trip to Gwangju, South Korea was the day of my presentation for the World Human Rights Cities 2014 Forum.  I was one of six presenters who were part of the "Cities and Disability" Session.  One speaker was from Brazil, an architect who worked for the Municipal Government in Curitiba, a city of about 1.8 million.  The other four speakers were from Korea, two from Gwangju and two from Seoul.  As far as I could tell, three of us were disabled.  The first speaker works for an independent living center in Gwangju.  He used a power wheelchair. He kicked off his presentation by indicating that it might be a little hypocritical for Gwangju to call itself a human rights city, considering that less than 20 percent of the bus fleet is accessible to riders with physical disabilities.  He also suggested that barriers to access would remain because local authorities care more about budgets than the human rights of people with disabilities.  He compared local authorities to the crew of Sewol, which was concerned with profits, not the passengers on the ferry.

First Speaker of the Cities and Disabilities Session

Not that I was hoping to hear disparaging comments about a city I knew very little about, but if we were going to sit through six hours of presentations (mine included), I was happy that at least one of us was ready to challenge the establishment.   The second speaker expressed the same sentiments, in a less direct way.  He was an expert on Universal Design.  He opened his talk by explaining that he was asked to talk for an hour about highlights of Universal Design in Gwangju, but that he would be hard pressed to find enough highlights to fill an hour of time.  He did talk about the baseball stadium, which I had visited the previous day. He mentioned something about Universal Design that I had never heard.  He said that for every five male restrooms in the stadium, the stadium was required to build eight female bathrooms.  Considering the long lines I have seen coming from women's rooms at concerts, stadiums, theaters, and restaurants, it makes perfect sense and seems like a insightful application of universal design.

The fourth speaker was the architect from Brazil.  I hung out with her and her husband a lot at the conference.  She spoke about work Curitiba had done to improve access, and stressed that changes were being made with participation from the disability community.  Throughout our time together, she often stressed this approach -- the social model approach of "Nothing About Us without Us."  Nothing should be done on behalf of people with disabilities without the input of people with disabilities.   It might have been the translation, but the final speaker, a professor from Seoul, seemed to be a little behind on this approach. She hesitated when talking about consumer driven peer support, as if she was not sure if this was the right philosophy.

Participants and some of the attendees at Cities and Disabilities Sessions

Though I looked at my paper too much, and fell behind on my power point, I felt pretty good about my presentation.  I covered my material and may have made somebody laugh (with a joke) at least once.

I was thrilled and energized to complete the presentation, and felt pretty good about all the work I had put into it, but the day got ever better after the conference sessions.  At seven o'clock, we all loaded up on buses lined up outside the hotel and drove down town for a candlelight ceremony recognizing the victims of the April 16 Ferry Disaster in South Korea.  Evidently, each

Saturday, Seoul hosts a candlelight ceremony.  People plan to do so until the government apologizes and launches an inquiry into why emergency services (like the Coast Guard) didn't respond appropriately.   Gwangju doesn't host ceremonies each Saturday but did on May 17 because it was the eve of the traditional May 18 Recognition Events. Though what happened in South Korea is a tragedy, especially for all the families involved, I was happy to participate in the candlelight

Candlelight Ceremony on May 17 for Sewol Ferry Disaster

 ceremony.  A group of us made our way near the stage and sat amongst the crowd for nearly an hour, watching the speakers, musicians, and performers.  According to a woman with our group, emergency services on the water could have saved so many more people.  They had two hours to do so.  But they only rescued passengers who were on the deck.  They never went below deck and told the passengers in their cabins to evacuate.  Indeed, that does deserve an apology and an investigation. She explained that citizens of South Korea are also furious with the media for not being critical of the government response to the sinking.

Day one in Gwangju, South Korea

Gwangju South Korea.  Picture taken from Pedestrian Overpass.

I arrived in Gwangju, South Korea on Wednesday, after a 13-hour flight from Chicago to Seoul, a bus ride across Seoul, and a one-hour flight from Seoul to Gwangju. During the 13 hour flight, I used the restroom four times, which seems kind of reasonable for such a long flight.  Luckily, I had an aisle seat.  The two people to my left used the bathroom one time each.  One time each?


I am in Gwangju for the World Human Rights Cities Forum.  The Forum was launched in 2011 to connect cities across the globe committed to human rights.  Gwangju has history of peace and democracy.  Most recently, in 1980, students led a democracy movement to
                                                                                       protest against what at

Talking about bus accessibility during tour of Gwangju

the time was a military dictatorship in South Korea.  The movement was shattered by violence.  Many students were killed by government soldiers. The event is known at the 5-18 Movement, because the events happened on May 18.  While I am here, there will be local ceremonies to honor the event and the students.

I've been invited to speak about Disability Rights and Independent Living.  Yesterday, my first full day in Korea, I was taken on a tour to study some of the access features in Gwangju.  One of the coolest visits along the tour was to the new baseball stadium, called KIA Tiger Stadium.  The stadium follows Universal Design and before construction began the architects invited members of the disability community to give input on the features of the stadium.

KIA Tiger Stadium