Deafness in South Korea encompasses the linguistic, cultural, and social experiences of the D/deaf and hard-of-hearing community within the country. The community is primarily centered around the use of Korean Sign Language (KSL), which was officially recognized as a language equal in status to Korean under the Korean Sign Language Act in 2016.
Historically, the education of deaf individuals in South Korea began in the early 20th century, evolving from specialized boarding schools to contemporary inclusive education models. The social status of the deaf community has shifted significantly with the advancement of disability rights movements and the implementation of the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities, which provides a framework for medical support and social services.
Despite legal advancements, the community continues to advocate for improved accessibility in broadcasting, higher education, and employment. Organizations such as the Korea Association of the Deaf play a crucial role in promoting Deaf culture and ensuring the political representation of deaf citizens in South Korean society.
Language emergence It is unclear when exactly Deaf people in South Korea began to develop Korean Sign Language (KSL). The introduction of deaf schools in 1909 established it as a language. During Japanese colonialism from 1910 to 1945, Japanese Sign Language (JSL) was introduced to Korea. The contact between the two languages lead to the reshaping of KSL. The agreement between KSL and JSL signs was 63.35% in 1983. Another major influence on KSL was the Korean War. Following it, South Korea's and North Korea's sign languages were greatly separated and developed individually. In 2017, agreement between the hand shapes of these two Korean sign languages was assessed and the results were 15% for both hands, 21% for the dominant hand, and 23% for the non-dominant hand.
Significant organizations
Korean Association of the Deaf The Korean Association of the Deaf (KAD) is currently a member of the World Federation of the Deaf Regional Secretariat for Asia (WFDRSA), and therefore represents South Korea as an Ordinary Member of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD). The KAD was founded in June 1946 as the "Joseon Association of the Deaf." Each year, the KAD celebrates the date June 3 as the Day of the Deaf, deriving the date from the foundation month of the Joseon Association of the Deaf and the number three which is "in the shape of an ear." The KAD includes multiple subdivisions with specific focuses such as the Korean Deaf Seniors Association, the Korean Deaf Women's Association, the Korean Deaf Youth Association, and the Korean Sign Language Interpretation Society. Aside from these, the KAD provides information on and training for the National Certified Sign Language Interpreter Test and the Deaf Interpreter Test. They also have a Human Rights Center for the Deaf which provides counseling and legal services for Deaf people who have suffered human right violations and focuses on advocating for legal changes in favor of Deaf rights. The KAD also provides sign language content and video books and vocational rehabilitation.
Korea Association of the Deaf Chungnam Association The president of this organization is Seung Il Byun. Seung Il Byun is also credited as the president of the Korea Deaf Association Gongju MainOffice. This organization helped put on a music show intended for the enjoyment of both deaf and hearing people. They also published the book "Becoming friends with Korean Sign Language."
Human/Civil rights South Korea signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on March 30, 2007, and ratified it on December 11, 2008. The initial report followed in on June 27, 2011. South Korea combined the second and third report which was received March 8, 2019.
CRPD reports addressing deaf issues
Along with each report regarding the CRPD, South Korea published a list of issues which outlines issues that should be addressed in the report. The initial one makes one reference related directly to deaf issues: "Please provide information on measures taken to recognize sign language as an official language." The list of issues for the combined second and third reports requests research into education policy and potential improvements for deaf-blind students and for an indication of the implementation of the Korean Sign Language Act.
The WFD cites certain articles of the CRPD as directly pertaining to human rights for deaf people. The following are how South Korea has addressed each of these articles in their reports on the CRPD. The WFD refers to specific subsections of each article but South Korea's reports are not structured in the same way so some subsections here have been divided based on content.
Sign language rights Article 2: The initial report states that reasonable accommodations such as captions and sign language must be provided in "public institutions, private-sector employers, educational institutions, cultural and artistic business operators, etc." The 2019 report makes no explicit reference to this.
Article 21.b: The 2011 report discusses a May 2010 amendment to the Anti-Discrimination against and Remedies for Persons with Disabilities Act (ARPDA) which requires broadcasters and Internet multimedia broadcasting businesses to provide closed captioning and sign language interpretation. The government has provided funding to broadcasting services for this purpose. It also runs sign language interpretation centers where interpreters may be of service for "public offices, legal institutions, and doctors' offices." Since then, the government has been educating broadcast services on how to comply with guidelines and has provided more financial aid as incentive. They claim that due to this, "The score for Korean sign language interpretation went up from 70.6 in 2014 to 81.3 in 2018" with regards to satisfaction level.
Article 21.e: The government standardizes sign language through the National Institution of the Korean Language and their Project for Establishment of Korean Standard Sign Language puts together a sign language dictionary. The 2019 report explains the "1st Korean Sign Language Development Masterplan" and how it improves KSL proficiency and makes systematic changes to promote it.
Article 23.3: Neither report makes reference to sign language rights specifically.
Article 24.3b: In 2010, the government developed sign language video books intended for visually impaired students and auditory training programs for those who are hard-of-hearing. In addition, they created an educational website (http://www.eduable.net) and provided Special Education Support Centers (SESCs) with FM hearing aids. Also, "As of 2009, every junior and senior high school course offers two types of curricula in which sign language is used as a means of communication." Between 2012 and 2018, the number of SESCs which specialized in helping visually- and/or hearing-impaired increased by 35 (from 3 to 38). Between 2014 and 2017, 14 volumes of secondary learning textbooks were released on the English and Korean languages intended for the "hearing-impaired." In 2016, the Disabled Student Evaluation Adjustment Manual was released to ensure disabled students are fairly evaluated in non-specialized schools.
Deaf culture and linguistic identity Article 30.4: At certain facilities for arts and culture where automatic subtitling is provided, the government provides funding for the installation costs of the subtitling technology. Sign language interpretation was available at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
Bilingual education Article 24.1: Neither report makes reference to bilingual education for deaf students specifically.
Article 24.3b: Neither report makes reference to bilingual education for deaf students specifically.
Article 24.4: Neither report makes reference to bilingual education for deaf students specifically.
Lifelong learning Article 5: Neither report makes reference to lifelong learning for deaf people specifically.
Article 24.5: Neither report makes reference to lifelong learning for deaf people specifically.
Article 27: Neither report makes reference to lifelong learning for deaf people specifically.
Accessibility Article 9: The initial report states that the Act on Promotion of Convenience for the Disabled, Senior Citizens, and Pregnant Women (APC) requires facility owners to install accommodations to guide people with hearing disabilities. It also references the ARPDA's requirements for providing subtitles and sign language with regards to accessing information. The 2019 report makes no explicit reference to accessibility for deaf people specifically.
Article 21: A provision made by the ARPDA specifically for those with hearing disabilities is that telecommunication services such as video and text relay services must be provided by telephone carriers. This is also offered by The National Information Society Agency and the Gyeonggi Province Association of the Deaf. Public institutions must provide interpreters and hearing aids for events. Freedom of speech for those who use KSL is protected by the Korean Sign Language Act as of 2016.
Equal employment opportunities Article 27: The initial report makes no reference to equal employment opportunities for deaf people specifically. The 2019 report states that the employment for hearing-impaired persons in 2017 was 33.4%.
Equal participation Article 5: Neither report makes reference to the equal participation of deaf people specifically.
Article 12: Neither report makes reference to the equal participation of deaf people specifically.
Article 20: The government financially supports the development of hearing aids in order to promote their use. The 2019 report does not include a section discussing Article 20.
Article 23: The initial report makes no reference to the equal participation of deaf people specifically. The 2019 report states that auditory rehabilitation services are provided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare with the intent of helping disabled children integrate into society.
Article 24: Neither report makes reference to equal participation for deaf people specifically.
Article 29: The Public Official Election Act (POEA) promotes sign language interpretation and captions are required for televised election campaign advertisements and candidate speeches. Sign language interpretation is provided for election information.
Korean Sign Language Act On February 3, 2016, KSL was made the official language for the deaf people of South Korea. Korean was already the official language of South Korea so this act gave KSL the same legal status as Korean. The KSL Act also requires that the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism KSL is to create and execute a plan for the support and development of KSL every 5 years.
Early hearing detection and intervention South Korea began conducting hearing screenings and evaluations in 2007, but as of 2018, these screenings are not universal. Any newborn who does not show a clear response on either the automated auditory brainstem response test (AABR) or automated otoacoustic emissions test (AOAE) in the first month following birth will complete a confirmatory test within their first 3 months. In 2018, health insurance began to cover these tests. Prior to this, screenings were done out of pocket and with no national statistics available regarding the results or subsequent interventions.
Out of the 1,964,769 live births in South Korea between 2014 and 2018, screening was performed on 344,955 (17.6%).
2010-2016 study