EP #305 - 07.07.2021 - COVID-19 and Disability Justicein South Korea w/Hye-Young Jang

Today I am joined by Hye-yeong Jang, disability justice advocate and member of the South Korean national assembly.

Hye-yeong Jang serves currently as a national assembly member of the 21st Parliament in South Korea—she is a member of the Justice Party and serves as chairman of policy.

She is active in parliamentary politics especially working as a chief author of several pieces of legislation such as an Anti Discrimination Law, Deinstitutionalization Support Law, and a  Law for Protection of the rights of people with disabilities. Before working as an elected official in Justice Party, Jang directed a documentary film "Grown Up” in 2018 to show her younger sister’s life in the local community after leaving a residential facility for people with disabilities. She has also been running her own youtube channel "serious sister" to explore disability rights, minority issues, and feminism.  Her activities have been acknowledged by numerous awards such as the Korean Human Rights Award for People with Disabilities, the YWCA Korean Female Leader Award - Young Leader Award. Recently in February 2021, she has been nominated to TIME 100, the only Korean among the nominees.

I’d also like to acknowledge our translator today Hyunah Keum, a masters student in the Graduate School of Science and Technology Policy at KAIST—she is studying the environmental impacts of COVID.