culture

The Central Committee of the Korea Federation for the Protection of the Persons with Disabilities (KFPPD), the successor to the Korean Association for Supporting the Handicapped established in 1998, speaks for and protects the rights and interests of all those with disabilities in the DPRK and contributes to providing them with a stable and favourable living environment and conditions in all fields of social life.

The affiliates of the federation include the Korea Art Association of Persons with Disabilities, the Korea Sports Association of Persons with Disabilities, vocational training schools for persons with disabilities, the Korea Rehabilitation Centre for Children with Disability and the Korea Economic and Cultural Centre for Persons with Disabilities.

The Law of the DPRK on the Protection of the Disabled was adopted on June 18 2003. In keeping with the closer government attention being paid to persons with disabilities, the federation has conducted positive activities for them.

It pays special attention to the education for them.

It works to improve their educational environment and conditions and promote vocational technical education and higher education in order to fully develop their creative talents.

It arranged a short course of Korean sign language last year for training teachers for the disabled across the country in contact with the Ministry of Education so as to lay a foundation for the establishment of a nationwide education support system for disabled persons and offered it cooperation in writing “Pedagogy for children with disabilities”, “Education of children with hearing impairments” and other textbooks, thereby contributing to drawing up a new educational programme for the disabled.

The federation works hard to provide the disabled with proper working conditions.

It helps persons with disabilities at the working age choose right jobs according to their hopes and demands and provides them with full conditions for rest and working environment including rest at sanatoria and holiday homes.

While paying close attention to the sports and cultural life of them, it organizes a variety of sports and cultural events to boost their self-reliance.

Those belonging to the KSAPD have achieved good results in such events as table tennis, archery and shooting at sports games of persons with disabilities and amateurs held under the sponsorship of the federation, while those belonging to the KAAPD have won great accolades from audiences at art performances for their refined artistic skills.

The federation performs active and scrupulous activities in contact with the Ministry of Public Health and other related units in order to steadily improve the rehabilitation of the disabled and medical service for them.

The Korea Rehabilitation Centre for Children with Disability provides disabled children with medical treatment for rehabilitation, while nursing and edifying them, and conducts scientific research into rehabilitation and relevant external exchanges to help them enjoy a happy life just like normal children.

“The federation will continue to work hard to enhance the quality of life of persons with disabilities,” said Jon Chol Hi, chairman of the KFPPD Central Committee.