Product of the War: Korea’s Assistive Technology History

By Jaewon Kim

From wheelchairs to hearing aids, assistive technology is readily available in everyday life in today’s society. However, it was not always accessible as it is now. Assistive technology, an engineering intended to create devices that aid people with disability, was revitalized in the U.S. in the 1950s with the end of WWII—the increase in disabled population— and the spread of polio [1]. From this point, assistive technology began to develop rapidly in the U.S., driven by growing public interest and the impact of American wars outside its borders. Hence, whether you believe it is a technological advancement or the damage control after the war, the fact that the assistive technology was born as a response to the post-war phenomenon proves it was a product of the war. Strangely enough, Korea’s assistive technology history had a similar history to that of America. Maybe it is because Korea, of course, the South, is one of the close allies of the U.S., or maybe because its government was established with undeniable U.S. influence while being occupied by the same country [2]. Although there are no definitive historical articles dedicated to the history of Korea’s assistive technology, there are some clues that guide us in understanding its development and use in contemporary Korean society.

The introduction of assistive technology and rehabilitation of disabled bodies in Korea began with the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) occupation of South Korea in 1945 [3]. This may sound like the U.S. effort of aiding an underdeveloped state with ethical intent. However, the initial appearance of assistive technology was rather to support the American soldiers’ injuries in Korea. Hence, it was not until the outbreak of the Korean War (1950-1953) that the technological system itself was passed down to Koreans as a part of the U.S.’s post-war aid program [4]. Similar to the U.S., despite the availability of a skill set to assist the disabled population, the practice of assistive technology only began after the 1960s, when the spread of polio caused significant social issues among the Korean population [5]. However, due to the lack of disability consciousness in Korean society, the assistive technology development had very little achievement in terms of aiding the disabled population until the late 1980s, when the laws regarding disability welfare were revised. Therefore, what was considered assistive technology was limited to orthotic and prosthetic aids until the early 1980s, which excluded people who suffered from disabilities other than physical ones [6].

While the assistive technology remained stagnant for decades, the ‘Physical and Mental Disability Welfare Law (Simin changeja pokji pŏp / 심신장애자복지법)’ enacted in 1981 provided a stepping stone to drastically change the scenery of the disability community. With the enactment of the law, rules governing the production and repair of assistive devices were established [7]; and in 1994, a government-founded ‘Assistive Technology Research Center’ emerged, contributing to the production of various assistive devices and directly distributing them to low-income communities [8]. Alongside the rapid advancement, in 2004, assistive technology began to adopt assistive services, led by the government, instead of relying solely on technology [9]. Through this change, disability welfare significantly improved in Korean society, as assistive devices were implemented in public spaces, such as schools and federal buildings while additional service aided disability population that technological devices could not. However, the system still has drawbacks, especially in the assistive service industry. According to a study “Assistive Technology Service System at a Glance: Korea, USA, Japan, Australia” (2018) by Jihyun Kim, the number of Korean assistive service workers is lacking as the ratio of workers per 10,000 remains at 1.73 compared to other states, where U.S. being 3.61, Japan 3.96, and Australia 8.48 [10]. Furthermore, as the distribution and related insurance policies are not centralized in a specific government bureau, inconsistencies arise in who is eligible to benefit from the welfare policies [11]. These circumstances imply that, although the assistive technology itself may have made progress in line with South Korea’s current state of technology, the legal and administrative systems have not kept pace with technological advancements, creating obstacles to consistency in quality of aid and accessibility to everyday necessities.

The introduction of assistive technology lies in a strange time in the world where wars were normalized, and people lost their lives as they remembered before the war. With decades of research and systemization, assistive technology, or a wartime recovery effort, has achieved significant progress that not only aids physical disability, but also those with more dire needs, along with rehabilitation technology helping the disabled community to strengthen their mind and body while creating a new norm. In this context, similar to other products of war, such as nuclear technology and the internet, which were initially developed for military use, today's assistive technology is benefiting many individuals who require assistance to live their everyday lives; Proving that sometimes, things of critical importance come at the most unexpected and contradictory times.

References

[1] Yi, Kŭnmin (Rhee, K.M.). “Pojo konghak ŭi yŏksawa mirae chomang” 보조공학의 역사와 미래 조망 [History and Future Prospects of Assistive Technology]. Journal of Rehabilitation Welfare Engineering & Assistive Technology 재활복지공학회 Vol. 16, no.3 (2022): 173.

[2] From 1945 to 1948, South Korea was occupied by the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) per the 1945 Moscow Conference decision that claimed to aid Korea’s independence and its state formation after the Japanese occupation that lasted from 1910 to 1945.

[3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9] Yi, Kŭnmin (Rhee, K.M.), 175.

[10] Kim, Chihyŏn (Kim, Jihyun). “Chuyo sŏnchinguk pojo konghak sŏbisŭ ch’egye pigyo yŏngu: miguk, ilbon, hoju, hanguk” 주요 선진국 보조공학 서비스체계 비교연구: 미국, 일본, 호주, 한국 [Assistive Technology Service System at a Glance: Korea, USA, Japan, Australia] The Journal of Korean Society of Occupational Thereapy 대한작업치료학회지 Vol.26 no.2 (2018): 57.

[11] Kim, Chihyŏn (Kim, Jihyun), 62.

Unlike the United States, South Korea has a universal healthcare system, where the nation’s insurance is operated by the government. Hence, insurance policies and rebates for certain categories must be approved by the government.