Why Did Deaf People Send Thank-You Letters to Yudeok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu?

President Lee Yang-sim of the Deaf Association thanks for embracing speech-impaired deaf people... Advocates for incorporating hearing-impaired welfare needs into policy and leading the creation of deaf shelters

Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun District, reading a letter

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] “The interest and support shown by the district mayor have been indescribably warm and courteous. We deeply thank Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol, who has been a steadfast pillar for the voiceless hearing-impaired community, for reflecting the welfare needs of the hearing-impaired in policies and taking the lead in establishing a shelter for the deaf.”

It has recently come to light that the hearing-impaired residents of Dongdaemun-gu sent a heartfelt handwritten letter to Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol, expressing their gratitude for his continuous care for the deaf community, touching many quietly.

On the 17th, Lee Yang-sim, branch president of the Dongdaemun-gu Deaf Association, and Jung Hye-kyung, secretary general, visited the mayor’s office to personally deliver the letter expressing the feelings of the hearing-impaired to Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol.

In the letter, Lee Yang-sim stated, “You have always come out early in the morning to see off the ‘Happy Journey’ and ‘Summer Camp’ events that start early every year. Despite your busy schedule, you have attended year-end and founding events to encourage us hearing-impaired and empower our members, making those occasions very precious. There are about 2,000 hearing and speech-impaired people in Dongdaemun-gu. While hearing and speech impairments are often simply thought of as inability to hear or speak, the difficulty in communication primarily means they cannot express their needs and potential, and social interaction is challenging. This makes their situation much more difficult and disadvantaged compared to other types of disabilities in the community. Mayor Yoo is the one who deeply empathizes with this point,” she expressed her gratitude.

Currently, Dongdaemun-gu has 2,346 hearing-impaired and 137 speech-impaired residents. The district is focusing efforts on creating a comfortable space for the deaf community by establishing a shelter for the hearing-impaired.

As a result, in February, the district was selected for a Seoul city public project and received 170 million KRW for remodeling the hearing-impaired shelter, with the shelter scheduled to open in the first half of 2021. The shelter will include spaces for rest, social education for the hearing-impaired, cultural and leisure classes, educational counseling, and will also have a sign language interpretation center to provide professional interpretation services.

Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol, who personally received the letter, said, “I have read the heartfelt message delivered by the Deaf Association. I thank you for writing such a sincere letter,” and added, “I will devote my utmost efforts until the opening of the hearing-impaired shelter in 2021, and will actively communicate and reflect policies to improve the lives of the hearing-impaired and other disabled residents in the community.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.