[With Corona, With Disabled] Standing Up Using Wheelchair but Face Does Not Touch... 5-6 People Lined Up Behind

<Top>Why Has Quarantine Not Become Their Daily Routine?

QR Verification and Kiosks Too Far Away
Thermometers Too High, Wrist Measurement Needed
40-Second Struggle Over QR Code Verification
Need for Efforts to Coexist with People with Disabilities

Minwook is adjusting the angle of his smartphone while sitting in a wheelchair to authenticate the QR code.
Photo by Minjae Kwak, Intern Reporter

"When I verify the QR code at the restaurant entrance, people wait outside. When I realize that there are people who can't even enter the store because of me, time feels very tight."

QR verification and temperature checks. What has become a daily quarantine system for some is a daily hardship for people with disabilities. On Saturday, October 30th, at 2:30 PM, two days before the phased return to normal life (With Corona) began, I met Kim Min-wook (26, pseudonym) in a black electric wheelchair in front of elevator exit 4 at Sinchon Station, Seoul. He is a level 2 severe brain lesion disabled person, with partial paralysis related to motor functions of the brain nerves, making upright walking difficult.

Together with Min-wook, we headed to a cafe about a 5-minute walk from exit 4 of Sinchon Station. The cafe required QR verification at the entrance to enter. While non-disabled people could prepare the QR verification screen in advance, Min-wook had to release his hand from the wheelchair controller and take his phone out of his pocket only in front of the QR verification tablet. The QR verification device was tilted about 40 degrees from the desk. Sitting in the wheelchair trying to scan the QR code, the screen was hard to see, and he had to stretch his arm up and move it up, down, left, and right to adjust the angle. It took Min-wook 40 seconds to complete the QR code verification. The non-disabled reporter took 8 seconds. For Min-wook, 40 seconds felt like 40 minutes or 4 hours. This was due to the psychological pressure of worrying whether non-disabled customers might be waiting behind him or if he was causing inconvenience.

Fortunately, there was no unmanned ordering kiosk. When there are many people, Min-wook often presses the wrong menu by mistake. Still, he usually just eats what he ordered. Explaining the situation to staff and going through the complicated process of choosing the menu again is physically and mentally exhausting.

Minwook is raising his arm high to measure his body temperature.
Photo by Minjae Kwak, Intern Reporter

After leaving the cafe, Min-wook and I moved to Yonsei-ro street in Sinchon. At 4 PM, a clothing store on the first floor had a white thermometer about 130 cm high at the entrance. To measure his temperature, Min-wook supported his hand on the wheelchair handle and slightly stood up to raise his forehead to the height of the thermometer. He barely managed to hold for 3 seconds, but only his hair touched the thermometer, and no temperature was recorded. Even after repeating 2 to 3 times, he couldn’t hold the position and slumped back into the wheelchair. Behind Min-wook, 5 to 6 companions were waiting to measure their temperature. Changing his posture, he stretched out his arm and placed his wrist against the thermometer instead of his forehead.

After finishing dinner and stepping outside, the sky quickly grew dark. As Min-wook parted ways with the press, he said, "Being disabled doesn’t automatically make someone a pitiable person. Just as non-disabled people need to approach disabled people, disabled people also need to actively try to socialize." Watching Min-wook slowly move away in his wheelchair, his spirited voice lingered in my ears. Nevertheless, the weight of daily life under COVID-19 quarantine seemed especially heavy for him alone.

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