'Genuine Communication Begins'... Gwangju Nam-gu Opens 'Deaf Shelter' in Wolsan-dong

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, will operate a shelter for the deaf and hard of hearing in Wolsan-dong starting from the end of November.

This is to provide sign language interpretation and counseling services for people with disabilities, as well as to strengthen their capabilities through socialization education.

The shelter will be located on the 4th floor of the Saemaeul Geumgo in Wolsan-dong, with a project budget of 140 million KRW, and remodeling work is currently underway.

This place will include a sign language education room and program space for the deaf and hard of hearing, as well as offices.

The reason for establishing the shelter now is that the space for the deaf and hard of hearing in the district disappeared after the closure of the Gwangju Sign Language Interpretation Center in 2020.

In particular, the deaf and hard of hearing must communicate face-to-face by seeing each other's faces through sign language or lip-reading, so they face great difficulties in using general welfare facilities.

Accordingly, Nam-gu and the Korea Association of the Deaf have agreed to assign three full-time workers to the shelter for the deaf and hard of hearing to resolve these issues.

A Nam-gu official said, “The Nam-gu shelter for the deaf and hard of hearing will become a space that provides new vitality to the deaf and hard of hearing in the district,” and added, “We hope they can communicate freely here and enjoy a vibrant life.”

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