South Korea

January 5, 2010

Geographic map of southeast Asia with South Korea highlightedHistory
In 2003, the Education and Rehabilitation Exchange Foundation (EREF) and Goodwill Industries International signed an agreement to create Goodwill Industries of Korea (GIK). GIK is building a network of community-based Goodwill agencies in the Republic of Korea to provide job training and career services to people with disabilities and others who are trying to enter the workforce.

Programs and Services
In 2007, GIK served 3,000 individuals — a great number of whom are North Korean refugees who had a difficult time adjusting to life in South Korea. Seventy-three percent of GIK’s employees have disabilities.

GIK offers a range of programs for jobs in agriculture, hospitality and other service industries. Three churches in Seoul, Suwon and Pusan have replicated Goodwill workforce development and retail programs benefiting people with disabilities. They are committed to expanding Goodwill services in their respective territories, independent of the church activities. In addition, Taegu University and Korea Nazarene University are training professional staff for special education, counseling, rehabilitation and other positions within the Goodwill.

Country Profile
Country name: Republic of Korea
Capital: Seoul
Population: 48,508,972
Land Size: 38,622 square miles (a little larger than Indiana)
President: Lee Myung-Bak
Language: Korean
Unemployment: 4 percent
GDP (PPP): $1.278 trillion
GDP (PPP) per capita/average income: $26,000
Statistics for Persons with Disabilities: According to the Korean National Assembly, there are more than 2.15 million people (4.4 percent) with disabilities in South Korea.

State of Disability Legislation
The Republic of Korea encourages the employment of workers with disabilities, and has demonstrated this in policies such as the Social Pact for Job Creation as well as the Employment Promotion and Vocational Rehabilitation for the Disabled. Additionally, the government has signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.