My friend and I found a restaurant where we could both enjoy dinner together. I'm trying to follow a vegan diet as much as possible, and he uses a wheelchair, so we wanted to find a place that is wheelchair accessible and also serves vegetarian food, but finding such a restaurant wasn't easy.

Many restaurants don't serve vegan food, and wheelchair users can't access restaurants above the ground floor in buildings without an elevator. Even if a restaurant is on the first floor, without a ramp at the entrance, it is difficult for wheelchair users to enter.

All buildings should have ramps to accommodate both disabled and non-disabled people. This way, everyone, including wheelchair users, older adults and people with strollers, can enter buildings more easily. However, many cafes, bookstores, convenience stores and other establishments still lack ramps.

Mobility rights are a fundamental human right. However, the mobility rights of disabled people are still very limited here. In 2023, Korea's introduction rate of low-floor buses did not even reach 40 percent. Because of this, wheelchair users often cannot use buses, and older adults and people with strollers also face difficulties.

Guaranteeing mobility rights for everyone is essential. A society that is livable for disabled people is one that is livable for all.

More jobs for people with disabilities are also needed. Baek Sun-sim wrote three books on how to improve disabled people's lives. "In Hong Kong, there are more jobs for people with developmental disabilities than in Korea," she said at a book talk I attended last fall.

According to Statistics Korea, only one-third of disabled people are employed in the country. This is much lower than Korea's employment rate — about 60 percent. The government should offer more jobs for people with disabilities.

Jo Sang-ji, who has a disability, had spent most of her time at home or in a facility for disabled people. However, in 2020, she secured a public job created by the Seoul Metropolitan Government for people with severe disabilities. Her job involved raising awareness about low-floor buses by distributing leaflets and engaging in other activities to help increase the introduction rate of these buses.

"The job completely changed my life. Through work, I became confident because I realized that I too can contribute to society. I found the meaning of my life," she said at a National Assembly audit in 2020. However, last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government suddenly dismissed 400 workers from jobs for people with severe disabilities.

I hope that I can enter any restaurant with my friends, whether or not they use a wheelchair. I also hope that all the dismissed workers get their jobs back. Now is the time to guarantee the mobility rights of disabled people and create more meaningful job opportunities for them.

Kim Sun-ae (blog.naver.com/everythingchanges) wrote "Old Potato, New Potato" and translated "Little Lord Fauntleroy."