Technically, so they tell me, peace has never been declared with North Korea. So, as I struggle with Asiana Airlines to provide me with even a modicum of service, images of conflict and war come easily to mind. Add to that the fact that after a brief rest in Seoul tomorrow I will be off to Imjingak with a reporter from Chosun Ilbo and the chair of DPI's sub-committee on Imjingak accessibility.
Reading the independent, pro-unification newspaper Hankyoreh set my thinking down a more peaceful path.
There is Free Hugs campaign in Korea. Virally transmitted by an online video of some Australians doing the same these random acts of human contact seem to be just the cure for disability aversion. As the Hankyoreh article reports on the video of this April 20, National Disabled Persons' Day event:
In many cases, it seemed like it was people’s first experience to hug a person in a wheelchair, as they tried to figure out how to bend their knees and lower their heads in the right way so that they could look their hugging partner in the eyes. After the hugs, both parties always wear bright smiles.Posted by rollingrains at May 12, 2007 01:03 PM