Parenting a disabled child in South Korea : rewriting disability, parenthood and citizenship

This thesis is about parental experiences and practices in association with disabled children in South Korea. It is first and foremost about disablement. It aims to expose
the inequality and exclusion experienced by disabled children and their families. It was intended to challenge
the long-established tradition in Korea of regarding the
problem of disability as a personal and family issue, and aims to purposes to enhance the social recognition of the rights of disabled children and their families.

This thesis is also about the development of disability-parenthood. It explores the ways in which parents construct and reconstruct their notions of parenthood and disability through their continual experiences of parenting a disabled child. It intends to resituate parents as potentially active social agents who create their own knowledge about disability. It examines how parents are struggling against disabling forces and acting on behalf of their disabled children in their own lives. Another main purpose of this thesis is to explore how parents develop their politics of disability by working together. In order to research parents' group activities, this study engaged the participation of parents involved self-help or advocacy groups. The research employed both in-depth interviews and long-term participant observation.