Editor's Pick: Returning Home Empty-Handed... Raising a Child with Disabilities in South Korea

[Newstory] "Please Let My Child Grow Up to Be a Tax-Paying Adult… A Mother's Desperate Plea" (Broadcasted on August 8, 2026)

For children with severe physical disabilities, even going to school and daily life are far from easy unless it is a special education school, and the doors to admission remain stubbornly narrow. Si-ha, a 7-year-old scheduled to enter elementary school next year, was born with schizencephaly and cerebral palsy. He cannot sit or walk on his own. However, in Si-ha's hometown of Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, there is neither a daycare center dedicated to children with disabilities nor a special school. Si-ha commutes to a daycare center in Bucheon every day, a 20-minute car ride away. Moving is also not an easy option due to the financial burden of medical treatments and housing costs. His mother, Baek Hye-jin, even submitted an earnest plea to the education office out of fear that Si-ha might not be assigned to a special school. All the mother wants is for her child to attend school safely and receive a basic public education. It is an ordinary yet natural wish to raise her child "to become a tax-paying adult."

Reported by Soojin | Produced by Kim Da-yeon | Video by Wonjin Hee | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.