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Park Kyoung-seok says there aren't many places in Seoul he can access as a wheelchair user

By Nick Marsh

BBC News, Seoul

In his neighbourhood in Seoul, there aren't many places Park Kyoung-seok can visit in his wheelchair.

"I can't go to the theatre because of the steps. I can't go to the convenience store or the new café that's just opened for the same reason," he says.

"Even when I do get in somewhere, there is the problem of the bathroom. Most of the time I can't use it."

But things get worse when he tries to leave his neighbourhood. Public transport in South Korea, Kyoung-seok says, is not designed for disabled people: "A normal journey can take twice or three times as long for a disabled person, compared to a non-disabled person."

Kyoung-seok was involved in a hang-gliding accident in 1984, making him paraplegic at the age of 24. He has been fighting for equal access to public transport for a long time - he is now the face of disability rights in South Korea, where he leads the group Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD).

Now, the battle he has been waging for years is playing out on Seoul's subway platforms.