(Image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Korea Bizwire) – Many South Koreans with disabilities are refraining from exercising outdoors despite the dwindling impacts of the pandemic, a survey showed Monday.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism conducted a survey of 10,000 registered disabled persons in the country between the ages of 10 and 69, which showed that only 26.6 percent of them exercised outdoors more than twice a week, up by 6.4 percentage points from last year’s survey.
The remaining three-fourths of the disabled population, however, still face difficulties exercising outdoors.
Among the respondents, 45.7 percent exercised at “nearby mountain trails or parks.” Only 16.7 percent used exercise facilities.
As for the reasons why many disabled persons failed to use exercise facilities, 28.6 percent said they had difficulties exercising alone, while 14.2 percent said they didn’t have enough time and 12.9 percent said exercise facilities were too far away from where they live.
At 33.6 percent, a significant portion of the respondents called on the need for financial subsidies when going outdoors for exercise, followed by demand for exercise programs dedicated to disabled persons (17.2 percent), aid facilities for disabled persons at exercise facilities (15.2 percent) and exercise equipment for the disabled (14.4 percent).
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
