This article is to support the expansion and sustainment of independent living for the people
with intellectual disabilities in Korea. For this, this paper lays out several problems faced
by independent living for the people with intellectual disabilities and proposed indications
through reinforcement of foundation of social support as a solution by setting Germany as
examples.
Problems faced by people with intellectual disabilities trying to make independent living
are as follows: 1. government provides insufficient support, 2. as for the city of Seoul, its
independence support residential system during the transition period fails to incorporate the
characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities and requires adjustments to enable
customized services, and 3. there is no local expert independence support system and
foundation for social support in the community.
In Germany, they are guaranteed of their right to independence and there are
multidimensional independence support by building and maintaining a network among expert
institutes for independence support, supporting manpower and the people with intellectual
disabilities. Their support provides an environment to build an extensive network focusing
on the living environment from the beginning. Such networks can be categorized into structural,
semi-structural and non-structural dimensions depending on social relations, organization of
specific institutes and the degrees of self-direction by their participants.
Therefore, indications and suggestions for the development of independent living for the
people with intellectual disabilities in Korea are as follows: 1. we need legal foundation and
guarantees for them to select their independent living environment, 2. we require an expert
system, especially educating and training the manpower, that is fit to provide proper support by characteristics of disabilities and individual environment, and 3. independence support
service agencies or regional public offices must create and maintain their own networks to
develop various semi-structural programs and expand opportunities. This is possible only if
the independence manpower and the members of the community come to understand people
with intellectual disabilities; for this, socio-educational programs are in dire need in the
communities. In near future, it is essential to conduct qualitative studies on the foundation
of social support to promote successful independent livings for people with intellectual
disabilities in Korea.