A Narrative Study on the Life of the Children of People with Hansen's Disease: Focused on the Discrimination Experience of Seongsaeng-won(成生院) Residents

In the 1960s, the South Korean government established settlement villages under the pretense of helping people with Hansen's disease to support themselves, but failed to improve public understanding to the disease. As a result, the settlement village became another “the Sorokdo” that made it difficult for people with Hansen's disease to return to society, and the damage caused by such structural discrimination continued to posterity. However, despite being discriminated against as severely as their parents' generation, research on the children of people with Hansen's disease is very lacking. Therefor, the present study summarizes the experiences of discrimination endured by the children of people with Hansen's disease using a narrative research method with a focus on the characteristics of the space referred to as settlement villages. The South Korea government has yet to reflect on and compensate for the human rights violations experienced by the children of people with Hansen's disease and families. I hope this study will be the starting point for the social debate on discrimination experienced by the families of people with Hansen's disease.