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Have you ever heard of coda?

It refers to non-disabled children born to deaf parents. As they grow up, they serve as a strong support for their parents and a bridge that connects the world.



In many cases, however, difficulties arise from a very early age when learning to speak and mastering sign language.

Reporter Shin Yong-shik first reports the stories of those who are in the blind spot of welfare.



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Junhaengi, a 5th grade elementary school student, was born to a deaf father and a Mongolian mother with the same disability.



She acts as an interpreter between her mother and her sister who has difficulty speaking.



[Lee Junhaeng/CODA: Do you have homework today?

Do you know what to bring for school tomorrow?]



Because of work, I can't rest my hands and my mouth when my father and family in the countryside are on the phone.



[Lee Jun-haeng/CODA: (Dad: Call your younger sister) Soo-hyun-ah, come and see.

I went to school since yesterday.

(Dad: I know. Junhaeng is the best.)]



He already has a lot of work in his family, but he has nowhere to turn for help.



[Lee Jun-haeng / CODA: I had to tell my mother everything she said, so it was inconvenient because I had a lot of responsibilities.

(The person to ask for help at that time was not often by my side.]



Learning to speak and write also required a lot of time and effort.



[Lee Jun-haeng/CODA: (How did you learn Korean?)) Go to a private academy or something…

It was lacking a lot, but I got used to it after watching or imitating what people were doing.] I



barely had a chance to learn sign language properly, so I barely learned it over my shoulder.



Most children of deaf parents, Koda, face this reality, but there is no institutional support.



There are about 400,000 deaf people registered with the government, and the size of their children is unknown.



[Heo Il/Professor at Korea Welfare University: Although the (government) support for KODA itself is weak, to support Korean sign language education and counseling-related services for families of the deaf including KODA…

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In addition, it is necessary to take measures tailored to the living environment, such as providing information access services such as sign language interpreters to ease the burden on parents and children with hearing impairments.



(Video coverage: Kim Seung-tae, Video editing: Kim Kyung-yeon, CG: Lee Yeon-hee)



▶ Overcoming alone, even helping a similar situation…

The story of Seulgi 'Coda'