The World On arirang

Jeju island is known as one of Korea's main vacation spots.
And so that everyone can enjoy a trip to Jeju, the island is developing tour programs that allow visually impaired tourists to freely experience and enjoy the island's caves and forests.
Lee Eun-jin has the story.
A group of visually impaired tourists visit a lake on Jeju Island.
They walk around with equipment that helps amplify surrounding sounds.
As this lake is in the middle of a forest far from the city, the travelers can clearly hear the birds and even the wind.
This barrier-free travel program was made for visually impaired travelers to hear and record the sounds of nature on Jeju Island.

"I can hear sounds of nature. I like forests so this makes me very happy. It's very exciting."

There is also a program to experience a cave.
Guided down the steps, the tourists can feel the cool air inside the cave.
There is a walking path inside the cave, making the experience safe for the visually impaired visitors.

Behind such barrier-free travel programs is the support from "travel helpers".
They go through training to provide assistance and information suitable for visually impaired tourists.

"It was nice that they helped us use other senses like smell or touch to feel what we can't see visually."

After a successful run of inviting visually impaired travelers, the Jeju Tourism Organization plans to further develop barrier-free tour programs.
Lee Eunjin, Arirang News.