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Young Woo Kang (6 January 1944 – 24 February 2012) was a disability rights advocate, author, and speaker. He is known for his work in developing a braille alphabet for the Korean language. He is the current Vice Chair of the World Committee on Disability. Kang is a former policy advisor of the National Council on Disability to the United States White House, serving under former president George W. Bush. In 2001, Kang received the Asian American Society's Outstanding Contribution and Achievement Award. Kang is the former dean of South Korea's Taegu University, Supervisor of Special Education in Indiana, and is currently an adjunct professor at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. In 1995, Kang's autobiography was made into a television and motion picture movie entitled, ''Bicheun nae gaseume'' (English: ''Light in My Heart''). The film dramatized Kang's life as the first visually impaired Korean man to earn a Ph.D. In addition to film, the autobiography has been translated into seven languages and is a U.S. Library of Congress talking book.〔http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0426981/〕 The film was honored with the Korean equivalent of the Emmy Award for the best drama in television. == Personal background == Young Woo Kang was born in a small village near Seoul in South Korea. Kang's father died when he was 13 years old. The following year, Kang lost his eyesight in a sporting accident. At the time, there was widespread discrimination against disabled individuals. It was a common belief that seeing a blind person would bring bad luck. Blind individuals were literally spit upon and treated as outcasts. When Kang's mother learned that her son would be permanently blind, she died of a heart attack that same day, while walking home from the hospital. At that time, Kang's 17-year-old sister dropped out of high school and took a sewing job to support her younger brother. The pressure was too great for her, and she died 16 months later. In the span of just four years, Kang lost his eyesight, his parents, and his sister.〔 Kang is married to Kyoung, also known as Kay. Together, they have two sons, Paul and Christopher. Kyoung was a teacher for almost 30 years, working with visually impaired students in Gary, Indiana public schools. Kang's older son, Paul, is an ophthalmologist in Washington, D.C., while his younger son, Christopher, serves as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to President Obama for White House Counsel. Christopher Kang formerly served as Senate Floor Counsel to Assistant U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Richard Durbin, overseeing constitutional, criminal justice, and labor issues. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Young Woo Kang」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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