Sometimes, a barrier only a few inches high can bring movement to a complete stop. In South Korea, employees and community organizations are experiencing accessibility challenges firsthand and responding with practical solutions, one ramp at a time. What starts with understanding the difficulties faced by people with limited mobility is being translated into concrete action that is changing how communities approach accessibility.
In the narrow streets and alleys of Seoul's Jung-gu district, even a small curb can represent a significant obstacle.
During a recent volunteer exercise, employees of Boehringer Ingelheim Korea used wheelchairs to navigate their Seoul office. They encountered sloped surfaces, uneven ground and other obstacles that made seemingly simple movements difficult. After taking part in the simulation, one volunteer said they had not understood the severity of the challenge until a single step stopped them completely.
The experience continued beyond the workplace. Teams ventured into the surrounding community, walking through local streets, visiting businesses and recording accessibility obstacles. For the millions of South Koreans whose mobility is restricted, however, these obstacles are not part of a temporary exercise. They are encountered every day.
South Korea's aging population has made accessibility an increasingly important issue. Almost 15 million people, representing roughly 30% of the country's population, face mobility-related challenges. This group includes older people, individuals with disabilities, pregnant women and parents traveling with children in strollers.
Although regulations concerning ramp installation were broadened in 2022, 98.2% of retail establishments continue to be excluded from the requirements. As a result, everyday destinations such as pharmacies, medical clinics and neighborhood stores can remain difficult—or sometimes impossible—for people with limited mobility to enter.
In December 2024, South Korea's Supreme Court recognized accessibility as a fundamental constitutional right. The decision reinforced the principle that the ability to move through one's community is connected not simply to convenience, but also to dignity, participation and equality.
Soon after the ruling, Boehringer Ingelheim Korea became the first private company to install ramps within a local community. However, changes in legislation cannot by themselves eliminate physical obstacles that already exist throughout neighborhoods and commercial areas.
Turning Awareness Into Practical Action
This is the challenge addressed by the Moving Forward campaign. Built around the message “Everyone's life must move forward,” the initiative represents a long-term partnership between Boehringer Ingelheim Korea and MUUI, a social enterprise established in 2016 to promote accessibility rights for people with limited mobility.
The campaign goes beyond simply raising awareness. Its focus is on finding actual obstacles in people's daily surroundings and addressing them through practical interventions, including the installation of ramps.
Cooperation with local administrative organizations was an important part of the initiative. The project worked closely with bodies including the Jung-gu Administration Office and the Jung-gu Welfare Centre for Disabled People.
Between April and October 2025, the campaign concentrated its efforts on Yaksu-dong, an area of Jung-gu with one of Seoul's largest populations of residents experiencing mobility challenges.
Boehringer Ingelheim employees walked through the neighborhood along routes commonly used by residents. They examined obstacles at street level and experienced for themselves the points where ordinary journeys could become difficult or impossible.
The team combined field assessments with accessibility education and wheelchair simulation exercises. Their work resulted in the identification of 33 possible locations for wheelchair ramps. Priority was given to sites where steep inclines, deteriorating infrastructure and heavy pedestrian traffic created particularly significant challenges.
One participant summed up the experience by observing that a single curb could feel like a mountain.
Creating Better Access Through Collaboration
Following the assessments, 10 important facilities and businesses were selected for customized ramp installations.
Twenty Boehringer Ingelheim employees took part throughout the process. Working alongside MUUI specialists, they measured entrances, prepared surfaces and helped install the ramps.
The hands-on approach was deliberate. Rather than simply learning about accessibility in a presentation or training session, employees directly encountered the physical difficulties and then participated in solving them.
“Awareness comes first,” said participating employee Dongho Park. “Once you are aware, you gain the ability to act. That's what this experience taught me.”
For MUUI, the partnership represents a broader approach to accessibility—one that moves away from treating individual improvements as isolated projects and instead encourages communities, businesses and organizations to share responsibility.
“Accessibility is a right everyone should naturally enjoy in daily life. Through this partnership, I hope awareness grows and communities move closer to guaranteeing mobility as a right, not a restriction,” said Yun-hui Hong, Chairperson of MUUI.
A Continuing Commitment Rather Than a One-Time Project
The Moving Forward campaign is intended to extend beyond a single volunteer event.
“This agreement is not a one-off activity,” said Ana-Maria Boie, General Manager of Boehringer Ingelheim Korea. “With our rapidly aging population, accessibility has become a critical social issue. We are committed to working with communities to create environments where everyone can move safely and freely—today and in the future.”
Employees of Boehringer Ingelheim Korea and MUUI continue to work together through the campaign, combining community knowledge, employee participation and physical improvements to address accessibility challenges.
This combination has helped move the initiative beyond conventional volunteering toward a longer-term model of community-based change. Following the campaign's progress, Moving Forward has become one of Boehringer Ingelheim Korea's strategic sustainability initiatives.
The program's future focus is on improving social participation and accessibility for people with limited mobility. It also aims to encourage stronger relationships between businesses and community organizations, creating a greater sense of shared responsibility.
By demonstrating how companies and local partners can work together to tackle practical social challenges, the initiative could also provide a model for other organizations pursuing sustainability programs with tangible community benefits.
Accessibility Can Affect Everyone
Mobility limitations are not confined to any single section of society.
Circumstances can change unexpectedly. A temporary injury, a newborn requiring a stroller or responsibility for an elderly family member can suddenly make previously insignificant obstacles much more difficult to navigate.
In such situations, accessibility is no longer an abstract policy discussion. It directly affects a person's independence and freedom to participate in everyday life.
Every ramp installed through the Moving Forward campaign therefore represents more than a physical modification to a building entrance. It can provide easier access to healthcare, workplaces, shops and the wider community.
Accessibility is ultimately a shared concern. Removing barriers can help create communities in which more people can move independently, participate fully and access the places and services they need.
In that sense, every barrier removed helps make it possible for life to keep moving forward.