On Tuesday, November 10th, 2026 we had a three hour visit and information exchange with eight social workers from Seoul, South Korea. With the help of Yongho Jeon and his son Daniel as translators and our cellphones as electronic translators, we talked about how services are delivered in British Columbia and how that compares to service delivery in South Korea.
For an overview of the services they provide, see this handout they provided. They talked about transitioning services to more community based and person centred supports. In recent years, there have been 90 apartments established for supported independent living where people can live in their own homes and have life skills support to assist where needed. They also have group homes for four people, and larger facilities for 30 people who more complex support needs.
At the end of our visit they invited us to come to Seoul to see their services and share more stories of successful community support. Here is a picture painted by one of the participants of their services:
Many thanks go to Yongho Jeon and his son Daniel for their assistance with translation. They were also great examples of respectful support and communication about the people we support.