Hello. This is Realworld, a playable content platform. Recently, we shared news about how Realworld's pop-up stores are ESG pop-up stores that dramatically reduce waste by utilizing existing spaces, addressing the waste problem of traditional pop-up stores. This time, we'd like to show you how we're solving yet another social issue. What if there was a place where people with disabilities who have limited mobility could also enjoy escape room games? We're revealing the secrets of Realworld's barrier-free spaces that lower the threshold for experiences.
Disability and Cultural Accessibility
According to 'Life of People with Disabilities in 2020 Statistics,' a disability-related study conducted jointly by Statistics Korea and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, only 6.9% of people with disabilities engage in cultural and arts activities as weekend leisure pursuits. This is less than one-third of the 20.1% rate for non-disabled individuals.
Efforts to improve cultural accessibility for people with disabilities continue today. Particularly in the exhibition field, we can find various attempts to enhance accessibility. For example, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art has introduced height-adjustable kiosks that wheelchair users and children can easily use, and overseas museums and galleries are so proactive about accessibility that they have dedicated accessibility menus.
These efforts can be understood through the concept of 'barrier-free.' According to Wikipedia, barrier-free refers to movements and policies implemented to remove physical obstacles and psychological barriers that hinder the social participation of socially vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, elderly people, and pregnant women. It is generally used to mean removing barriers that prevent people with disabilities from using facilities.
Realworld's Barrier-Free Space
But what about escape room cafes, which have established themselves as a new form of leisure activity? What initially consisted of being locked in small rooms with mainly padlock-based puzzles has gradually become more complex and difficult, now requiring crawling on floors, climbing ladders, and operating various devices. These escape room cafes designed for non-disabled people clearly present accessibility challenges for people with disabilities.
So what if we approached this not as closed 'rooms' but as accessible 'spaces' for everyone? If there were escape room games in open spaces without levels or steps that anyone could enjoy, wouldn't both disabled and non-disabled people be able to have fun together? This could be called a 'barrier-free' escape room cafe.
Unlike traditional escape room cafes, Realworld locations such as Realworld Seongsu, Gwangju, and Connect Hyundai Cheongju have no locks to solve and no devices that need to be used exclusively by one person. Players can complete missions in open spaces using their smartphones and props placed throughout the space.
Particularly, the recently opened Realworld Connect Hyundai Cheongju has no steps or level changes that impede movement, and features even more spacious areas than existing stores, allowing people with disabilities to enjoy Realworld's playable content without mobility difficulties.
While we currently have barrier-free features for people with physical disabilities who have limited mobility, we expect that future AI features such as voice input will help lower barriers for other disabilities like visual impairments as well.
Realworld continues to solve social problems in our own way, and we will continue to work harder to capture both fun and meaning. Thank you.