Exploring the stigmatisation of autism within South Korea: a case for the expansion of ‘ablenationalism’

Although South Korea has long been an unfavourable space for disabled people to exist within, autistic people remain especially stigmatised. The theory of ‘ablenationalism’ would predict that autistic people’s difficulty to adhere to neoliberal ideals enforces this lesser acceptance – however, ablenationalism is yet to be sufficiently explored within non-Western contexts. Using data gathered through the critical discourse analysis of 320 South Korean socio-political texts, this article fills this gap. While all autistic Koreans were found to face medicalisation and devaluation, their varied social acceptance was seen to be impacted by their presumed ability to adhere to the ideal of capitalist productivity. Yet, despite supporting many of the theory’s predictions, findings disrupted ablenationalism’s assumption that only neoliberal ideals dictate acceptance, as the ideal of cultural homogeneity additionally restricted autistic Koreans. This study promotes the importance of expanding ablenationalism to better account for these diverse and non-Western contexts.