SEOUL, KOREA --- Korean Agency for Technology and Standards or KATS (Administrator, Huh Kyung) announced that 35 items of graphical symbols for public information and water safety reflecting disabled care, gender equality and multi-culturalism have newly been listed on the addendum of Korean Standards, KS A 0901.
337 items of graphical symbols that can be easily understood in daily life by everyone regardless of their native language, ethnicity, religion and customs have been listed on KS A 0901. KATS has added 35 items of graphical symbols to KS A 0901 considering the society`s needs for welfare and safety.
12 graphical symbols for public information have been published to support the disabled and to reflect the gender equality and multi-cultural society. Graphical symbols for guide dogs, assistant dogs and passengers accompanying with children will be used in public facilities.
Graphical symbols depicting passengers accompanying with children designed by subway and bus companies have been used with the images of a human figure wearing skirts, which could imply that caring for children is the women`s responsibility. Therefore, the skirt on the human figure will be removed in newly adopted graphical symbols to prevent bias on gender roles.
As foreign visitors and residents in Korea increase rapidly, graphical symbols that visually deliver information will enable them to easily access the public facilities.
Newly added graphical symbols include 15 items on water safety which were designed to prevent the accidents and injuries in water leisure activities. Korea Coast Guard and local governments are planning to install these graphical symbols in beaches, riversides and lakesides.
It is expected that KATS will try to adopt 9 items of graphical symbols on water safety designed by Korea as international standards, based on international standardization activities that 39 items of graphical symbols proposed by KATS have already been listed on relevant international standards - ISO 7001 and ISO 7010.
