Local governments are establishing 24-hour-kindergartens. In Seoul, five are in operation since last year and Gyeonggi-do is also planning to expand their facilities.
Apart from the ones supported by the local governments, there seems to be a lot of 24-hour-kindergartens due to the increasing amount of two-career families.
We requested information concerning the number of 24-hour-kindergartens in Seoul. According to the data provided by Seoul, there are 105 kindergartens in Seoul that operates 24 hours a day.
Among 25 districts of Seoul, Gwangjin-gu has the highest number with 16 kindergartens followed by Gangdong-gu which has 14. Seodaemun-gu, Dongjak-gu, Seocho-gu, Seongdong-gu, Yongsan-gu and Jongro-gu each has only one kindergarten that opens 24 hours a day.
If you think about it, you will realize how sad this is. The kids sent to the kindergartens are only 5 years old or so. But they have to stay till late or the whole night in the kindergarten because of their working parents. The parents who have to send their kids to the 24-hour-kindergartens will never feel at ease as well. Having searched on the internet, however, the working parents seem to welcome 24-hour-kindergartens. There are also some opinions that the government and municipalities should increase support. This proves that childcare is difficult.
Raising children in Korea is no easy task. It is almost impossible to make a living without working together, but working together arouses problem with child care. There’s no person or facilities that can take care of kids till late. Probably that’s why 24-hour-kindergartens started to appear and the local governments provide support.
For the parents in difficult situations, 24-hour-kindergartens will definitely be an option. However we have to be aware that this can only be one of the support policies, not solutions. The problem with child care will not be solved without an improvement in the working condition and the secured employment where you can freely take parental leave.
Attached is the file provided by Seoul. Please refer to the file for the entire data.
24시간_어린이집.pdf