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