[Reporter’s Notebook] Dolbom Classroom, Care for Dolbom Labor First

Elementary care workers, including members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' National School Irregular Workers' Union, held a nationwide care classroom general strike resolution rally on the 6th in front of the Democratic Party office in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, urging improvements in working conditions such as the transition to an 8-hour full-time schedule. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] On the 6th, the first childcare strike caused disruptions in the operation of after-school care classrooms at some schools. Although combined classes were held on the day or substitute personnel such as principals and vice principals were deployed, some care classrooms were completely closed. As parents with both working spouses were unable to use the care classrooms immediately, complaints poured in about having to take afternoon leave or urgently find alternative places to leave their children. There is a high possibility that this situation will recur in the second strike scheduled for next month.

Elementary childcare, first introduced in 2004, was one of the 'after-school activities.' Initially, it was operated only for lower grades, but as the target grades gradually expanded, demand increased significantly. The number of elementary childcare users, which was only 50,000 in 2007, jumped to 290,358 last year. This accounts for 68.46% of all elementary school students.

The perception that children could be entrusted in the school space played a significant role. Parents thought their children could spend time safely at school without private education or family care. According to the '2020 Government-wide Elementary Childcare Demand Survey' received by Justice Party lawmaker Lee Eun-joo from the Ministry of Education, 74.28% of parents of 5-year-old children attending kindergarten or daycare, 79.75% of parents of first graders, and 76.94% of parents of second graders preferred elementary childcare classrooms.

However, looking at the reality, care classrooms are unstable places. First, 82% of childcare workers in the educational public service sector are employed under a 4-6 hour single-shift contract. Due to a shortage of classrooms, the number of multi-purpose classrooms that are used as regular classrooms or special rooms in the morning and converted into care classrooms only in the afternoon has increased. The number of care classrooms increased from 2,718 in 2007 to 13,910 last year. Teachers complain that their workload has increased as they are assigned childcare-related administrative tasks.

One teacher hinted that because of these circumstances, children tend not to attend care classrooms as they move to higher grades. In fact, in the same survey, 69.47% of parents of third graders preferred elementary childcare classrooms, but this rate dropped to the 50% range for parents of fourth and fifth graders.

As the system grew in size without substance, conflicts within schools continued. This is the result of the government hiring only the necessary personnel as needed without a big-picture plan. This is also why demands for improved treatment of childcare workers are repeatedly made. The Moon Jae-in administration announced in 2018 that it would expand after-school programs further with the 'All-day Care' policy. Patchwork measures like the current ones will only cause childcare crises.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.