Jinju City Wins 'Korea's Most Beloved Brand Award' for Two Consecutive Years

Efforts to Create a Childbirth and Child-Rearing Friendly Environment Stand Out, Including 24/7 Hourly Childcare Services

Korea's Most Beloved Brand Award Winner for Two Consecutive Years
[Image Source=Jinju City]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Jinju City, Gyeongnam, received the grand prize in the 'Best City to Raise Children' category for the second consecutive year at the 2021 Korea's Most Loved Brand Awards held on the morning of the 27th at The Plaza Hotel Grand Ballroom in Seoul.

The city gained great public response by implementing specialized policies such as the nation's first direct operation of a 24/7 hourly childcare service and the operation of a toy bank. With this award, Jinju has firmly established itself as the representative city best suited for raising children in South Korea.

The city's proud '365 days 24-hour hourly childcare service' is a system that alleviates the difficulties of parenting for parents who have no place to leave their children due to urgent circumstances such as nighttime economic activities or hospital visits.

Through the implementation of this project, the city received the Presidential Award at the 2019 Government Innovation Best Practices Competition and the Innovation Champion Plaque for Excellent Resident Life Innovation Cases from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in 2020.

Encouraged by these achievements, this year the city plans to expand the service by adding one more location, operating a total of four centers.

In addition, the city operates six 'Toy Banks' to reduce the economic burden of purchasing toys and to provide play experience events for families with infants and toddlers. The 'Happy Birthday' service, a mobile toy bank that visits directly, is used by about 300 citizens daily on average.

Mayor Cho Gyu-il of Jinju, who received the grand prize on this day, said, "We will actively discover child-friendly policies to create a city where children are happy and further accelerate the creation of a nurturing environment that is good for having and raising children."

Meanwhile, the city fully supports childcare fees for parents of private and home daycare centers where government labor costs are not subsidized and has assigned dedicated teachers for extended care.

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