Mapo-gu Expands Six Public Daycare Centers This Year... Achieves 56% Utilization Rate of National and Public Daycare Centers by Year-End

Resolving Childcare Blind Spots by Building Public Workplace Daycare Centers with Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service... Supporting Daycares with Thermal Cameras, Green Remodeling of Aging Public Daycare Centers

Seongmi Daycare Center Perspective View

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] “I want to hear people say that Mapo is the best place in the world to raise children.” This is the vision that Yudonggyun, Mayor of Mapo District, dreams of.

Mapo District (Mayor Yudonggyun) has rolled up its sleeves to expand trustworthy childcare environments, including the expansion of public daycare centers. The plan is to create a foundation for a child-friendly environment and transform into a “childcare city where both children and parents are happy.”

First, the district will strengthen the public nature of childcare services by expanding district-run daycare centers, which are highly preferred by residents, and operating public workplace daycare centers for workers in childcare blind spots.

Starting with the opening of the Gungdeok SK Leaders View Phase 1 Kkumbit Daycare Center in January, in June, Sandeul Daycare Center and Haedeul Daycare Center were opened respectively within the Yeomni Prestige Xi complex.

Additionally, the replacement construction of the old district-run Seongmi Daycare Center, where children had been experiencing inconvenience due to outdated facilities, is scheduled to be completed by November. The district also plans to convert private daycare centers within apartment complexes into district-run daycare centers, expanding the total number of district-run daycare centers in the area to 81 by the end of the year.

As a result of efforts to meet the increasing resident demand for public childcare, the utilization rate of national and public daycare centers, which was 44% when Mayor Yoo took office in 2018, will rise to 56% by the end of this year. This figure is significantly higher than the government’s target of 40% and the Seoul city average of 47%.

Mapo District’s first hub-type public workplace daycare center, the “Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service Mapo Daycare Center,” which opened on July 1, is a welcome childcare policy for workers who previously could not use workplace daycare centers.

Hub-type public workplace daycare centers are daycare centers installed near residential areas or transportation hubs close to areas densely populated with small and medium-sized enterprises. Since 2019, the district has collaborated with the Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service to build and operate a daycare center with a capacity of 60 children, investing 5.8 billion KRW in the project.

This is expected to significantly alleviate childcare concerns for children of local small business workers, non-regular workers, and low-income dual-income families who must work to make a living. At the same time, it will help reduce welfare disparities between companies by easing childcare burdens on female workers and ensuring continuous employment activities.

Alongside this, since last year, the district has been promoting the “Public Building Green Remodeling Project” targeting old district-run daycare centers to ensure that growing children can live in a comfortable environment.

This project involves remodeling public buildings, including daycare centers over 10 years old, to improve energy performance and efficiency. Last year, the district improved facilities at three daycare centers, and this year plans to install insulation reinforcement and high-efficiency heating and cooling systems in seven district-run daycare centers.

Furthermore, the district plans to apply the Seoul City Safety Care Daycare Center Customized Environment Design Guidelines to daycare centers scheduled to open in the future, taking the lead in creating a safe daycare environment that residents can trust.

Finally, to ensure a safe childcare environment even amid the COVID-19 situation, the district is supporting local daycare centers with quarantine supplies such as thermal imaging cameras, masks, and hand sanitizers.

The district secured a budget of 350 million KRW, including city funds, by being selected for a Seoul city public contest project, and plans to complete the installation of thermal imaging cameras in all daycare centers in the area by the end of September.

Previously, childcare teachers measured temperatures and recorded them manually, but now children measure their own temperatures and the results are stored as data. This system allows parents to check temperatures anytime via a dedicated application at home and enables quick responses in emergencies.

Yudonggyun, Mayor of Mapo District, said, “To overcome low birth rates, it is most important to implement practical childcare policies and create an environment where having and raising children is easy.” He added, “We will provide the best childcare services that satisfy all residents and make Mapo District a ‘child-friendly city.’”

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