‘Perfect for Childcare’ Haenam-gun, Ttangkkeut Family Harmony Center to Open in Second Half of the Year

Making Haenam a Great Place to Have and Raise Children "No Interruptions This Year Either"

[Haenam＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] Haenam-gun Ttangkkeut Family Harmony Center announced on the 28th that it will open in the second half of this year.

The center was selected as a 2019 Life SOC Complex Project and is investing a total of 14 billion KRW, including 3.2 billion KRW in national funds and 10.8 billion KRW in local funds, to provide customized complex services and create a family harmony space.

The Haenam-gun Family Center, Community Childcare Sharing Center, Public Haenam Daycare, Together Care Center, Toy Library, and Indoor Playground will be housed in a multipurpose complex facility built on the site of the former Haenam Public Library, with one basement floor, four above-ground floors, and a total floor area of 4,237.39㎡.

After demolishing the existing building last year, construction began in earnest, and currently, the basement first-floor framework is underway.

Plans include operating family education, counseling, cultural programs, and Korean language education. It is expected to become a landmark family harmony space in Haenam-gun with integrated functions such as childcare, care, and family health.

Previously, as one of the key childcare promotion tasks during the 7th local government term, Haenam opened a toy library in 2020, reducing childcare costs by lending toys necessary according to the developmental stages of infants and toddlers.

The toy library, which holds 130 types and about 508 toys according to children's growth and development stages, lends toys needed to preschool children residing in the county. As of March 2022, it has about 360 cumulative members and has recorded 7,568 lending instances, receiving great response. When the Ttangkkeut Family Harmony Center is completed, it plans to relocate the library inside the center.

This year, Haenam-gun is accelerating the discovery and promotion of major childbirth and childcare policies to reestablish Haenam’s status as a good place to have and raise children.

For the first time this year, a ‘Pregnant Women Household Housekeeping Service’ will dispatch professional housekeepers free of charge to pregnant households, and ‘Dad Childcare Leave Incentives’ will be provided to male workers on parental leave. Additionally, a childcare incentive of 50,000 KRW per child will be introduced for families with three or more children.

In particular, new implementations this year include a 2 million KRW ‘First Meeting Voucher’ per newborn, a monthly infant allowance of 300,000 KRW (fully covering childcare services), and expansion of child allowances up to age 8.

The county is also strengthening public childcare by increasing childcare fees for infants and toddlers (ages 0-2) and the Nuri Curriculum (ages 3-5), and expanding insurance support items for daycare center safety mutual aid association group insurance to enhance safety for children and childcare staff.

For families experiencing childcare gaps due to parents’ dual employment, an ‘In-Home Childcare Service’ is provided for children under 12, and the number of daycare centers offering hourly childcare services for parents who care for children at home is expanded to four.

Families raising two or more children receive reductions and exemptions on 16 types of public facility usage fees, public utility charges, and agricultural machinery rental fees. For families with three or more children, tuition support of up to 1.5 million KRW per semester is provided for up to eight semesters starting from the third child.

Additionally, following the opening of the ‘Koaru Apartment Community Childcare Sharing Center’ last year through a Ministry of Gender Equality and Family public project to support after-school care for elementary students, this year the ‘Eobul Village Community Childcare Room’ is being created by remodeling the former senior citizens’ center in Eobuldo, Songji-myeon.

Myung Hyun-kwan, Haenam County Governor, said, “Haenam-gun has achieved many results by promoting some of the most exemplary childbirth and childcare policies nationwide. We will ensure thorough progress of the Ttangkkeut Family Harmony Center and accelerate the discovery and promotion of policies to make Haenam a good place to have and raise children.”

Haenam=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun kh0424@asiae.co.kr

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