"Improving Indoor Environment with Domestic Wood" Call for 20 Private Daycare Centers

The Korea Forest Service is recruiting daycare centers to participate in the ‘Wooden Facility Project for Children’s Use’.

Children are participating in experiential activities at a daycare center decorated with domestic wood for an indoor environment. Photo by Korea Forest Service

According to the Korea Forest Service on the 18th, the project is implemented by selecting and recruiting private daycare centers nationwide (excluding national/public and social welfare corporation daycare centers) that wish to participate, and replacing their indoor environments with domestic wood.

Daycare centers that are finally selected through screening to participate in the project will receive 70 million KRW in national and local government funds for indoor environment improvement using domestic wood. The individual daycare center’s self-contribution from the project budget is 30 million KRW.

Applications for participation can be made from the 18th to the 28th of this month through the relevant department of the city, county, or district office where the daycare center is located.

Eligibility for application is given to daycare centers subject to the Infant Care Act (Article 10) (with a total floor area of 300㎥), including corporate/organization daycare centers, workplace daycare centers, home daycare centers, cooperative daycare centers, and private daycare centers, provided that the asbestos survey conducted as of the application date meets the ‘not detected’ condition.

For more detailed information about the project, please check the Korea Forest Service website or the Wood Information website.

Shim Sang-taek, Director of the Forest Industry Policy Bureau at the Korea Forest Service, said, “The purpose of the project is to provide children at daycare centers (infants and toddlers) with opportunities to directly touch and feel wood in their daily lives as they grow,” and added, “The Korea Forest Service will continue to strive to discover and promote proactive administrative policies that the public can experience.”

Meanwhile, according to research by the National Institute of Forest Science, a certain amount of phytoncides is released into the air in indoor environments decorated with wood, which has been found to have positive effects on improving skin and respiratory diseases.

Additionally, research results show that wooden indoor environments help increase students’ concentration and enhance creativity.

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