“The Youngest is a High School Student?”... Missing Out on Multi-Child Benefits in Seoul Means a ‘Loss’

Many Discounts and Exemptions for Public Facilities
Eligibility for Multi-Child Happiness Card Issuance: Age 18

Mihee Kim (alias, 49), who lives in Seoul, decided to reissue the unused "Dadungi Happiness Card." She only recently realized that she had missed out on benefits after her youngest child turned 13 and she had stopped using the card.

Seoul City announced last May that it would relax the criteria for multi-child families from three or more children to two or more, and also expanded the eligibility for the Dadungi Happiness Card from age 13 to 18, but she had not fully understood these changes.

There was a reason she missed out on the benefits. She mistakenly believed that once her eldest child became an adult, families with minor children were excluded from the multi-child family benefits. The differing standards among district offices also confused her.

Even after Seoul City's announcement, some districts still set the youngest child's age limit at 13 or under, or only provided discounts and reductions for families with three or more children. Most of these issues were improved by ordinance revisions at the end of last year.

Gangdong-gu revised its ordinance on December 27 last year to unify benefits for families with two or three children and aligned the youngest child's age criteria with Seoul City's standards. Yangcheon-gu also amended its "Multi-child Family Preference and Support Ordinance" on the 28th of last month, removing the previous regulation limiting benefits to children 13 or under and changing benefits from being only for families with three or more children to those with two or more.

Gangseo-gu and Yongsan-gu currently offer a 50% discount on public parking fees for holders of the Dadungi Happiness Card with two or more children, but still apply a 30% discount on sports facilities only to families with three or more children. Regarding this, Gangseo-gu and Yongsan-gu stated, "We plan to apply discounts to families with two children through ordinance revisions this year." A representative from Jongno-gu also said, "We will carefully review and supplement the relaxed criteria for two-child families and other local government policies."

The slow pace and difficulty in unified application stem from the fact that the work process is more complex than expected. A district official said, "Changing discount criteria for multi-child families and reviewing ordinance revisions take about five to six months, involving consultations with public facility departments and pushing for related ordinance revisions."

In Seongbuk-gu, for example, it took about six months for five departments to consult and revise eight ordinances and two enforcement rules to expand the youngest child's age eligibility for the Dadungi Happiness Card from 13 to 18 last year.

The discounts and benefits provided by Seoul City and each district are substantial. In Gangnam-gu, families can receive discounts or reductions at 123 public facilities including cultural centers, lifelong learning centers, and sports facilities, and can use childcare facilities such as public indoor playgrounds and local informatization classrooms free of charge. Seongbuk-gu offers 50% discounts on public parking lots, childcare support centers, libraries, cultural and artistic facilities, and community centers, and 30-50% discounts on sports facilities. The Seoul-style Kids Cafe, opening in the first half of this year, will be free to use.

No matter how many benefits there are, they are useless if not claimed. To receive multi-child family support benefits, one must obtain the Dadungi Happiness Card. Eligible families are those living in Seoul with two or more children (youngest child 18 or under), and at least one parent and the children must have a Seoul address at the time of application. The card can be issued as a credit or debit card at Woori Bank branches or as an app card (Seoul Wallet) via the app store.

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