Gumi Expands 24-Hour Elementary Care Centers to Six, the Most in North Gyeongsang Province

Overcoming Low Birthrate: 'Gumi-Style All-Day Full Care' Expands from 2 to 6 Locations

Gyeongbuk's First and Largest Saemaeul 24-Hour Care and Culture Complex Center to Open in November

Gumi City in North Gyeongsang Province will expand its dedicated 24-hour elementary care facilities from the current two locations to six?the highest number in the province?starting September 1, as it launches the full-scale 'Gumi-style All-day Complete Care' project to address the low birth rate issue.

Meeting with Idolbom Center Officials (Gumi 24-Hour Village Care Center).

This project is a measure to overcome low birth rates by supporting dual-income families with elementary school children so they can balance work and childcare. In addition to the existing Gumi 24-hour Village Care Center and Sandong 24-hour Village Care Center, four more centers?Gupyeong Youngmu, Bonggok E-Pyeonhan, Okgyewoomirin, and Saemteo Community Child Center?will be added.

To support this, Gumi City will provide additional personnel and operating expenses to the dedicated facilities in each district, offering care services from 9 a.m. to midnight on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends (Saturday and Sunday). Through this, the city plans to respond quickly not only to regular care needs but also to shift work and emergency care demands of working parents.

The cumulative number of nighttime extended users at the currently piloted Gumi 24-hour Village Care Center is 1,787 (from November 2023 to August 2024), and at the Sandong 24-hour Village Care Center, it is 272 (from May to August 2024). These usage figures further highlight the necessity of Gumi-style All-day Complete Care.

Additionally, to reduce the burden on parents, Gumi City has been providing meal support during school vacations at 11 Together Care Centers since this year, and plans to open the Saemaeul 24-hour Care and Culture Complex Center?the first and largest of its kind in North Gyeongsang Province?in November.

Alongside this, the city is conducting a pilot project called 'K-Bodeum,' where community care services are provided in one place for infants, young children, and elementary students by purchasing apartment complexes. From 2025, it also plans to run the 'Care+Culture: We Are Generation Empathy Book Club' program, where local seniors and children using care centers participate together.

'Care+Culture: We Are Generation Empathy Book Club' is a community care culture program in which children using care centers and local seniors read books and share stories together during school vacations.

Park Eunhee, Director of the Future Education and Care Bureau, said, "Starting with the Gumi 24-hour Village Care Center, we will expand dedicated 24-hour care facilities to realize Gumi-style All-day Complete Care and do our best to create a child-rearing-friendly urban environment."

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