Haenam-gun Family Community Center Establishes Itself as a 'Happy Space'

Providing Integrated Services for Care, Childrearing, and Communication

Haenam County, South Jeolla Province (Governor Myung Hyun-gwan) announced on the 18th that the Family Harmony Center has recorded approximately 80,000 annual visitors, establishing itself as a space of happiness for Haenam families.

The Family Harmony Center was opened in March 2023, bringing together related facilities in one place to provide integrated services for all families. Over the past year, an average of 6,800 residents per month, totaling around 80,000 annually, have used the center, playing a pivotal role in supporting healthy family life for county residents.

The center consists of one basement level and four above-ground floors, with a total floor area of 4,237 square meters. On the first floor, the public Haenam Daycare Center operates year-round, 365 days a year, along with the Together Care Center, which provides after-school care for elementary students. The second floor features a toy library, which lends not only toys for infants and toddlers but also dolsang, baegilsang, and a full range of event costumes. There is also a neighborhood cafe for meetings and communication, as well as an indoor playground for children's physical activities.

Participants at the Family Harmony Center are experiencing the Neighborhood Kitchen program. Photo by Haenam County

The third floor is home to the Haenam County Family Center, which provides integrated support for various families and multicultural families. The family center actively operates a community space where parenting information is shared and childcare is provided. The Community Childcare Sharing Room, which operates group care, mutual assistance, and regular programs, along with the Neighborhood Kitchen, which offers family cooking programs, are particularly popular among users. On the fourth floor, there are two classrooms that are used for various programs and can be rented by county residents.

User satisfaction with the various programs operated by the Family Harmony Center is also very high. The center conducts satisfaction surveys after each program, and among last year's programs, the average satisfaction rate for customized family education by children's life stages, life stage family education for parent-child interaction, and the Sensory Development Play Class, which offers a variety of developmental play programs using music, art, and other senses, was 95.8%.

In particular, the Neighborhood Kitchen, which is very popular, provides programs tailored to various family types, such as cooking classes for parents and children, single-person households, marriage immigrants, fathers, couples, and healthy cooking classes for middle-aged adults. This not only allows participants to learn cooking but also enhances communication within families, achieving a dual effect. The Neighborhood Kitchen recorded a high satisfaction rate of 96.6%, demonstrating that the center has established itself as a happy space offering tangible benefits to local residents.

In addition to the well-received existing programs, the county plans to strengthen its offerings this year by introducing new programs such as Family Harmony Memory-Making with township residents and operating the Community Childcare Sharing Room using donations from the Hometown Love Cooperation Fund, so that more residents can use the center.

Governor Myung Hyun-gwan stated, "Within just two years of its opening, the Family Harmony Center has truly become the center of happiness for Haenam families," and added, "We will continue to ensure that all types of families can visit, care for one another, and communicate together by operating the center perfectly."

To apply for center programs, visit the integrated website of the Haenam County Family Harmony Center or contact the center directly.

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