On May 9, at a public playground in a residential area of Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, cigarette butts were scattered under the benches, and discarded drink cans and snack wrappers were strewn about like fallen leaves. Instead of young children, it was tall high school students who filled the area around the slide. Although about ten children were present, they could not approach the slide. Parents were busy warning, "Don't touch the sand, it's dirty!"

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A different scene unfolded at a nearby kids' cafe. Lively music played, and the waiting number had surpassed 130. Friendly safety managers looked after the children, and the play area was covered with soft mats. Baek Narae (40), a mother of a fourth grader, said, "Including the entrance fee and meal costs, it comes close to 100,000 won, but we often end up going to a kids' cafe because I can't feel at ease about safety accidents or hygiene at the neighborhood playground."

On the 9th, strollers lined up at the entrance of a kids cafe in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Jaehyun Park

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The polarization of children's play environments is intensifying, with access increasingly dependent on parents' financial means. While the total number of public playgrounds is rising, most are concentrated in newly built apartment complexes or left neglected due to lack of attention from local authorities. In pursuit of safety, parents are willing to pay high prices, turning to paid facilities like kids' cafes.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on May 15, the number of paid play facilities classified as play-providing businesses, such as kids' cafes and indoor playgrounds, increased from 786 in 2017 to 1,874 last month, a rise of 1,088. During the same period, the number of free play facilities—such as daycare centers, kindergartens, urban parks, and apartment complex playgrounds—increased by 11,214, from 61,251 to 72,465.

However, the increase in numbers does not necessarily guarantee a safe environment for children to play. Over this period, the number of daycare and kindergarten playgrounds—where spaces are separated and safety managers are present—decreased by 2,396. Urban park playgrounds, which led the overall rise with an increase of 2,801, are only inspected by local governments at least once every two years and lack on-site staff and proper safety and hygiene management, making them relatively vulnerable.

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Facilities within apartment complexes increased by 10,809, largely due to the rise in newly built large apartment complexes. Considering that new complexes increasingly restrict access to outsiders, the play environment for children varies depending on their parents' housing and economic status.

Kids' cafes offer regular facility inspections and a pleasant environment. At one kids' cafe in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, the weekend fee is 27,000 won per child for two hours, with an additional 7,000 won per adult guardian. For two children accompanied by two adults, the admission fee alone reaches 68,000 won. When you add the meal cost of 9,000 won per person (a total of 36,000 won), the total cost for two hours at the kids' cafe exceeds 100,000 won. Choi Dabyeol (30) said, "Until my child gets older, I plan to choose the kids' cafe over the playground. Since I don't feel that neighborhood playgrounds are truly safe, parents have to remain vigilant. When I want to spend time comfortably, the kids' cafe is the better option."

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The polarization of play environments based on parents' economic capacity is also evident in the data. According to the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, the private kids' cafe usage rate gap by household income is 20.2 percentage points, meaning children from lower-income households are excluded from safe and well-managed paid play environments. Lee Kyungchan (47), a parent, said, "It's become too dangerous for kids to run around in fields or play ball in parking lots like before. Now, even playtime differs depending on whether parents have money or not," he lamented.

Professor Chung Ikjoong, Department of Social Welfare at Ewha Womans University, pointed out, "The disparity in family income has led to a serious gap in children's play opportunities." He added, "Child welfare budgets are often subject to the priorities of local governments since they're managed as local transfer programs. To address the problem of play environment polarization, child policy needs to be elevated to a national program."