[Interview] Kim Mikyung, Eunpyeong District Mayor: "I Will Make It a City Good for Having and Raising Children"

Eunpyeong-gu in the 8th Local Government Term to Focus on Education Issues...Continuously Striving to Improve the Quality of Public Childcare...Seeking Practical Solutions for Career and Academic Advancement...Implementing Policies from the Perspective of Infants, Students, and Parents

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] “We will make Eunpyeong-gu a place where it is good to have children, raise them well, and educate them, so that people come here for their children's education.”

Kim Mi-kyung, Mayor of Eunpyeong-gu, explained the childcare and education policies by saying, “In the 8th term of the elected government, Eunpyeong-gu will focus on education-related issues.”

Mayor Kim cited the ‘I-mom Taxi’ as a representative childcare policy of Eunpyeong-gu. It is a dedicated taxi service for pregnant women and families with infants and young children, which Eunpyeong-gu started as the first in the nation and has attracted attention. The service uses large vehicles capable of carrying strollers, equipped with car seats and vehicle air purifiers, and mandates daily disinfection of the vehicle interior, paying special attention to safety and quarantine.

Among about 5,900 eligible people in Eunpyeong-gu, about 5,300 have subscribed, and the cumulative number of uses has reached about 22,000, receiving considerable positive responses from residents. A satisfaction survey conducted in July showed a high satisfaction rate of 94.6%, and it was selected as an innovation case at the 2021 Korea Innovation Expo. Not only other local governments but also Seoul City plans to benchmark this and operate the ‘Seoul Mom and Dad Taxi’ starting next year.

From February next year, a companion support service called ‘Chinjeong-mom Service’ will be added to the I-mom Taxi. Mayor Kim said, “It can provide emotional support like a mother’s mother by taking care of the child and passing on childcare know-how, and it is expected to create senior jobs by linking with the Senior Club.”

In August, Eunpyeong-gu opened its 90th public daycare center and plans to expand to 100 by 2026 to achieve a public childcare rate of 50%. In addition, the childcare comprehensive support center will be relocated and expanded into a new public complex facility, equipped not only with childcare education rooms and counseling rooms but also with public kids cafes and communal childcare rooms. As the first basic local government nationwide, it will also establish an early childhood mental health care system to support infants and young children, childcare staff, and caregivers experiencing psychological difficulties.

Mayor Kim said, “In addition, we will continue to strive to improve the quality of public childcare by creating public kids cafes that integrate information and communication technology, implementing a night childcare system, and expanding the ratio of childcare teachers per child.”

Moreover, along with village education, there is a plan to build a system that provides systematic career and college admission information. The plan is to conduct ideal village education while realistically seeking practical solutions to the career and admission problems parents face.

First, a career and admission information center will be established so that students and parents can plan their careers and admissions stably. It will provide entrance exam information through career and admission program operations, entrance briefing sessions, counseling room operations, and also run vocational certification courses.

The district will also actively address school violence. Recognizing school violence as a community issue, it plans to operate an emergency solution system linked with the education office, schools, police stations, counseling centers, and law offices to resolve problems from the early stages and create a safe educational environment.

Additionally, Eunpyeong-gu’s local libraries have excellent infrastructure, having won the Presidential Award in the ‘2020 and 2021 National Library Operation Evaluation’ and the Prime Minister’s Award this year.

Among them, at the Eunpyeong-gu Public Library, a space called ‘Smartrium’ was opened at the end of June to experience and learn digital knowledge related to the 4th industrial revolution. It plans to promote experiential education linked with the school curriculum and will continue to add future-oriented public libraries like Smartrium starting with Susaek-dong and Eungam-dong.

There is also an interesting project called ‘Eunpyeong Daejeon (Eunpyeong’s Slightly Ordinary University Seniors’ Major Stories).’ About 100 university students from Eunpyeong-gu meet juniors and provide information related to their majors at an appropriate level through counseling programs, major lectures, fairs, and experiential events.

Kim Mi-kyung, Mayor of Eunpyeong-gu, stated, “We will continue to create a customized educational environment that nurtures talent and supports dreams. We will do our best to make Eunpyeong a city good for raising children and to ease parents’ worries.”