Creating a Gwanak That Is Good for Having and Raising Children: Childbirth, Parenting, and Education

Children experiencing activities at Gang Gam-chan Urban Agriculture Center and Park Jun-hee, Mayor of Gwanak District

Promoting Multifaceted Support Policies for Happy Pregnancy, Childbirth, Parenting, Childcare, and Education

Customized Childcare Support for Daycare Centers, Creation of Kids Cafes and Airang, Expansion of Education Expenses to 8 Billion KRW, etc.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) is introducing and implementing new and diverse policies to create a “Gwanak that is good for having and raising children in 2023.”

First, starting from January, a newly established 'Parent Allowance' is introduced to reduce the economic burden on parenting parents. The existing infant allowance is integrated into the parent allowance, providing 700,000 KRW per month to households raising children aged 0, and 350,000 KRW per month to households raising children aged 1.

In line with Seoul City's 'Mom and Dad Happiness Project,' from the second half of this year, households raising infants under 24 months will receive 100,000 KRW annually in 'Seoul Mom and Dad Taxi' usage points, and the city will continue to discover 'Seoul Kids OK Zones,' cafes and restaurants welcoming visits from children.

Pregnant women, dual-income families, and multi-child families with income below 150% of the median standard income can receive household services such as cleaning, laundry, organizing, and cooking in the form of vouchers up to six times (4 hours per session).

To increase the birth rate, a pregnancy preparation support project for men and women is being promoted for 350 couples of childbearing age, including health surveys, counseling, folic acid provision, and health checkups. If diagnosed with any of 19 high-risk pregnancy diseases, hospitalization expenses are supported.

Additionally, support is provided for infertile couples’ treatment costs (up to 21 sessions, 1.1 million KRW per session), herbal medicine costs (up to approximately 1.2 million KRW for 3 months), and medical expenses, drugs, and treatment material purchases for pregnant teenagers under 19 years old (up to 1.2 million KRW), supporting healthy pregnancy and childbirth.

Efforts are also made to improve childcare environments through customized daycare center support projects. 130 million KRW is invested to replace daycare center CCTV, and separate subsidies beyond government support for infant snack expenses are increased by 33% from last year, raising the monthly amount from 15,000 KRW to 20,000 KRW.

To boost morale among childcare staff, a long-term service allowance is newly established for childcare workers who have worked for more than 3 years at the same daycare center within the district, providing 30,000 KRW per month.

Especially this year, efforts to secure spaces where children can run and play are accelerated. The district is promoting a new concept kids cafe project focusing on play space composition rather than conventional installed playground equipment, and on the 4th, it was selected as a Seoul-type kids cafe, creating a 150㎡ play space on the 2nd floor of the Nangok Regeneration Vitality Center.

In the second half of the year, through a joint childcare sharing center contest with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the opening of the ‘Gwanak-type Childcare Center Airang Euncheon Branch’ is planned, and the district will continue to discover idle spaces within local facilities for additional kids cafes and Airang creation.

Meanwhile, the district is actively pursuing the realization of “Excellent Education Gwanak” by expanding the 2023 education budget to 8 billion KRW. Support is provided for after-school activation, school-specific specialized projects, and educational environment improvements for a total of 89 schools in the region. In particular, 1 billion KRW is invested to build an educational environment for nurturing future talents and to bridge the digital education gap.

All new students entering elementary, middle, and high schools this year will receive entrance preparation funds. 2,070 elementary school freshmen will receive 200,000 KRW, and 5,429 middle and high school freshmen will receive 300,000 KRW, benefiting a total of 7,499 students.

The restriction on the use of entrance preparation funds has been lifted, broadening the range of allowable purchases. Previously limited to clothing and school-recommended books, students can now freely purchase necessary items for school entrance such as bags, shoes, stationery, glasses, and smart devices at Zero Pay affiliated stores.

Park Jun-hee, Mayor of Gwanak-gu, said, “In 2023, we will do our best to create a ‘Gwanak that is good for having, raising, and educating children’ with policies that satisfy both parents and children.”