Gangbuk-gu Operates 'Seoul-Style Dedicated Class for 0-Year-Olds' Daycare Centers

Establishing Childcare Infrastructure Where Parents Can Trustingly Leave Their Children

Operating Dedicated Classes for 0-Year-Olds at Three Centers: Little Bird, Arang, and Tamgu Daycare Centers

Installing Dedicated Childcare Rooms to Care for Infants Under 12 Months

Improving Quality of Care by Reducing Teacher-to-Infant Ratio from 1:3 to 1:2

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gangbuk-gu (District Mayor Lee Soon-hee) will operate the ‘Seoul-type Dedicated Class for 0-Year-Olds’ daycare centers, focusing on meticulous care for infants under 12 months of age, starting this March.

The daycare centers operating the dedicated 0-year-old classes are Little Bird Daycare Center (11-4 Samyang-ro 93-gil, Gangbuk-gu), Arang Daycare Center (Room 102, Building 106, 159 Solsaem-ro, Gangbuk-gu), and Tamgu Daycare Center (162 Opaesan-ro, Gangbuk-gu), totaling three locations.

These daycare centers will operate dedicated childcare rooms from March to safely care for infants under 12 months.

Previously, one childcare teacher cared for three infants, but in the ‘Seoul-type Dedicated Class for 0-Year-Olds,’ one teacher will care for only two infants. As a result, the district expects the workload of childcare teachers to decrease, thereby improving the quality of care.

Childcare teachers caring for infants at Little Bird Daycare Center

The district plans to provide monthly childcare subsidies ranging from 514,000 to 1,113,000 KRW to the daycare centers operating the 0-year-old dedicated classes, and monthly childcare allowances of 50,000 to 100,000 KRW to the teachers of these classes.

In addition, following five daycare centers selected by 2022 ? Haemaji, Beondong, Songjung-dong, Hyoseong, and Eunchorong Daycare Centers ? this year, six more centers ? Yulgok, Suyu Saessak, Odong, Dream Forest Harrington, Samyang, and Beon 2-dong Daycare Centers ? will implement the ‘Teacher-to-Child Ratio Improvement Project.’

This project is designed to improve the childcare environment for 0-year-old infants requiring focused care and 3-year-old infants in high-density settings. In the targeted daycare centers, the number of infants per childcare teacher will be reduced from 3 to 2 in the 0-year-old classes, and from 15 to 10 or fewer in the 3-year-old classes.

Lee Soon-hee, Mayor of Gangbuk-gu, said, “I hope the ‘Dedicated Class for 0-Year-Olds’ will help even a little in overcoming the low birthrate crisis and alleviating the childcare burden on mothers and fathers. We will do our best to make Gangbuk-gu a city where parents can raise children with peace of mind and a great place to raise kids.”