Children with Nowhere to Go: The Disappearing Playgrounds in Apartment Complexes

Demolition of Unsafe Playground Equipment at an Apartment in Mokpo City

Only One Swing Left... No Follow-up Measures Taken

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters reporters Lee Jun-kyung and Seo Young-seo] A playground within an apartment complex, once filled with the sounds of children laughing and playing, has suddenly turned into an empty lot, erasing the children’s ‘right to play.’

After all playground equipment that failed safety inspections was removed, no follow-up measures were taken, leaving children with no place to play and increasing residents’ dissatisfaction.

Playground before demolition of play facilities (left photo) and playground after demolition (right photo) [Photo by Reader]

According to Mokpo City on the 15th, Apartment A received a safety fail rating on three types of playground equipment during a regular facility inspection conducted by the Korea Testing & Inspection Institute on August 29 of last year.

Article 12, Paragraph 1 of the Children’s Playground Safety Management Act stipulates that children’s playground equipment must undergo installation inspections every two years by a safety inspection agency upon installation.

Following the inspection results, the apartment management removed all three types of failed playground equipment?jungle gyms, combination play sets, and horizontal bars?on October 14 of the same year. Currently, only one swing remains alone.

Residents within the complex requested playground maintenance, but the apartment management expressed reluctance, citing cost issues. They even gave the absurd response that children only need to use the single remaining swing as the playground.

The apartment management office chief said, “The removal of the children’s playground was decided through the residents’ representative meeting due to a decrease in children and an increase in elderly residents. The playground will only have one swing. The repair and installation costs for playground equipment are similar, so the financial burden is significant, and future installation plans are undecided.”

Although the decision was made through the residents’ representative meeting, some residents criticized the removal of the playground, saying it ignored the opinions of the entire community and did not consider the children’s perspective at all.

While agencies blame costs and shift responsibility, the greatest victims are the children who suffer directly.

One resident said, “The removed playground was a facility used by apartment residents as well as children from daycare centers and local children’s centers. Removing everything because of low utilization and telling them to use only the swing is nonsense.”

Another resident said, “I wonder if local council members are fully aware of this situation where children’s right to play is being taken away. I hope local council members pay attention so that children can have a safe and pleasant play environment.”

Choi Seon-guk, a member of the Jeonnam Provincial Assembly (Mokpo 1), stated, “I will re-examine the process of removing the playground at the apartment and carefully understand the overall opinions of residents before devising countermeasures.”