77 Seoul City Early Childhood Forest Experience Centers to Open Sequentially Starting This Month

Recruitment for Institutions such as Daycare Centers and Kindergartens

Seoul City announced on the 13th that it will sequentially open 77 "Seoul Metropolitan City Early Childhood Forest Experience Centers" from mid-March, allowing young children to play in the forest, learn about nature, and develop social skills and creativity.

The Early Childhood Forest Experience Centers are spaces larger than 5,000㎡ with diverse forest vegetation, equipped with outdoor learning areas, shelters, and safety facilities. Instead of artificial structures, playground equipment made from natural materials such as rocks, trees, and soil is created so that young children can play using nature as their theme. There are 77 centers in Seoul, each staffed with early childhood forest instructors.

Children do not need to attend kindergarten to use the centers. They can freely visit any center they wish without separate applications or fees. However, since regular scheduled groups use the centers for learning from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, it is recommended to visit in the weekday afternoons or on weekends. If you want to participate in the learning programs led by the early childhood forest instructors, you can make a reservation by phone at each center or through the Seoul City Public Reservation Service website.

Since the Early Childhood Forest Experience Centers and Early Childhood Neighborhood Forests are spaces exclusively for young children, teenagers and adults should avoid disturbing the play and are prohibited from using the equipment. Pets are also not allowed. Families are advised to bring insect repellent, emergency medicine, water, and trash bags, as well as toys for sand play, hats, and extra clothes.

Yoo Young-bong, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Green City and Leisure Bureau, said, “As educator Froebel said, ‘Children who immerse themselves in their own play until they are exhausted grow up to live for themselves and others.’ We hope that through the early childhood forest experience, where children can create their own stories and play freely in nature, their bodies and minds will grow healthily.”