Operation of 19 Songpa Kiwoom Centers... Songpa-gu Actively Supports with Own Budget... Beyond Care, Specialized Programs by Center... Learning Seodori Wins Special Prize at National Sori Contest, K-Pop Dance Wins Grand Prize at Seoul Imagination Play
Active Participation in Community Activities, Differentiated from School Care... Kimchi Making, Neighbor Helping, etc.
As the government strives to address care gaps through initiatives such as the operation of Neulbom Schools starting this year, Songpa-gu (Mayor Seo Gang-seok) is achieving meaningful results by providing children with opportunities for talent development beyond simple care through the ‘Songpa Kiwoom Center.’
The Kiwoom Center is a project initiated by Seoul City in 2019 to provide after-school care services for elementary school students, and Songpa-gu currently operates a total of 19 centers. It is available to all children from 1st to 6th grade regardless of household income, offering services such as rest, play, snacks, and education for a monthly fee of 50,000 KRW.
After five years, the cumulative number of users at Songpa Kiwoom Centers has reached approximately 3,260. Last year, the average annual registration rate at Songpa Kiwoom Centers was 130%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the Seoul city average, reflecting strong public response.
Regarding this background, Mayor Seo Gang-seok stated, “Beyond the simple function of protecting children, Songpa Kiwoom Center is creating distinctiveness by investing the district’s own budget so that anyone can freely learn and nurture diverse dreams.”
In fact, Songpa Kiwoom Centers conduct specialized programs at each center, creating cases rarely seen in other regions and presenting new alternatives for care.
The Bangi 1-dong Kiwoom Center has been conducting education on ‘Seodo Sori,’ an intangible cultural asset, for three years since 2021. This education is linked with a support project from the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, and two children who have taken this class since 1st grade won special awards for two consecutive years at the ‘National Seodo Sori Competition.’
The Garak 2-dong Kiwoom Center operates K-pop dance classes and achieved the grand prize last year at the ‘Children’s Dream Festival Imagination Play Contest’ hosted by Seoul City. They received high scores by presenting an innovative work that combined environmental issues with K-pop dance.
The Garak Bon-dong, Wirye-dong, and Jangji-dong Kiwoom Centers conduct special human rights education. To promote the ‘right to play,’ one of the most difficult children’s rights to be respected in Korea, they have been continuing the ‘Playground Research Institute’ activities led by children for three years.
In addition, the district supports Kiwoom Center children to actively participate in community activities. They have carried out kimchi-making for neighbors in need and donated proceeds from operating flea markets at neighborhood festivals as charitable contributions.
On May 1, ahead of Children’s Day, the district will hold the ‘Songpa Kiwoom Olympics,’ a family-invited sports day at Seoul Play Madang. With a theme related to the Paris Olympics held in the second half of this year, about 500 children and parents will participate in competitions such as archery, curling, and tug-of-war.
The district plans to open the 20th Songpa Kiwoom Center in Jangji-dong this November and increase the total number to 22 by adding two more centers by 2026.
Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said, “The ‘Songpa Kiwoom Center’ is creating a successful example of local care based on its distinctiveness from school care,” and added, “We will continue to actively utilize excellent local human resources and various private resources to reduce the burden of parenting and create a child-friendly environment.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
