Busan Ranked No. 1 City in Korea for Child-Friendly Living

Save the Children and Seoul National University Institute of Social Welfare 'Quality of Life of Korean Children' Study: Region with Highest Scores Among Cities and Provinces

Three Areas: Health, Child Relationships, and Residential Environment... Highest Score Among Local Governments Nationwide, Rose from 2nd to 1st Place This Year

Busan has been selected as the region with the highest quality of life for children among 17 cities and provinces nationwide, according to the results of the "2024 Quality of Life for Korean Children" study.

Research Results on the Quality of Life of Korean Children in 2024

According to the "2024 Quality of Life for Korean Children" study announced on the 2nd by the international children's rights NGO Save the Children and the Seoul National University Institute of Social Welfare, Busan received the highest score in the overall ranking of children's quality of life.

The city recorded a comprehensive index score of 117.38, ranking first with the highest score. Notably, among the eight evaluation categories, Busan received the highest national scores in three areas: health, children's relationships, and residential environment, rising from second place last year to first place this year.

The children's quality of life index is calculated by combining 43 indicators across eight areas: health, subjective happiness, children's relationships, material conditions, risk and safety, educational environment, residential environment, and desirable character.

Busan achieved a comprehensive index score of 117.38, with scores well above the average in all areas. In particular, the city excelled in health, subjective happiness, children's relationships, education, and residential environment, with the highest national scores in health, children's relationships, and residential environment.

The city is making every effort to create a child-friendly city and is implementing various policies aimed at realizing children's rights.

In May 2019, Busan became the first metropolitan government to receive UNICEF Child Friendly City certification, which is awarded to local governments that comply with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and provide a good environment for children. The city is also striving to obtain a higher level of UNICEF certification.

In addition, under the vision of "Busan, a City Where Children Are Happy," the city has selected 64 key tasks in four main areas: establishing a foundation for realizing children's rights, safety and protection, health and medical care, and play and leisure, and is actively pursuing them.

Mayor Park Hyungjoon stated, "Being selected as the number one city this time demonstrates the vision of 'Busan, a city you want to live in even if you are born again' to our children, who are the protagonists of the future, and shows that the core values of the 8th popularly elected administration are producing tangible results." He added, "Based on these results, we will prepare innovative strategy meetings to improve areas with lower scores and further enhance those with higher scores, and faithfully pursue our tasks to improve the quality of life for children in Busan."