Up to 4 Hours of Use Per Day
Increasing Users Through Word of Mouth
Housewife Lee Eun-joo (38) spends her days feeling suffocated by childcare. She wakes up at dawn and takes care of her child alone until her husband returns from work, doing house chores like cleaning and laundry, leaving no time even to eat. Then, through an acquaintance, she learned about the ‘Seoul-type hourly childcare center,’ and now she has a moment to catch her breath.
At around 11 a.m. on the 22nd, a daycare center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, participating in the pilot operation of the 'Seoul City Hourly Childcare Center.' A newly hired childcare teacher is taking care of the children through this project. [Photo by Seong-A Shim]
Recently, the hourly childcare centers implemented by Seoul City have become popular among dual-income couples. This is because they can safely leave their children when they cannot get help from relatives in urgent situations. In fact, the hourly childcare service has been gaining popularity through word of mouth, and the number of users is steadily increasing.
According to Seoul City on the 23rd, the cumulative number of uses of the Seoul-type hourly childcare centers is 153 cases over five weeks since implementation. This system allows children to be left at designated childcare centers for up to 4 hours a day and 60 hours a month. The fee is 2,000 KRW per hour, and the service hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays, excluding public holidays. Any primary caregiver, whether a parent or grandparent, who is a resident of Seoul, can use the service for children aged 6 months to under 7 years.
Currently, pilot operations are underway at seven childcare centers by region, and from next year, the program will expand to all 25 autonomous districts, with plans to strengthen age-appropriate educational programs. A city official said, “Last week’s usage was somewhat low due to the rainy season, but we are promoting the system in various ways,” adding, “We will listen carefully to caregivers’ difficulties and expand facilities in the future to ensure that the hourly childcare system is properly established.”
At around 11 a.m. on the 22nd, the front gate of a daycare center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, participating in the pilot operation of the 'Seoul City Part-Time Daycare Center' is shown. A banner with information about the part-time daycare center is displayed. [Photo by Shim Seong-ah]
Parents who have used the hourly childcare centers also express high satisfaction. Son In-sook (44), who is raising three children, was introduced to the service by acquaintances and recently started leaving her 2-year-old youngest child at an hourly childcare center.
Son said, “I didn’t even have time to go to the hair salon, but after leaving my child at the hourly childcare center, I was able to go to the salon and get my hair cut for the first time in a long while.” Kim Mi-jung (56), the director of a childcare center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, participating in the pilot program, said, “Taking care of a child alone at home all day is really tough,” adding, “When caregivers need to go out for personal matters like bank visits or health checkups, having a place to leave their child temporarily without relying on relatives is highly appreciated among caregivers.”
Professor Jung Ik-jung of Ewha Womans University’s Department of Social Welfare said, “Parents have been solving problems on their own whenever sudden issues arise while raising children,” and evaluated, “The very fact that there is now a place nearby where they can safely leave their children is meaningful.”
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