Gyeonggi Education Office Allocates 65.5 Billion Won for Nation’s Largest Childcare Center Meal Subsidy

The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education will implement the nation’s largest “childcare center meal subsidy” program this year to ensure equitable growth as the integration of early childhood education and care is established.

On January 22, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education announced that it has allocated a total budget of 65.5 billion won from its own funds this year to provide meal subsidies for children aged 3 to 5 attending childcare centers within the province, at the same level as those provided to private kindergartens.

This measure aims to provide high-quality meals to all young children in the province, regardless of the institution they attend. The office expects that approximately 100,000 children in childcare centers across the province will benefit from this budget support.

Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education

To match the meal subsidy level of kindergartens, the office has raised the subsidy amount annually: 2,690 won for 2023-2024, 3,020 won for 2025, and 3,150 won for 2026.

This is the highest subsidy rate among the seven provincial education offices nationwide that support meal costs for childcare centers.

Lim Taehee, Superintendent of Education for Gyeonggi Province, stated, “We will spare no effort to break down the barriers between education and care, and to ensure that every child can grow up in the best possible environment without discrimination.”

Going forward, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education plans to continue developing measures to support equitable growth by further improving the overall quality of education and care.