Expanding its network of national and municipal public childcare centers to 456 locations by 2026

The Incheon Metropolitan City Government has decided to drastically increase the number of national and public childcare centers parents can trust their children with.

The City plans to increase the number of national and public childcare centers, which are highly preferred by parents of young children, by more than 40 each year. The goal is to increase the number of these national and municipal childcare centers to 456 by 2026, which will hopefully create a childcare environment conducive to having and raising children.

▲ Incheon plans to increase the number of national and public childcare centers, which are highly preferred by parents of young children, by more than 40 each year. The goal is to increase the number of these national and municipal childcare centers to 456 by 2026. Image of the Durumi Childcare Center.

A survey on childcare policies and demand asked parents across Incheon in 2021 revealed that the number one childcare priority for parents is the expansion of national and public childcare centers. Reflecting such demand, the City plans to increase the number of national and public childcare centers in Incheon from 296 as of the end of 2022 to 456 by 2026, raising the share of national and public childcare centers from 18.7% to more than 30%. The budget required for this transition could be as much as KRW 22.6 billion.

To this end, the City plans to focus on rekindling the conversion of private childcare centers to public centers.

Private and at-home childcare centers are facing the grim reality of plummeting birth rates and a declining number of children in recent years - roughly 100 close every year. Incheon plans to convert existing private childcare centers and childcare facilities at apartments into national or public childcare centers outright or on long-term contracts.

The City believes that this conversion can enhance the quality of childcare, and give locals a chance to enroll their children in national or public childcare centers. This could then improve the value of apartment complexes with these national or public childcare centers and give locals a more satisfying childcare environment.

▲ Incheon City plans to increase the number of public childcare centers to 143 by newly selecting ten exemplary childcare centers in the private sector. It plans to provide high-quality public childcare services by subsidizing wages paid to cooks to provide safe meals and maintain good hygiene, as well as operating expenses for toddler classes (3~5 years old). Image of the Green Forest Childcare Center.

Incheon will support up to KRW 50 million for upgrades aimed at revitalizing the transition from a private childcare center inside apartment complexes to a national or public childcare center to subsidize rent, and up to KRW 10 million in equipment cost to reduce the initial outlay for transitioning childcare centers. Not only that, Incheon says it will guarantee the current Director’s term for the first five years upon the transition.

If a private childcare center decides to go national or public, the new childcare center will keep the existing operator and childcare staff, improve the treatment of childcare staff by putting them on a payroll system, improve childcare services through consulting and training for the converted childcare center; and provides additional benefits such as support for functional upgrades when additional facility maintenance is required in the future.

Along with the expansion of national and public childcare centers, Incheon is looking to offer capacity building programs for new Directors of national and public childcare centers This is because if the quality level of the new national or public childcare centers drops, the overall reliability of the national or public childcare center network could deteriorate as well. Moreover, the City will promote the expansion of public childcare centers and municipal childcare centers that serve as an effective public childcare infrastructure tailored to Incheon's local conditions.

▲ Children learning how to cough or sneeze courteously at Namdong Bodeum Nanum Childcare Center in Namdong-gu.

Incheon City plans to increase the number of public childcare centers to 143 by newly selecting ten exemplary childcare centers in the private sector. It plans to provide high-quality public childcare services by subsidizing wages paid to cooks to provide safe meals and maintain good hygiene, as well as operating expenses for toddler classes (3~5 years old).

This year, ten new municipal childcare centers will be chosen, pushing the total to 193. Led by the Incheon Metropolitan City Government, these municipal childcare centers can create a much more pleasant childcare environment for both teachers and children by lowering the ratio of teachers to infants from 1:3 to 1:2 for 0-year-old classes, and from 1:5 to 1:4 for 1-year-old classes.