earticle

영어

Local child care centers are the most prominent facilities for child welfare in South Korea, both in terms of the number of centers and the number of children utilizing them. These centers play a crucial role as accessible community-based facilities that can respond to the diverse and evolving demands for child care. However, unlike other elementary child care facilities, local child care centers, which were originally privately operated study rooms, face ongoing spatial instability due to the lack of legal protection under the Lease Protection Act. As a result, many centers experience frequent changes in their premises, often relying on monthly rentals, which poses challenges in providing consistent and stable child care programs. According to a report released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the government subsidy (basic operating expenses) support for local child care centers in the Daegu region is among the lowest in the country. This highlights the need for facility improvement and proposals to align with the ongoing efforts of Daegu City to create a child-friendly city. In light of these circumstances, this study aims to analyze the current status and realities of local child care centers to provide foundational data for revitalizing them as essential child care hubs within the community.