Applying for daycare
Daycare centres have waiting lists. Apply well before you actually need the place.
Types of daycare
- Public — popular, with long waits
- Corporate and welfare foundation centres
- Private and home-based centres — more likely to have space
- Workplace daycare — if your company has one
Steps
- Search nearby centres at www.childcare.go.kr. You can see capacity, current enrolment and assessment results.
- Apply online to join the waiting list. You can apply to several at once.
- Visit the centres. Check the atmosphere and the distance.
- When offered a place, meet them and decide.
- Apply for childcare fee support. See the childcare-support guide.
- Submit documents and start attending.
What you need
- ID for the child and parents
- Family relationship documents
- Vaccination records
- The National Happiness card (for fee support)
Where to go
- Childcare portal www.childcare.go.kr
- 129 health and welfare counselling
- Your local community service centre
- 1577-1366 Danuri Helpline (interpretation)
Questions people ask
How long is the wait? It varies a lot by area and centre. Public centres can take a long time, so apply to several.
Can foreign-national children attend? Yes. Whether fee support applies is a separate question — check with the community centre.
Will my child cope without Korean? Young children adapt quickly. If you are worried, combine it with a Family Center children's programme.
I feel there is discrimination at the centre. Get advice from a Family Center or 1577-1366. You can also complain to the local government childcare department.
Take care
A centre asking for money in exchange for a place is not legitimate. If there are extra activity fees beyond the childcare fee, get the items and amounts in writing.
Related
childcare-support · kindergarten · child-education-support
Source
Ministry of Health and Welfare, www.childcare.go.kr / As of 2026-08