"Working Late - What About Childcare?"... Find Flexible Childcare Providers via QR Codes
Ministry of Education to Share Information on Flexible Childcare Providers via QR Codes
QR codes will be posted in places frequently visited by parents to help them easily find childcare centers and kindergartens that offer off-hours childcare in the late evening, on weekends and holidays, and during school vacations.
On October 19, the Ministry of Education said it would strengthen guidance to help parents of infants and young children quickly and easily find information on childcare centers and kindergartens that offer off-hours care.
Off-hours childcare providers are institutions that parents can use when they need care outside the operating hours of a kindergarten or childcare center because they have to work late or on holidays. They include childcare centers offering extended evening care and hub-type care centers at kindergartens and childcare centers. As of August 2026, there were 162 hub-type care centers—76 kindergartens and 86 childcare centers—and a total of 7,398 childcare centers offering extended evening care.
The Ministry of Education will make information on off-hours childcare providers easier to access so that parents who need such services for their infants and young children can easily find and use them.
To that end, the ministry plans to produce and distribute leaflets and posters featuring QR codes that explain how to search for and apply to off-hours childcare providers. They will be posted at places frequently visited by parents of infants and young children, including pediatric clinics, hospitals and clinics designated for infant and young child health screenings, comprehensive childcare support centers, and children's libraries. The aim is to help parents naturally encounter information about off-hours care at childcare centers and kindergartens while bringing their children in for vaccinations or medical appointments.
The ministry will also improve the relevant websites so that parents can immediately search for off-hours childcare providers and find out how to apply from the homepages of the I-Sarang Portal and the Nuri Course Portal's After-School section, which parents of infants and young children visit frequently.
The leaflets and posters will be uploaded to the websites of metropolitan and provincial offices of education and local governments. The ministry will also provide links to "Find an Off-Hours Childcare Provider" through notifications such as banners and pop-ups. Parents can use these resources to check lists of providers by region, application eligibility, and available hours.
Starting in February 2027, the ministry also plans to provide a link to off-hours childcare information through KakaoTalk's AlimTalk notifications about kindergarten enrollment. In the second half of 2027, it plans to offer notifications about off-hours childcare at childcare centers and kindergartens through the National Secretary and Benefit Alert services on Government24.
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"We wanted to proactively share information through channels that parents frequently encounter in their daily lives, so that no one misses out on off-hours childcare for their infants and young children simply because they could not find the information," said Kim Jeongyeon, Director for Early Childhood Support at the Ministry of Education. "We will also continue to expand the number of off-hours childcare providers where parents can leave their children with peace of mind."
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