Goyang City in Gyeonggi Province is making the low birth rate crisis a core priority and launching a full-scale expansion of public childcare infrastructure. The city plans to significantly increase the number of Dahamkke Care Centers (Together Care Centers) and public daycare facilities, while strengthening nighttime and emergency care as well as child abuse response systems, aiming to accelerate the creation of a "city where it is good to raise children."
According to Goyang City on Wednesday, the city plans to expand its Dahamkke Care Centers from the current 10 (with a capacity of 324 children) to 18 (with a capacity of 520 children) by 2027. The expansion will begin in the second half of this year with the addition of two new centers in Blocks A-2 and B-1 of the Goyang Janghang District, followed by a phased rollout.
New centers will be concentrated in areas with high childcare demand, such as Janghang Newlywed Hope Town and Hwajeong Naeil Dream Workshop. The city intends to adopt a 10-year free lease approach using idle spaces in the region to reduce budget burden while accelerating supply.
Public daycare centers have also been continuously expanded, reaching 109 locations. The city is actively utilizing the mandatory installation system for public daycare centers in newly built apartment complexes of 500 households or more, supporting openings that align with move-in schedules.
In particular, in March last year, the city signed a public-private partnership agreement—the first of its kind in Korea—under which apartment complex residents share part of the equipment costs. The arrangement has been recognized as a case that reduced financial burden while enhancing trust in public childcare. The city plans to apply this model to future daycare installations to further strengthen the public childcare foundation.
The city is also accelerating efforts to address care gaps outside regular childcare hours. Part-time childcare has shifted from independent classes to integrated classes, significantly expanding the operational scale. As a result, the number of childcare classes has grown more than sixfold, from just 7 in 2022 to 43 currently (11 independent classes and 32 integrated classes).
Extended-hours daycare centers that operate until as late as midnight have also been expanded to 158 locations to meet demand. Children enrolled in other childcare institutions can also use these facilities, helping to fill care gaps for dual-income and single-parent households that work late hours.
The city is also overhauling its response system to prevent child abuse and strengthen protection for victims. Dedicated child abuse response officers have been deployed to establish a 24-hour response system, and an early detection system linked with police and child protection agencies is being used to promote swift investigation and protection in suspected abuse cases.
Through shelters for abused children, victims are safely separated and protected, while follow-up support such as psychological treatment is provided in parallel. The city aims to reduce both the burden and anxiety of child-rearing through expanded care infrastructure and a stronger safety net.
Goyang Mayor Lee Dong-hwan said, "To overcome the low birth rate crisis, it is important to ease the parenting burden on parents and create a care environment where children can grow up safely within their community." He added, "We will continuously expand public childcare infrastructure and strengthen a comprehensive care system to build Goyang into a city where it is good to raise children."
