Childcare support

A nursery school is an institution that provides childcare for young children ages 0-5. When a child is enrolled in a nursery school, the government subsidizes the cost.

• Qualifications

  Young children (ages 0-5) who go to a nursery school and fall into the following categories receive the childcare benefits:

  • Regardless of the income level of the young children’s family
  • government aid for 0-2 year olds (including children of multicultural families) attending nursery school is KRW 258,000~454,000 depending on the age of the child.
  • Government aid for 3-5 year olds (including children of multicultural families) attending school is KRW 220,000 per month under the common Nuri course,
  • KRW 462,000 for disabled preschool children aged 12 and below.
  • ※ 'Customized nursery care' was implemented in July 2016 which provides all day care (07:30 to 19:30, 12 hours) or part-time care ((09:00 to 15:00, 6 hours) for children ages 0-2 depending on the needs (all day care available for children of multicultural families)

  Disabled children under the age of 5 who possess a handicapped welfare card (certificate of registration) are provided with childcare benefits regardless of their household’s income.

  • Likewise, exceptions apply for children ages 3-5 who are diagnosed/evaluated as needing special education as per Article 15 of the Special Education Laws for Persons with Disabilities and Others; evaluation results can be submitted to receive childcare benefits.
  • Young children under the age of 5 who do not possess a handicapped welfare card or a diagnosis/evaluation report for special education may apply for benefits upon submission of a doctor's diagnosis of disability.

• Application

  In-person application

  • The guardian (parents or other guardians) can apply at the respective eup, myeon, or dong community service centers in their area of residence

  Online applicationApply

  • On the welfare website Bokjiro (www.bokjiro.go.kr).

  ※ Note, however, that unregistered disabled children who wish to receive benefits must apply in person (online application unavailable

• Documents to be submitted

  Application (change) form for social security benefits (social services), explanation and confirmation of daycare and qualifying documents (if applying for all-day care), application for I-Haengbok Card, and consent to the inquiry, provision, and use of personal credit information

• Qualifications

  • Tuition for infants: Assistance for children (3–5 years old) who attend national, public, or private kindergarten irrespective of the income level of their parents
  • Tuition for after-school courses: Assistance for children (3–5 years old) who attend after-school courses that are operated in connection with their official kindergarten education (8 hours a day including daily basic courses, or 7 hours a day with parental consent)
  • ※ Tuition support is not provided to the infants without the nationality of the Republic of Korea (Refugees are exceptional).

• Support amount

  • Tuition : National and public kindergartens 60,000 KRW/Monthly, Private kindergartens 220,000 KRW/Monthly
  • Tuition for after-school courses : National and public kindergartens 50,000 KRW/Monthly, Private kindergartens 70,000 KRW/Monthly

• Support details

  • The recipient household must remit the balance to the kindergarten after subtracting the childcare benefit amount from the tuition.
  • Recipient verification and confirmation/application of benefit amount through electronic card (I-Haengbok Card)

• Application

  In-person application

  • The guardian (parents or other guardians) can apply at the respective eup, myeon, or dong community service centers in their area of residence

  Online applicationApply

  • On the welfare website Bokjiro (www.bokjiro.go.kr).

• Qualifications

  Children before elementary school under 86 months of age who do not attend nursery, kindergarten, or whole-day I-Dolbom services

• Support amount

  • Homecare allowance (by age of child): Below 12 months (KRW 200,000 per month), 12-24 months (KRW 150,000 per month), and 24-84 months (KRW 100,000 per month)
  • Allowance for disabled children (by age of child): Below 36 months (KRW 200,000 per month), 36-86 months (KRW 100,000 per month)
  • Allowance for farming and fishing areas (by age of child): Below 12 months (KRW 200,000 per month), 12-24 months (KRW 177,000 per month), 24-36 months (KRW 156,000 per month), 36-48 months (KRW 129,000 per month), 48-86 months (KRW 100,000 per month)

• Support details

  Allowance payment date

  • Payment is made on the 25th of the month (payment is made on the business day immediately prior if the date falls on a weekend or a holiday)

  Method of payment

  • Cash allowance (direct deposit to the bank account of the child or parent)
  • Limited to parents that reside in the child’s household
  • The allowance is deposited after verification of the receiver's account qualifications by the mayor, head of gun, or head of gu

  Retroactive allowance for newborn babies

  • For those who register for childcare allowance within 60 days of birth of the child (60 days including the day the child was born), the date of birth is considered the initial date of benefit for retroactive allowance.
  • Method of payment: Retroactive allowance if paid on the month of the first payment

  Payment of allowance for change of address

  • Move-in date is on or before the 15th of the month: payment provided by the mayor, head of gun, or head of gu of the new address
  • Move-in date is on or after the 16th of the month: payment provided by the mayor, head of gun, or head of gu of the old address

  * Once a child is approved as qualifying for childcare allowance, the allowance is paid from the month of application until February of the year the child enters elementary school; all monthly allowances are paid without additional calculation

• Approval qualifications

  Supported to all classes regardless of income (However, if the child is registered as disable, and a resident of farming and fishing district then the child qualifies to receive the corresponding child allotment.)

• Application

  In-person application

  • The guardian (parents or other guardians) can apply at the respective eup, myeon, or dong community service centers in their area of residence

  Online applicationApply

  • On the welfare website Bokjiro (www.bokjiro.go.kr).

• Documents to be submitted

  • Homecare allowance Copy of the bankbook of a parent or the child
  • Allowance for farming and fishing areas Children from farming and fishing households (Verification of agricultural management body registration, etc.)
  • Allowance for disabled children Registered disabled children Certificate of registration of disabled person

The government provides a childcare program in which a childcare giver visits to take care of children aged 12 or under for double-income families that do not have sufficient time for child-rearing. The program aims to reduce parents’ child-rearing burden and to close the gaps in facility childcare coverage.

• Qualifications

  Children ages 3 months to 12 years with Korean nationality

• Commissioned organizations

  222 organizations that provide I-Dolbom services across the nation

• Support details

  Part-time and comprehensive care services

  • Commuting to school and childcare centers, preparation for supplies, temporary childcare until the parents are back, play activities, and giving prepared meals and snacks, etc. for children between three months and 12 years old

  * Comprehensive care service includes household chores.

  All-day service for infants

  • Provides all-day care service for infants between 3 months and 36 months

  Special support service for ill children

  • If a child between three months and 12 years of age cannot use facilities such as a childcare facility, kindergarten, school, etc. due to an infectious disease or epidemic, the program protects the child at home by accompanying him or her to a hospital and providing care service.

• Application

  Those who are not qualified for government support

  • ① Sign up as a member : After signing up on the homepage (idolbom.go.kr), request approval of full membershipVisit
  • ② Approval of full membership (agency providing competent service)
  • ③ Service application : Apply for service on the desired date and time from the website
  • ④ Payment of service fees : Deposit service fees after receiving instructions on virtual payment account through the service
  • ⑤ Service use

  Those who are qualified for government support

  • ① Visit local community service center
    - Apply for government support by visiting eup, myeon, or dong community service center with jurisdiction for registered residence of the child
    - When both parents are insured by the employer or one parent is registered under the Single-Parent
    - Family Support Act and insured by the employer, one can apply for government support via the website (www.bokjiro.go.kr)Visit
  • ② Decision notice (via mail and text message)
  • ③ Sign up as a member : After signing up on the homepage (idolbom.go.kr) request approval of full membershipVisit
  • ④ Service application : Apply for service on the desired date and time from the website
  • ⑤ Payment : When using National Happiness Card, pay the deductible to the card company *Virtual account users need to make payments to their assigned virtual accounts in advance by one day before using the service
  • ⑥ Service use

• Inquiries

  For more information, inquire at a nearby local childcare service center.Search
  For more help, call ☎1577-1366 (Danuri Helpline)