Korean Toddlers Face Longer Day Care Waits as Centers Close
The average wait for an 18-month-old to enter a South Korean day care center has risen to 8.5 months, while more than 11,000 centers have closed since 2022.
Parents of young children in South Korea are waiting significantly longer to secure day care places, with shrinking capacity creating particular pressure for families preparing to return to work after parental leave.
The average wait for an 18-month-old to enter a day care center reached 8.5 months as of June, according to Education Ministry data obtained by opposition lawmaker Seo Beom-soo. That was up from 5.8 months in 2022. The delay was even longer at public centers, where the average for children of the same age rose to 10.6 months from 7.9 months.
The figures measure the period between a parent's application and confirmation that a child has been admitted. They show that access problems extend across several age groups. Parents of six-month-old infants waited an average of 6.2 months, while the average for 30-month-olds reached eight months, also rising from 5.8 months in 2022. Across all ages, the average wait increased to 7.5 months from 5.3 months.
The delays are closely tied to a sustained decline in the number of operating facilities. A total of 11,093 day care centers closed between 2022 and the first half of 2026. Annual closures totaled 3,041 in 2022, 2,679 in 2023, 2,240 in 2024 and 1,939 in 2025. Another 1,194 centers shut during the first six months of this year.
Gyeonggi Province recorded 3,234 closures over the period, the highest among the country's regions, while Seoul recorded 1,502. Nationwide, the number of day care centers has now fallen for 12 consecutive years. It declined from a peak of 43,770 in 2013 to 26,064 in 2025, according to official statistics. The total had stood at 28,954 in 2023 and 27,387 in 2024.
Demographic decline is one major factor behind the contraction, but the reduced supply can still produce acute local shortages. Of the centers that closed since 2022, 43.9 percent cited a falling number of children and 31.3 percent cited financial difficulties. Home-based and privately operated centers accounted for 92.2 percent of the closures. Public centers increased in number between 2023 and 2025, but that expansion did not offset the broader loss of private capacity.
Seo called for demand to be assessed by children's age and region, with targeted steps to shorten waits for children aged two and under. The growing delays highlight a mismatch between nationwide demographic trends and the immediate child care needs of working families.