Have you ever scrambled to find childcare after an unexpected late shift or because you had to attend a family event?
South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare is launching a nationwide night-care hotline for caregivers. The number, ☎1522-1318, will go live on March 30.
One number connects callers nationwide — available for children aged 6 and up
The ministry said the hotline will improve access to the night-extended care program that began on Jan. 5. Calling 1522-1318 without an area code will automatically route callers to their local counseling center. Seventeen regional support teams for child centers will staff the service.
The service covers children ages 6 to 12. Families who haven’t used neighborhood care facilities before can apply up to two hours before the time they want to start.
On weekdays, centers operate from 6 p.m. to either 10 p.m. or midnight, depending on the site. Fees are up to 5,000 KRW (about $3.75) per session. Low-income households receiving basic living support and those in the near-poverty bracket can use the service free of charge.
Roughly 47,000 used it in two months, but emergency use made up just 2%
Between January and February, some 343 participating institutions reported that about 47,000 children used services after 8 p.m. At first glance, the rollout appears successful.
But the breakdown tells a different story. About 97.8% of those users were children already registered at the facilities who simply extended daytime care into the evening. The short-term, emergency users the program aims to serve numbered only 1,016 over two months — roughly 2.1% of the total.
Officials say the hotline is part of efforts to close that gap. Although authorities have publicized that children not previously registered at neighborhood care centers can use the service, analysts argue that limited access to information has kept many families with urgent needs from taking advantage of the program.
Triple-layer safety system in place; meals and recurring bookings are not allowed
The government has also put safety and quality measures in place for concerned parents. Certified professional caregivers are on site, and children are released only to guardians registered in advance. Coverage under safety insurance automatically applies during drop-off and pick-up times, with compensation capped at 50 million KRW (about $37,500).
There are several constraints. Centers do not provide meals, so parents must pack lunches or snacks. Applicants cannot select a preferred facility; the system assigns the nearest available site. Regular or consecutive bookings are not permitted, so caregivers must reserve the service each time they need it. Participating locations and instructions are available on the Child Rights Promotion Agency website.
The night-extended care program will run with a 6 billion KRW (about $4,500,000) sponsorship from KB Financial, covering three years from 2026 through 2028.
Whether the hotline will help the program become a genuine safety net for emergency childcare will depend on how authorities address the information gaps and other challenges revealed by early usage data.
