Various child-friendly initiatives pursued by Gwanak-gu (district mayor Park Jun-hee) to build a city where children thrive are now yielding tangible results.
As the district's child-focused policies and administrative services have taken root, the child-friendly environment felt by the local community has improved markedly.
These gains were objectively confirmed through the results of a standard child-friendly city survey the district recently completed. Compared with the 2024 survey, Gwanak-gu's child-friendliness indicators rose across the board.
The "child index" — which measures child-friendliness as directly experienced by children and their guardians — climbed from 74.1 to 77.3 points. The "urban index," which gauges residents' perception of the district's administrative services, rose from 68.2 to 71.3 points.
The figures demonstrate that the district's sustained efforts to strengthen children's rights, build safety nets, and improve play and cultural environments have brought positive change to residents' lives.
The standard child-friendly city survey that produced these results is a key instrument for measuring community awareness of child-friendliness as part of UNICEF's child-friendly city initiative.
Conducted over roughly one month from May through June, the survey drew 1,524 participants in total, including elementary, middle and high school students, children from minority groups, parents of preschool-age children, and workers at child-care facilities within the district. The district carefully selected its sample in line with UNICEF's recommended criteria to gather views from a broad range of demographic groups.
The survey covered six child-friendly domains: play and culture, participation and respect, safety and protection, health and welfare, the educational environment, and the home environment. All questionnaires and analysis underwent pre- and post-review by a UNICEF-designated inspection body and were carried out as a commissioned research project by a specialist institution, further strengthening the objectivity and reliability of the data.
The district plans to use the survey results — which reflect the outcomes of its project initiatives — as core baseline data for refining child-friendly legislation, systems and policies going forward. It will conduct detailed analysis of index results by child-friendly domain, age group, area and target population to develop more tailored child-friendly programs for future generations.
The survey findings will be published on the Gwanak-gu District Office website and shared with residents through child-related events such as open forums.
"It is deeply meaningful that the efforts we have made to build a Gwanak where children are happy have borne fruit in the form of improved indicators," district mayor Park said. "We will carefully reflect the results of this standard survey — shoring up areas that fall short and building on our strengths — to create a district where children truly want to live and where Gwanak-gu listens to their voices."
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