Communal child-rearing has deep roots in Korean history, stretching back thousands of years. When adults were occupied with cooperative labor and their livelihoods, village mothers took turns watching one another's children — or pooled resources to hire a dedicated caregiver — so that no child was left unattended.
That tradition faded as Korean society grew more individualized and nuclear families became the norm. But in Yanggu-gun, Gangwon Province, a shared childcare center is keeping the spirit alive. Grounded in the mutual trust and cooperative will of its community members, the center has fostered a rare culture in which every mother in the neighborhood is, in a sense, every child's mother.
Such customs have survived in Jeju, and as recently as the 1970s and 1980s in Gangwon Province, it was common for a hungry child whose mother was out working to stop by a friend's house and be fed a full meal by the friend's mother — even if the friend was not home.
That spirit of communal care is being revived in Yanggu-gun, drawing wide attention. The shared childcare center, run directly by the Yanggu-gun office, operates a "care cooperative" system.
Under the arrangement, one participating mother looks after the children of up to four busy households for a modest fee, playing with them and tending to their needs. For the children, having a neighbor's mother step into a caregiving role means receiving warmth and affection from more than just their own parent.
Every Tuesday, the center holds a program called "Mom Is My Friend: Five-Senses Play," in which mothers bring their children to the center and enjoy a range of educational activities together. The program supports creativity and physical development through sensory activities tailored to each stage of early childhood, while giving parents and children a joyful opportunity to bond.
Park In-suk, head of the lifelong education division at Yanggu-gun, said the center would continue offering a variety of programs "so that parents and children can grow together and spend happy times."
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