Busan is good

A Cooperative Childcare Community in Busan… “Raising Our Children Together: Escaping Solo Parenting! Stories of Shared Parenting” Held

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The Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that the event “Raising Our Children Together: Escaping Solo Parenting! Stories of Shared Parenting” will be held today (June 20) at 11:00 AM in the main conference room of the Busan Metropolitan Council.

○ This event is part of the “Escape Solo Parenting! Childcare Community” initiative, aimed at easing the burden of parenting through shared childcare and promoting a positive culture of childbirth and parenting.

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This year, the childcare community program expanded to 125 teams and 695 families, reflecting high interest and positive feedback from last year’s pilot.

○ In 2024, 100 teams with 558 families participated, helping to reduce parenting stress, alleviate emotional difficulties caused by isolation, and positively influence children’s social development.

○ Each selected community holds a minimum of five self-help meetings over seven months in both online and offline spaces, addressing topics such as parenting stress, sharing childcare information, and various other parenting-related discussions.

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Today’s event brings together Mayor Park Heong-joon, community leaders, parents, and children—around 150 attendees in total. It features:

▲A performance by a daycare center choir
▲“Cherished Like You” performance
▲Presentation of six outstanding short-form videos created by this year’s childcare communities
▲A musical healing program

○ The choir performance will be led by 18 children from Raemian Urban Park Daycare Center, which won the grand prize at last year’s public daycare choir competition. This will be followed by a family-friendly performance titled “Cherished Like You” involving both parents and children, aiming to warm the atmosphere.

○ For the first time this year, short-form videos capturing the communities’ initial activities were produced and shared. Six of the best entries will be screened, highlighting moments of shared parenting between children and parents and resonating with the audience.

○ The program also includes a percussion ensemble session titled “Traveling the Heart Through Music,” led by three certified music therapists from Kyungsung University’s Department of Music Therapy, offering a healing break for participants.

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Mayor Park stated, “This year, through our ‘Cherished Like You’ initiative, we will further expand support for childcare communities so that more families can share their experiences and focus on the joys of parenting rather than the burdens.” He added, “The City of Busan will continue to change socio-cultural perceptions so that housework and childcare are no longer seen as individual responsibilities but as caregiving shared by society. We will also develop more detailed policies to promote gender equality and address career interruptions.”

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Appendix: Event Overview

□ Event Name

• ●“Raising Our Children Together: Escaping Solo Parenting! Stories of Shared Parenting”

□ Date & Time

• ●Friday, June 20, 2025, 11:00 AM~

□ Venue

• ●Main Conference Room (2nd Floor), Busan Metropolitan Council

□ Participants

• ●Approx. 150 participants: leaders and children from 125 “Escape Solo Parenting” childcare community teams (2025)

<About the “Escape Solo Parenting! Childcare Community”>

• ●Target: Parents raising preschool children and their children (125 teams, 695 households, 1,475 people)
   * Each team includes five or more households (KRW 300,000 activity support per team)

• ●Program Content: Self-help meetings and support for childcare community operations

• ●Goal: To foster a healthy and happy parenting culture through short-form sharing and music healing programs

• ●Hosted by: Busan Childcare Comprehensive Support Center