Busan is good

Busan Recognized Once Again as a UNICEF Child-Friendly City, Ranking First Nationwide in Children’s Quality of Life

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Busan Metropolitan City announced that it has confirmed the renewal of its UNICEF Child-Friendly City certification from the UNICEF Korea Committee, thereby maintaining its status as a Child-Friendly City.

Busan was the first metropolitan city in Korea to receive UNICEF Child-Friendly City certification in 2019, and through this renewal, it will retain its Child-Friendly City status until December 18, 2029.

This outcome once again officially recognizes the continuity and effectiveness of the city’s policies, which have consistently integrated children’s rights across all areas of municipal administration.

A UNICEF Child-Friendly City is not a simple declaration or a one-time project; it is a certification system that evaluates whether children’s perspectives are systematically reflected across policies, budgets, and administrative practices, based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In particular, the renewal assessment applied stricter standards than the initial certification, examining whether policies on children’s rights have been continuously pursued, whether children’s participation has led to actual policy changes, and whether administrative systems—such as ordinances, budgets, and performance management—are operating in a systematic manner.

Busan submitted its record of implementation on June 30, received the results of the written review in September, and following deliberation by the UNICEF Child-Friendly City Committee held on December 1, received final confirmation of the certification renewal.

At the final review meeting of the deliberation committee on December 1, Mayor Park Heong-joon attended in person, explaining the city’s philosophy and policy direction regarding a Child-Friendly City and emphasizing Busan’s commitment to making children’s happiness the standard of urban policy.

Building on this certification renewal, Busan Metropolitan City plans to pursue policies to improve children’s quality of life in a more systematic manner, including expanding children’s participation, strengthening systems for collecting and reflecting opinions, establishing metropolitan-level cooperation frameworks, and enhancing the effectiveness of child policy impact assessments.

Meanwhile, the UNICEF Child-Friendly City is an evaluation and certification program operated by UNICEF for cities around the world, based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, assessing how well local governments reflect children’s rights to survival, protection, development, and participation across policies and administrative systems.

Through this process, UNICEF examines whether safety, participation opportunities, and care environments experienced by children in their daily lives are actually improving, and whether such changes are not one-time efforts but are being carried forward as sustainable policies.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “A Child-Friendly City means making children’s rights the standard of urban policy. These rights are not values that can be selectively guaranteed, but core civic rights that a city must uphold, and the most important promise it makes to future generations.” He added, “Busan will continue to move forward as a city where every child is respected and all citizens can feel secure, by consistently implementing responsible policies.”