Where Are the Nation’s Nine Outstanding Children’s Playgrounds? Sejong Central Park and Chungnam Provincial Government Daycare Center Among Those Selected

[Financial News] Nine sites nationwide, including Han Nori Madang at Sejong Central Park and the playground at the Chungnam Provincial Government Daycare Center, have been selected as outstanding children’s play facilities this year. Facilities that move beyond uniform, equipment-centered play by making use of nature and local characteristics, providing play spaces tailored to children’s developmental stages, and operating systematic safety management systems received high marks.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on the 1st that it had selected nine sites as the “2026 Outstanding Children’s Play Facilities” after reviewing 49 candidates recommended by local governments and offices of education from among about 85,000 children’s play facilities nationwide. The selection involved document and on-site evaluations, followed by a final review by private-sector experts.
The outstanding children’s play facilities have been selected annually since 2012 to encourage the creation of environments that are safe and support children’s development and creative play. A total of 117 sites had been designated through last year. The main evaluation criteria include safety management, maintenance and operation, links to child development, safety-conscious design, and community engagement.
This year’s selected facilities are the Seoul-style Kids Cafe, Municipal Hwagok Branch (Gangseo, Seoul); Seoripul Nori School, Yangjae 1-dong Branch (Seocho District, Seoul); Anseong City Aisarang Playground (Anseong, Gyeonggi Province); Seokjeong Neighborhood Park Noru Playground (Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province); Incheon Butterfly Park Children’s Adventure Forest (Bupyeong, Incheon); Wonju Children’s Complex Experience Center Sangsang Playground (Wonju, Gangwon State); the playground at the Chungnam Provincial Government Daycare Center (Hongseong, South Chungcheong Province); Han Nori Madang at Sejong Central Park (Sejong City); and the children’s play facility at the Nakdonggang National Institute of Biological Resources (Sangju, Gyeongsangbuk-do).
Han Nori Madang at Sejong Central Park connects more than 15 types of play equipment, allowing children to enjoy water play, sand play, nature activities and play with peers in one space. It was also recognized for incorporating accident records and user satisfaction survey results into facility improvements, and for providing safety and convenience features such as CCTV cameras, emergency bells and shade canopies.
The playground at the Chungnam Provincial Government Daycare Center uses natural features—including hills, grass, stones, a vegetable garden and water—as resources for play and learning. It received high marks for its safety and rest areas and pathway design, which take the physical characteristics of infants and toddlers into account, as well as for opening the facility to the local community.
The Seoul-style Kids Cafe, Municipal Hwagok Branch, connects indoor play areas with a terrace and ecological spaces, and separates play zones by age group. Noru Playground in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, makes use of high hills and large play structures while improving safety from the design stage by ensuring clear sightlines and addressing corners and changes in level.
The Children’s Adventure Forest at Incheon Butterfly Park and the play facility at the Nakdonggang National Institute of Biological Resources each combine play with nature observation and ecological education, using butterflies and the Nakdong River ecosystem as their themes. Wonju Sangsang Playground, Anseong Aisarang Playground and Seoripul Nori School were recognized for strengths including spaces organized around developmental stages, a range of play programs and prevention-focused safety management.
The nine selected sites will be designated outstanding children’s play facilities for three years, through 2029. MOIS plans to inspect each facility’s management and compliance with safety management requirements annually. Information on outstanding children’s play facilities nationwide is available through the Children’s Play Facility Safety Management System (cpf.go.kr).
Park Hyeong-Bae, head of MOIS’s Safety Prevention Policy Office, said, “We will actively support the spread nationwide of diverse, creative play spaces that take children’s perspectives and developmental characteristics into account, while ensuring safety as a basic requirement.”

[email protected] Lee Bomi Reporter