Woomi Hope Foundation renovates six South Korean nurseries for children with disabilities
In short
Woomi Hope Foundation (우미희망재단) said on 22 October that it carried out its 2026 "Living in Harmony" (리빙인하모니) space-welfare project at six nurseries specialising in the care of children with disabilities. The work included replacing old wallpaper and flooring, removing thresholds in sensory integration rooms and laying safety mats in play rooms.
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Woomi Hope Foundation (우미희망재단) said on 22 October that it had carried out its 2026 "Living in Harmony" (리빙인하모니) space-welfare project at six nurseries specialising in the care of children with disabilities across the country. The aim was to improve the childcare environment for these children. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The nurseries were selected after the foundation took applications from specialist nurseries nationwide and held document and on-site screening. They are Geumbu Nursery (금부어린이집) in Gwangju, Gimpo Gochang Nursery (김포고창어린이집) in Gyeonggi, Sarangteo Nursery (사랑터어린이집) in North Gyeongsang, Immanuel Eunhye Nursery (임마누엘은혜어린이집) and Gaonnuri Nursery (가온누리어린이집) in North Chungcheong, and Bethania Ecological Nursery (베타니아생태어린이집) in South Jeolla. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The outlets define a nursery specialising in children with disabilities as a facility that cares for at least 12 such children at all times. They report that government support is mainly concentrated on education programmes and labour costs, so many of these nurseries struggle to find the money for repairs to their buildings. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The foundation and its partner, the social welfare corporation Ttatteuthan Donghaeng (따뜻한동행), replaced old wallpaper and flooring according to the condition of each nursery. They also removed thresholds in sensory integration rooms and installed safety mats in play rooms. Newsis and Chosun Ilbo reported that this year's work focused on removing the risk of safety accidents caused by ageing facilities. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Living in Harmony is a project to improve educational environments for people with disabilities that the foundation has run with Ttatteuthan Donghaeng since 2022. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Lee Chun-seok of the foundation said many nurseries across the country had applied and many facilities urgently needed improvement. He added: "Through this space improvement, we hope the children can play and live freely without worrying about getting hurt." [ 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The outlets say government support goes mainly to education programmes and staff pay, leaving many such nurseries struggling to fund building repairs. The documents give no cost or wider figures, so the project's scale beyond the six nurseries is not known.
Key facts
- Woomi Hope Foundation said on 22 October that it carried out the 2026 "Living in Harmony" space-welfare project at six nurseries for children with disabilities nationwide. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The foundation has run Living in Harmony since 2022 together with the social welfare corporation Ttatteuthan Donghaeng (따뜻한동행), as a project to improve educational environments for people with disabilities. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- A nursery specialising in children with disabilities is defined as a facility that cares for at least 12 children with disabilities at all times. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The six nurseries were chosen after applications, document screening and on-site screening. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The selected nurseries are Geumbu (Gwangju), Gimpo Gochang (Gyeonggi), Sarangteo (North Gyeongsang), Immanuel Eunhye and Gaonnuri (both North Chungcheong), and Bethania Ecological (South Jeolla). [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Old wallpaper and flooring were replaced according to each nursery's condition, thresholds in sensory integration rooms were removed, and safety mats were installed in play rooms. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Two outlets said this year's focus was removing the risk of safety accidents caused by ageing facilities. [ 2 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Woomi Hope Foundation announced on 22 October that it carried out the 2026 Living in Harmony project at six nurseries for children with disabilities. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Government support is mainly concentrated on education programmes and labour costs, so many of these nurseries have difficulty funding facility repairs. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Lee Chun-seok (이춘석) of the foundation said he hoped the improvements would let children play and live without fear of getting hurt. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- How much the project cost or how it was funded. None of the documents gives a budget or an amount.
- When the renovation work was done at each nursery. The documents say only that the project was carried out and announced on 22 October.
- How many nurseries applied. Lee said many nurseries nationwide applied, but no figure is given.