Gangnam-gu has received the UNICEF Child-Friendly City advanced-level certification from the Korean Committee for UNICEF.
The recognition follows the district's initial certification in August 2022, which runs through August 2026, and acknowledges its consistent efforts to embed children's rights across its administration and expand a child-friendly environment.
The UNICEF Child-Friendly City designation is awarded to local governments that translate the rights enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child — survival, protection, development and participation — into concrete policy and institutional frameworks. The advanced-level certification is granted to cities that have refined their administrative systems and demonstrated tangible policy results since their initial certification.
After receiving its first certification in August 2022, the district adopted the vision of "Gangnam: a city where children thrive and children's voices are heard." Under the slogan "A Comma for the Kids!" it pursued 42 strategic projects spanning six areas.
The district strengthened structures that allow children to participate directly in the policymaking process — going beyond simply gathering children's opinions to building a system that feeds those views into actual district governance. It also conducted ongoing assessments of how major policies affect children's rights. Those efforts earned the district an excellence award from the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Child Policy Impact Assessment in December last year.
Gangnam-gu's child welfare projects, widely cited as a national model, also drew strong praise. "Kium Restaurant," a program that provides evening meals to children in need of care, is the district's flagship initiative combining community care with meal support. In December 2024, it won the top prize in the administrative services category at the UNICEF Child-Friendly City Awards, cementing its reputation for excellence.
Building on the advanced certification, the district plans to strengthen its medium- to long-term child policy roadmap for the next four years and raise the expertise of its administrative systems, with the goal of creating a sustainable child-friendly environment that supports children's safety and development.
"This advanced certification is the result of our consistent efforts to treat children's rights as a core value of governance and to keep improving our policies," District Mayor Kim Hyun-gi said. "We will focus our policy capabilities on ensuring that every child, without discrimination, is respected and can grow up in a safe and happy environment."
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