Ddaenggyeoyo app payments available from Nov. 16
Daily limit raised to 50,000 won; delivery fee coupons offered
Children using Seoul's Kkumnamu Card — the city's child meal support card — will be able to order food delivery from home starting Nov. 16. The move is designed to reduce the inconvenience of having to visit a physical restaurant or convenience store to use the card, giving children more freedom in choosing what they eat. Delivery fee coupons will also be provided, and the daily spending limit will rise from 30,000 won ($23) to 50,000 won.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it will introduce a service linking the child meal card to Ddaenggyeoyo, a public online food delivery app, enabling users to place and pay for orders through the platform. The project is a collaboration among the city government, Shinhan Bank and ChildFund Korea, a child welfare organization, which have joined forces to connect the meal card to the delivery app and subsidize delivery costs.
To use the service, cardholders must access the Ddaenggyeoyo menu within Shinhan's Super SOL app and sign up, then register their child meal card by selecting "payment management" under the "My" menu in the Ddaenggyeoyo app. They can then order from restaurants marked with a "child meal" designation. About 20,000 Seoul restaurants are enrolled in the child meal program. The city expects the service to improve convenience by allowing children to choose a meal even when visiting a restaurant in person is difficult.
To ease the cost burden of delivery orders, two 3,000-won delivery fee coupons will be provided each month, covering up to 6,000 won in delivery fees per month. Children can apply for the coupons through a Naver Form linked via a banner in the Kkumnamu Card app from Oct. 26 through Nov. 4. Applicants must consent to the collection and use of personal information.
Those who apply by Nov. 4 will receive their first coupon when the service launches on Nov. 16. After that, ChildFund Korea will send coupons to registered children's mobile phone numbers on the first of each month. From December onward, applications must be submitted by the 20th of each month to receive coupons for the following month. The coupons are available to children aged 14 and older who can use the Ddaenggyeoyo app on a phone registered in their own name; about 11,000 children are expected to be eligible. Instructions on signing up, registering the card and applying for coupons will be sent by text message from local district offices and community service centers.
The daily card spending limit will increase from 30,000 won to 50,000 won when the delivery service launches on Nov. 16. The adjustment reflects minimum order amounts on delivery apps and rising dining costs, and the higher limit will apply not only to delivery orders but also to in-person payments at participating restaurants. It can be used when ordering with friends or buying multiple items at once. However, to prevent children from running short on meal funds toward the end of the month, payments between 30,000 won and 50,000 won will be capped at twice per month.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government has been expanding partnerships with private companies to strengthen its child meal support program. It has worked with GS25 and CU since 2022 and 2023, respectively, offering discounts on meal items and snacks at convenience stores, and in May signed an agreement with Hy to provide discounts on food and dairy products. The city said it plans to consistently raise meal support allowances while also improving the convenience of using the card.
"With the introduction of the delivery service, children will be able to choose what they want to eat more easily, and the delivery fee coupons and higher spending limit should ease the financial burden of meals," said Ma Chae-suk, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Women and Family Bureau. "We will continue to improve the system from the children's perspective so that every child can enjoy a healthy meal without worry."
7toy7@heraldcorp.com
