“Congresswoman Yong Hae-in Urges for a ‘First Kids Zone’: A Stand Against No Kids Zone Policies”

On the 4th, the day before Children’s Day, a two-year-old boy appeared on the podium of the Communication Hall of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. He was the 23-month-old son of Congressman Yong Hae-in of the Basic Income Party.

“Mom, let’s do this quickly, we have to do this quickly and go to the daycare center,” said Rep. Yong, who came to the podium while raising his son.

Rep. Yong said, “Cafes and restaurants called Instagram ‘Hotples’, and even public libraries have become ‘No Kids Zone’.” It is next to impossible to take a bus with a baby carriage. Even if you go to a restaurant or cafe, there are many cases where there is no ‘baby chair’ for infants.”

Congressman Yong said, “Actually, I didn’t recognize the announcement of ‘No Kids Zone’ well before giving birth. But after raising children, how come all the pretty cafes and restaurants I want to go to are just ‘No Kids Zone’?” he emphasized, “What we need is a ‘First Kids Zone’, not a ‘No Kids Zone’.”

He said, “Let’s get rid of the ‘No Kids Zone’ starting with public facilities.” “There are many cases where even public facilities are operated as ‘No Kids Zone’ for no rational reason. A typical example is the National Library of Korea. It is necessary to conduct a comprehensive survey on the accessibility of children to public facilities at the national level,” he pointed out.

He then suggested, “Let’s introduce a Korean version of the ‘Children’s Fast Track System’ that guarantees children’s right to leisure and expands the public nature of care.”

Rep. Yong said, “Recently, Japan has announced that it will promote the ‘Children’s Fast Track System’ as a solution to the low birth rate problem. The Children’s Fast Track system is a system that allows families with children and pregnant women to enter museums, art galleries, and parks without queuing,” he explained.

“We need to enact an equality law to create a society where no one is rejected. The social exclusion that started with the ‘No Kids Zone’ is growing day by day. Now, ‘no youth zone’ and ‘old middle aged zone’ have become words that are not strange.”

Representative Yong said, “I was accustomed to the idea that it is okay to discriminate and exclude someone for a faster and more convenient daily life.” To overcome the world’s lowest birth rate, we must first change the society that rejects caregivers and children.”

Representative Yong, who conveyed the realities of parenting as a ‘working mother’ by holding and unloading her son throughout the press conference, finally said, “It takes a lot of courage to be with a child. Even if it’s a little uncomfortable and a little noisy, I hope our society can share through today’s press conference that we can live together with our children.”

Reporter Kwon Yoon-hee