[Korea Education Newspaper] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is recruiting participating institutions on a first-come, first-served basis from the 10th to the 12th for the first round of the 'Visiting Seoul Dietary Education' program, in which professional instructors visit daycare centers and kindergartens directly to help infants and toddlers form proper eating habits. This education will be conducted at 230 daycare centers and kindergartens for approximately 6,500 infants and toddlers, expanding the recruitment scale by about 15% compared to last year.
The recruitment targets are daycare centers in the 21 autonomous districts participating in the Seoul Deundeun Geupsak project and kindergens within Seoul. The Seoul Metropolitan Government will select 170 daycare centers and 60 kindergartens on a first-come, first-served basis, and institutions wishing to participate can apply through the Seoul Deundeun Geupsak website. Selected institutions will receive training according to their preferred schedule from June 29 to August 31.
Last year, through the 'Seoul City Visiting Dietary Education' program, the Seoul Metropolitan Government conducted a total of 823 classes at 420 daycare centers and kindergartens, providing age-appropriate dietary education to 12,612 infants and toddlers.
In particular, as the scope of education was expanded to include all daycare centers within the autonomous districts participating in the Seoul Deundeun Geupsak program (18 as of 2025) and kindergens in Seoul, the number of trainees increased by 57.1% compared to the previous year. In the satisfaction survey, an average score of 4.82 out of 5 was recorded.
The education program centers on five-sense experiences, allowing infants and toddlers to directly see, touch, smell, and taste food ingredients. It is designed to help children become familiar with various ingredients and build enjoyable eating experiences.
The program is divided into two classes by age, and 40 to 50-minute sessions are conducted up to twice.
The class of children born in 2022–2023 (ages 2–3) observes carrots, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, etc. through the ‘Yummy Yummy’ program, and then conducts a ‘Vegetable Tower Making’ activity in which they stack vegetables one by one on slices of whole wheat bread.
The class of children born in 2020–2021 (ages 4–5) will engage in the ‘Eat a Balanced Diet’ program, where they touch ingredients inside a secret bag and express them through their five senses, and ‘make skewers’ using rice cakes, quail eggs, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and mushrooms.
A daycare teacher in Dongjak-gu who participated in the education program last year said, “The children naturally showed interest in vegetables they usually wouldn’t eat as they touched and made things with them,” adding, “After the class, there was a noticeable increase in children naming ingredients or trying to eat vegetables first during lunch time.” She continued, “Because it was an activity-centered class where they participated like play rather than simply listening to explanations, the children’s concentration and reactions were excellent.”
A total of two training sessions will be conducted this year, including this first session. Recruitment for the second 'Seoul City Visiting Dietary Education' program is scheduled for this coming July, with a capacity of 6,500 participants, the same as the first session. Institutions selected through the first recruitment cannot apply for the second recruitment.
Jeong Jin-woo, Director General of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Lifelong Education Bureau, stated, “As early childhood is a critical period for establishing lifelong eating habits, it is essential for children to experience a variety of food ingredients naturally and enjoyably.” He added, “We will continue to support the formation of proper eating habits in children by expanding experiential dietary education programs that visit daycare centers and kindergartens directly.”
