Including children in the design of leisure spaces

Public spaces have a significant impact on the lives and happiness of children, and South Korean cities have made commendable progress in mainstreaming child participation in creating playgrounds and other public spaces for children.

For instance, Seongbuk-gu has launched six innovative facilities with various play activities and programs that cater to children aged eight and above. Each facility went through space planning workshops that involved children, play curators, and architects to determine the name of the facility and reflect children's needs in the design.

Also, Seongnam and Osan are great examples of child-responsive spatial planning. Seongnam renovated old playgrounds in apartments and Osan refurbished classrooms and school spaces while, in both cases, children actively engaged in the process as main agents of designing the spaces.