Kindergartens with just one child rise from 9 to 108 in a decade as birth rates fall

South Korea had 108 kindergartens with only one enrolled child in 2025, up from nine a decade earlier, as the number of young children falls faster than the number of kindergartens.

A study published in the latest issue of the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education’s journal found that the number of single-child kindergartens increased 12-fold between 2016 and 2025. The figure rose gradually from nine in 2016 to 20 in 2019 and 24 in 2022, before jumping to 108 in 2025.

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A kindergarten with one child may result from the combined effects of the local kindergarten supply structure and geographic and educational conditions.

The broader decline in enrollment has outpaced the reduction in kindergarten facilities. The number of kindergartens fell about 13%, from 8,555 in 2015 to 7,435 in 2025. Over the same period, enrollment dropped about 30%, from 695,710 children to 487,326.

The smallest kindergartens are concentrated outside major metropolitan areas. Of the 108 facilities, 100, or 92.6%, were in provincial regions. South Jeolla had the most, with 25, followed by South Gyeongsang with 22, North Jeolla with 21 and North Chungcheong with 11. All 108 were public kindergartens attached to elementary schools.

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When a kindergarten disappears, young children and families in the area immediately face commuting burdens and limited educational choices, while local conditions for settling there worsen.

The study found that population decline alone did not determine where single-child kindergartens appeared. Although the population aged zero to five fell by more than half in South Gyeongsang and North Jeolla, those provinces added 20 and 18 such kindergartens. North Gyeongsang added one, while Ulsan saw no change despite similar declines. Professor An Ji-young of Seowon University said local supply structures and geographic and educational conditions may combine to produce the phenomenon.

An warned that simply closing or merging kindergartens could leave children and families facing longer commutes, fewer educational choices and weaker conditions for remaining in their communities. She proposed considering shared campuses among nearby small kindergartens and building local communities linking kindergartens, elementary schools and childcare centers so children can form peer groups.

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It is necessary to consider shared campuses among nearby small kindergartens and to activate local communities linking kindergartens, elementary schools and childcare centers to create peer groups.