One of the most-wanted welfare programs for working moms and dads is the workplace daycare center. For many parents who want to work and parent perfectly, KRAFTON is making various efforts such as running the in-house daycare center for years. Keep reading to learn how KRAFTON’s Daycare Centers located close to its Pangyo and Yeoksam offices are taking care of the children and their parents.
Nice to meet you! Could you introduce yourself to our readers?
Yeonsik Choi: Hi. I’m Yeonsik Choi of Culture Team. I have a three-year-old son, Yoojun, who’s in the KRAFTON Daycare Center at the Pangyo office.
Boseon Kim: Nice to meet you! I’m Boseon Kim of Privacy Team. I’m the mother of two-year-old girl, Jioh, who’s in the KRAFTON Daycare Center near the Yeoksam office.
Kids are very honest, don’t they? How do they express their experiences at the daycare center?
Yeonsik Choi: My son loves to talk about what he did at the daycare center before he goes to bed. He always calls it a day telling me how he played with his friends and what kind of food he tried. While listening to him talking happily, I can feel how hard the teachers are caring for him.
Boseon Kim: She don’t speak fluently yet, but she expresses how was her day at the daycare center in her own way. For example, she says, “Gud!” When I stop by the center to pick her up and hear her laughter, then I realize she’s doing well.
When you decided to entrust your kid to KRAFTON Daycare Center, was there anything that made you concern?
Yeonsik Choi: I wanted to send my son to our workplace daycare center right after it opened. But, as I’m living quite far from my workplace, I was worried if it was too long a way for him to commute every day. He was too young for that back then. Therefore, I sent him to a kindergarten close to my house for half a month, and then moved to the KRAFTON Daycare Center.
Boseon Kim: I was pregnant when I heard the news that KRAFTON is opening a workplace daycare center. The company provided the parents with a briefing and survey about its plan for the daycare center. The more information I got about its curriculum and facilities, the more I wanted to send my daughter to this daycare center.
What do you think about having your kids at a daycare center close to your workplace?
Yeonsik Choi: I can conveniently let the teachers know about my son’s condition every morning. I can also hear from them about how and what he did at the center when I pick him up. As the kid’s condition is crucial in childcare, it’s very helpful. Also, since the daycare center in located in the same building where the Pangyo office is, I can handle any problem that happens to my son myself. The only drawback is that it’s too hectic in the morning since I have to take care of two people.
Boseon Kim: If I send my daughter to a daycare center near my home, I will be difficult for me to check her condition right away when she has any problem. But the workplace daycare center is very close to the place where I work in, so I can quickly get to the center to check on her by myself.
Compared to the ordinary daycare centers, what are the biggest merits of KRAFTON Daycare Center?
Yeonsik Choi: Except for the distance from my house, everything is good. All the aspects such as the environment and meals are satisfactory. In addition, the teachers are very energetic. As a working dad, sometimes it’s not easy to pamper my energetic son. But the teachers are always reliable since they are full of energy.
Boseon Kim: I’ve sent my daughter here since when she was less than a year old. The biggest merit is the environment. As you can see, it’s very spacious and pleasant. The space per child is large and the teachers are very careful about sanitation. I can also feel they are well-experienced. Parents who raise their first kid tend to be clumsy in taking care of the baby, but the teachers listen carefully to any troubles and give good advice for them.
Do you establish any kind of bond with the colleagues who are sending their kids to the same workplace daycare center?
Yeonsik Choi: Though I don’t know all of them, I can clearly feel the bond as we visit the same daycare center. Naturally, children become our common concern. It feels good to start a day by talking about children instead of work. Even those who I don’t have any connection at work may feel familiar when I meet them at the daycare center as we all are a parent. And sometimes, the bond as parents helps me at work.
Boseon Kim: The daycare center near the Yeoksam office don’t have many children. For this reason, most of the mothers who have children here are quite close to each other as we frequently have lunch or tea together and share our parenting tips. As our kids are in the similar stage of growth, we could easily establish a bond. Even if we used to be unfamiliar at work, we soon realize that we’re all one of the ordinary mothers.
Is there any other welfare program that you find useful as a working parent?
Yeonsik Choi: Honestly, there’s a lot. I think KRAFTON is a kind of company that exactly understands what the working parents want and need. For example, they provide the employees with a certain amount of money for their personal workout. As a working parent, it’s hard to make time for workout. But thanks to this support, it feels less burdensome. In addition, KRAFTON is also offering us a certain amount of money for our education, which encourages me to work on self-development. I sometimes feel I’m losing myself while concentrating on both childcare and work. In that sense, all these welfare programs are helping me take care of myself without less burden.
Boseon Kim: I’m a working mom, so the best welfare program for me is the daycare center. For the employees who are not using the center, KRAFTON is inviting the principals from the two daycare centers to the office for consulting sessions. The employees can get advises and solutions for their concerns related to childcare, such as how to understand and deal with a whining child, appropriate sex education for a child, various learning methods according to ages, and so on.
Yeonsik Choi: Though it’s not a welfare program, we have a chill-out room where we can take a nap. You can never sleep enough before your baby becomes 50 days old. When I was in that period, the chill-out room was very helpful. I also loved to use the electronic massage chairs to take some rest. I believe I could be more productive at work thanks to such facilities.
Boseon Kim: I can feel that KRAFTON is trying hard to accommodate the needs of working parents. For instance, when the company was designing the nursing room, it asked for detailed opinions from the employees. Likewise, the daycare center was established based on the ideas from the employees who were planning to send their kids to this facility. Some of the working parents here visit the daycare center first for their children before coming to the office. Sometimes they are late to work. But most of the people here respect and understand the difficulties of working parents. The company is caring for the parents in terms of the work-childcare balance.
Did you go on a maternity / parental leave?
Yeonsik Choi: I haven’t gone on a parental leave yet. I think I was able to do work and childcare at the same time thanks to all the help and support from the company.
Boseon Kim: I was the first one who used the maternity / parental leave in my division. When I found out I was pregnant and had a meeting with the HR people about shortening my working hours, the first thing they told me was: “You don’t need to worry about losing your job.” (Laughter) Then, they made me feel easy, telling me about some examples from other colleagues. They also proactively helped me deal with complicated administrative works.
Do you have any memorable episode involving your child’s daily lives at the daycare center? They might often look for you if they know you’re working very close to them.
Yeonsik Choi: Once my son enters the center, he doesn’t look for me. He seems to enjoy his time there. On the contrary, he doesn’t want to go home. He comes back home earlier than other children, so he usually wants to spend more time with his friends. It’s a relief for me because it means that he’s doing well at the center.
Boseon Kim: Though her words are not fluent, she and her friends miss each other. So, other mothers and I helped them see each other through video call during the pandemic. I vividly remember them full of excitement as they were adorably chit-chatting.
What does the KRAFTON Daycare Center mean to you and why?
Yeonsik Choi: It’s like “another family” to my child and to myself. It’s a cliché, but it’s an appropriate expression, considering how well the teachers care for the children. Although we are in a business relationship, I can feel their love for my son. That’s why I trust them.
Boseon Kim: For me, the KRAFTON Daycare Center is like a “prop.” These days, everyone has sub- identities. I’m a mother, a daughter, a wife, and a member of KRAFTON. While caring for a child, it’s not easy to carry out all those roles perfectly. But I can fulfill my different roles thanks to the support from the workplace daycare center.
As KRAFTON Daycare Center has been designed based on the thoughtful considerations from many people to be a reliable prop for many working parents, it is run by many hard-working nursing teachers. Keep reading to learn how they take the best care of the children.
Nice to meet you. Could you introduce yourself to our readers?
Hyangim Kang: Hi. I’m Hyangim Kang. I’m one of the teachers in the KRAFTON Daycare Center in Pangyo.
Jinyeong Bae: Hi. I’m Jinyeong Bae and a teacher in the KRAFTON Daycare Center near the Yeoksam office.
Narae Guk: Hi. I’m Narae Guk. I’m also a teacher in KRAFTON’s Yeoksam Daycare Center.
Please introduce the KRAFTON Daycare Centers that you are working in.
Hyangim Kang: As you can see from its name, “Little Foret,” the KRAFTON Daycare Center in Pangyo is designed like a small forest in the middle of the city. It’s a place where the children can enjoy the nature and romp around.
Jinyeong Bae: KRAFTON’s Daycare Center in Yeoksam is a cozy place for children. As you can see, this place is decorated pretty and lovely. It provides very delicate facilities such as the dial-type lighting that helps control the brightness according to the children’s daily routine and various activities.
It must have been difficult to take care of the children during the pandemic and social distancing policies.
Hyangim Kang: After the daycare center opened in 2019, we suffered from the pandemic starting in 2020. We were all confused, since it was the first time for all of us to experience such a pandemic. When things were particularly severe, many parents had to take care of their children at home, and we provided the parents with things that help them teach and play with their children. We also tried to keep in touch with the children through various communication channels such as Zoom or YouTube. I feel so relieved now that the situation is getting better.
Jinyeong Bae: The KRAFTON Daycare Center in Yeoksam opened more recently in September 2021. Although the pandemic made us all very embarrassed, we sticked to the quarantine guidelines and kept on running this place. The parents helped us so much that it was not that difficult for us. One thing we found not easy to deal with was the masks that we all must wear. With the mask, we cannot show our faces to the children, which means the lack of nonverbal communication. It’s actually quite regretful.
Could you tell us more about the teachers working in the KRAFTON Daycare Center?
Hyangim Kang: Basically, we all love children. As this is the workplace daycare center, children tend to stay for a long time here, making it more important for the teachers to build emotional ties with the kids. This is not an easy job if you don’t love the children.
Narae Guk: The children’s facial expressions tell us everything about them. It’s not just for adults that laugh leads to another laugh. I always try to smile and be more energetic when I’m with the children. Every teacher here is qualified as a play partner and a childcare expert.
As one of the teachers, what do you think is the best merits of KRAFTON Daycare Center?
Hyangim Kang: The biggest one I feel as a teacher is that everyone here is like a family. Large daycare centers tend to be formal, which is a bit strict for children. The KRAFTON Daycare Center in Pangyo is spacious one-story facility and thus all teachers here are very close to each other. Such a casual and intimate atmosphere is helping the children better blend in, feeling more comfortable.
Narae Guk: I think we have good numbers of teachers per children. It’s very important, especially in classes for infants. Even if spaces are the same, how much a child is emotionally stable may vary depending on the number of people in the class. Less people also mean less accidents. It’s a big merit that we can take care of the children better one on one and personally interact with each of them.
Do you have a special know-how of better taking care of the children?
Hyangim Kang: Each child has distinct characteristics. Even when the children do the same activities, we, as teachers, must consider the differences. Some kids can do the activities well whereas some other kids require help. This does not necessarily to do with their ages. I try to encourage those kids to try those things alone.
Jinyeong Bae: My precious experiences help me quickly figure out each child’s character. Every person has different personalities and so do children. I quickly grasp their differences and take care of them one by one. I also try my best to understand their minds. When a child cries or whines, just understanding the child’s feelings may help him or her to calm down.
Do you have any memorable moment?
Hyangim Kang: We had our first graduation ceremony last year. We had only three kids, but we prepared it all together. One father brought a letter we wrote for his child, and it read, “The days that you spend here could never come back, but I hope all these valuable memories could be a nourishment for your future.” The sentences touched the heart of many teachers, including myself. I held my mind once again that I’ll make good memories for the children here.
Jinyeong Bae: We have a new program for the four-year old children. It’s a nature-friendly program in which children decorate a vegetable garden located beside the playground on our rooftop. We used various tools to plant seedlings, watered them every day and harvested them. There was a child who was a picky eater. I helped the kid realize that the vegetables are from the garden we have taken care of by ourselves, and he ate them very well. (Laughter)
When did you feel rewarded the most?
Hyangim Kang: I feel rewarded every moment because I’ve been caring for children and watching them grow since they were new-born babies. When a child who I held and put down gets toilet trained, it’s the most rewarding moment. (Laughter) The children sometimes leave is a letter and it’s very impressing because it means that they remember us.
Jinyeong Bae: I once took care of a child who found it difficult to adapt to the life in this center. It took over four months for the child to finally feel this place comfortable. Now the child whines not to go home. I felt all my efforts paid off and I was happy. I was thankful and grateful. It also feel very rewarding when the children who cannot speak fluently yet try their best to find the words to express what they think and how they feel.
