South Korea’s Jeju Island will begin paying grandparents a monthly stipend of around $200 for time spent looking after their grandchildren, as local governments experiment with new ways to support childcare and address the country’s rapidly declining birth rate.
The programme, set to begin in March, will pay grandparents who care for young children instead of relying on formal childcare services, according to public broadcaster KBS. The initiative was approved by the Jeju provincial assembly, and was being implemented after a similar programme proved successful in Seoul.
