Raising children while doing business in Jeju, a tourist destination… If there is a realistic childcare system,
the group ‘Parenting Samjeomyeong’ was conceived from Web 3.0, which means that children should be raised with sustainable values in the future. Five guardians raising children in Seoul, Busan, Jeju, and the United States write a parenting story together. <Editor’s note>
When I lived on land, I asked people around me in the summer.
“Are you going on summer vacation?”
It was a conversation that I naturally had with my acquaintances every summer, about where to go, how long it took, and where I like these days. Since I settled in Jeju, I have not asked such questions. This is because if you ask where you are going in the summer, all the answers will be the same.
“Where are you going? I have to earn money.”
Summer in Jeju, a representative tourist destination, is busy. Because it is the peak season of the year. Although more and more people travel at any time of the year, summer is still the most popular vacation destination.
Every beach is crowded with vacationers playing in the water, and cars are crowded in tourist spots. Since there are many houses around that do business with tourists, everyone is busy welcoming guests in the summer.
This is because you have to earn enough money during the peak season to be able to survive the off-season. The people of Jeju-do seem to be accustomed to this kind of life. When asked, the answer was the same.
“Where is anyone going on vacation in Jeju in the summer?” It wasn’t until I started doing business that I realized
that doing business while taking care of a child in a tourist destination was not easy.
Self-employment is a job that requires you to work harder while others are resting. In particular, tourism business is bound to be busiest when others are resting, such as summer, golden holidays, and holidays.
I didn’t know much about it before moving to Jeju. What kind of life do people who have to return their vacation for the sake of others live? There is a big difference between guessing and experiencing it yourself.
It wasn’t a big hit when I was alone with my husband, but after the children were born, this cycle started to get heavy. Children do not go to institutions and stay at home, as their parents have to work.
In particular, going on a long vacation is not easy. With vacation ahead, it feels as if a stone has been placed on my chest for no reason. And I sigh naturally, wondering how I will spend this summer. Since it is a double income, the eldest, who is in the 2nd grade of elementary school, fortunately goes to the care class even during vacation. I also take part in some after school classes.
The problem is that they return home in 4 hours. I do after school and take care of them, but my return time is 12:40 PM. Whether they know the circumstances of working parents or not, the vacation care time is extremely short. As a result, it is my responsibility as a mother to take care of the children in the afternoon and prepare lunch.
When the child comes home, the body and mind become busy. It’s because I have to take care of the children’s food while doing business. The house and the cafe are close by, so after figuring out the trends of the customers, I have to quickly go home and set the children’s table.
I leave him to eat alone and I go back to work. Customers who have no way of knowing the situation look curious about where the owner has been. A child who has finished eating sometimes plays well alone, but there are many times when he does not. It is worrying even if there are many customers, worrying even if there are not.
I am pursuing a life where I usually spend a lot of time with my children. I believe that what children need is time with their parents rather than money. Cafés are also closed when children return home. Even so, it is not possible to shut down the entire summer season business just because of the vacation. This is because it is a matter of earning a living for a year. So taking care of the children and taking care of the increased number of customers during the peak season is my daily routine during summer vacation.
The situation is similar for a mother raising a child while running a lodging in the neighborhood. Every vacation, she takes care of the children and cleans the dorm, but she is upset that she is completely distracted. They complain that the work that would be completed quickly if they were alone takes twice as much time and effort if they are with their children.
Since they are growing up fast, they keep asking for something to eat when they turn around, so they have to stay in the kitchen even after cleaning the dorm. Summer is the season when children gain weight and mothers grumble.
How are the two-income Jeju families doing?
Being close to nature is comforting, but I always feel sorry for not being able to focus on my children during vacation due to the nature of being a tourist destination. Even though they experience this repeatedly every vacation, the vacation care time in Jeju is still the same since it was introduced in 2009. Only about 20 schools that are piloting care classes after 5:00 p.m. during the semester are operating afternoon care during vacation.
When I looked into what it was like in other regions besides Jeju, the situation was not very different. Some schools run care classes until late in the afternoon메이저사이트, but in many cases, they are only held in the morning. Even in the afternoon, most of them operate much shorter (3 or 4 pm) than during the semester (7 pm). In the case of childcare classes, the operation method differs from region to region, and it was not easy to even grasp the overall operation status as it was subject to discretion of the front-line schools.
In order to flexibly adjust the operation of care classes, issues of manpower and budget follow. The problem is not going to be solved simply by increasing the number of dedicated caregivers. It is necessary to introduce an hourly work system for the teaching staff in charge, but in the end, it is a structure that inevitably leaves a hole in the care of children without someone’s sacrifice. The teaching staff in charge can also be someone’s parents, so solving the problem doesn’t seem easy.
When I inquired with the Jeju Provincial Office of Education, in the case of Jeju Island, the guardians of the front-line schools had to come forward to extend the care class. It is possible to extend the care class in the form of subsidizing the wages of volunteers at the support center after giving an opinion to extend the care class and going through deliberation by the school management committee. However, it was almost difficult to find a place that actually extended operation in this way. That is why each family is fighting an individual battle every vacation.
Even if it is not a house that does business in a tourist destination, there are so many double-income these days that there will not be many families who can fully take care of their children during vacation. Even if there is a summer vacation that the family can spend together, it would be a week at the most, but how are you doing the rest of the time? It would be nice if you could go to a childcare class or a local children’s center, but if that doesn’t work, wouldn’t you borrow someone else’s hand, such as your grandparents, or cling to an academy?
The child who played well calls her mother again. I need to clear the table over there. Dozens of times a day, children tirelessly call out to their mother. This time, ask for a snack. I don’t have much of an appetite, but I guess I’m not a child. I want to be able to take care of children before puberty comes, but I also want to grow up quickly when they call me anxiously like that. Thank you for looking out for her mom, but mom is kind of tough. Vacation is very long.