Even after your child enrolls at one daycare center in South Korea, you can keep their applications on other daycare waitlists active. As verified on October 23, 2026 (Korea Standard Time), you must request an extension within 7 days of the extension notification date. If an application is canceled because you missed the extension deadline, you can restore it through the Korean childcare portal i-Sarang (아이사랑) within 3 months of its cancellation or deletion.
You Must Extend Your Daycare Waitlist Within 7 Days of Notification
i-Sarang's daycare registration waitlist guidelines instruct parents and guardians to extend their applications within 7 days of the extension notification date. This 7-day period is the deadline for confirming that you want to remain on the waitlist. Applications at other daycare centers that are not extended within the deadline are automatically canceled by the system.
When a child is registered at a daycare center, notifications about attendance and waitlist extensions are sent. If you read the notification late, do not start counting the 7 days from the date you opened it. Check the date the notification was sent.
Some guidance also uses the phrase 'within 7 days after starting attendance.' If the child's actual first day of attendance and the notification date appear to differ, do not assume that the deadline can be extended. Instead, check the extension status in your application records immediately.
How to Extend a Daycare Waitlist Application Through i-Sarang
To remain on another daycare center's waitlist, you must select the extension option for the application you want to keep in the Registration Waitlist Application Status section of i-Sarang. The function commonly referred to in Korean as '입소대기' (admission waitlist) is currently labeled '등록대기' (registration waitlist) in the portal menu.
After logging in to i-Sarang, navigate to:
Daycare Centers (어린이집) → Registration Waitlist (등록대기) → Registration Waitlist Application Status (등록대기 신청현황)
Find the application for the daycare center where you want your child to remain on the waitlist, select the extension option, and confirm that the change is reflected in the application status. Enrolling at one daycare center does not automatically preserve your other applications.
How to Restore a Canceled Waitlist Application Within 3 Months
If your waitlist application was deleted because you missed the extension deadline, it can be restored within 3 months of the cancellation or deletion date. Be careful to distinguish between the notification date, which determines the extension deadline, and the cancellation or deletion date, which determines the restoration deadline.
In the Registration Waitlist Application Status section, open the Canceled Applications tab (취소현황) and use the 'Restore Waitlist' button (대기복구) for the relevant application.
Restoration is the process of reinstating previously submitted application information. After completing it, check the application details and current waitlist status.
If you cannot find the application even under Canceled Applications, check whether it was submitted using your spouse's account. According to i-Sarang, applications submitted by one guardian cannot be viewed by another guardian. Therefore, an application missing from your account does not necessarily mean it has been canceled.
What If the 3-Month Restoration Deadline Has Passed?
For applications that have passed the portal's restoration period, you must contact the relevant local government authority in South Korea.
An expired restoration period does not necessarily mean that reinstatement is permanently impossible. However, contacting the local authority does not guarantee that the application will be restored.
Ask the local government authority responsible for the daycare center whether the canceled application can still be processed.
If you experience problems selecting an extension or using the restoration function, contact the i-Sarang Help Desk at 1566-3232, then select option 1.
How Many Daycare Waitlists Can a Child Join in South Korea?
Under the i-Sarang registration waitlist system, a child who is already attending a daycare center can apply to a maximum of 2 daycare centers, while a child who is not currently attending daycare can apply to a maximum of 3 daycare centers.
Applications can be submitted throughout the year. Therefore, parents planning to transfer their child to another daycare center do not have to wait until the beginning of a new school year to join a waitlist.
However, these rules apply to daycare centers covered by i-Sarang's general registration waitlist system. Workplace daycare centers and cooperative daycare centers are excluded from the general system, so parents must check their admission and recruitment procedures separately.
What to Check Before Transferring to Another Daycare Center
Keeping a waitlist application active does not mean that your child has been confirmed for admission to another daycare center.
Daycare centers review applicants' positions according to admission priority rules. They also examine supporting documents for eligibility criteria that cannot be verified automatically before proceeding with registration.
If you are preparing to transfer your child to another daycare center in South Korea, first confirm that the waitlist application remains active. Then check whether your child has been confirmed as eligible for admission at the new daycare center and what supporting documents are required.