If you are preparing for kindergarten admission in South Korea for the 2027 academic year, adding a kindergarten to your favorites on October 28 does not complete the admission application. The favorites feature is a preparation tool for saving kindergartens of interest. Actual applications for priority admissions will be accepted from November 2–4, 2026, while general admissions will take place from November 17–23. Saving a kindergarten to your favorites early does not give your child priority in selection or a place on a waiting list.
Parents and guardians preparing for their child's kindergarten enrollment in March 2027 can review individual kindergartens' admission guidelines, check their child's information, and confirm application eligibility starting October 28. The important distinction is between saving a kindergarten of interest and actually submitting an admission application.
What Can Parents Do on the Integrated Childcare and Education Portal on October 28?
Starting at 9:00 AM on October 28, parents can view kindergarten admission guidelines for the 2027 academic year. The favorites feature, which allows users to save kindergartens of interest, also becomes available that day, along with a simplified child registration feature that uses government administrative information.
South Korea's kindergarten admission service was previously known as 'First School' (Cheoeum Hakgyoro). Applications are now handled through the Integrated Childcare and Education Portal (Yubo Tonghap Portal), which brings together daycare enrollment and kindergarten admission services.
Parents and guardians should prepare in the following order:
1. Visit the Integrated Childcare and Education Portal, create an account, and log in.
2. Register the child who will be applying for admission, or check the child's existing registration status.
3. Search for the kindergartens you are considering and read their admission guidelines.
4. Save the kindergartens you are interested in to your favorites list.
5. Once the actual application period begins, select the kindergartens you wish to apply to and submit the applications.
The new favorites feature is designed to let parents collect daycare centers and kindergartens of interest in one place for use during the application process.
For example, suppose you add Kindergarten A and Kindergarten B near your home to your favorites list.
Both kindergartens are simply saved as places of interest. Unless you complete the actual applications during the November admission period, no applications will have been submitted for admission selection.
Saving a favorite, completing an application, and completing enrollment registration after selection are three separate stages.
How Are Priority Admissions on November 2 Different from Saving Favorites?
Priority admissions are an actual application and selection process for children who meet specified eligibility requirements. For the 2027 academic year, priority admission applications will be accepted from 9:00 AM on November 2 until 6:00 PM on November 4.
Even if you saved a kindergarten on October 28, you must submit a separate application during this period if your child qualifies for priority admissions.
Priority admission categories include children from legally designated low-income households, families eligible for South Korea's national veterans' benefits, and families of North Korean defectors.
Depending on each kindergarten's admission guidelines, children from families with multiple children, siblings of currently enrolled children, and children from multicultural families may also qualify for priority admissions.
An important distinction for parents is that their household circumstances do not necessarily match the selection criteria of every kindergarten they wish to apply to.
For example, having two children does not automatically mean that your family qualifies for priority admissions at every kindergarten. You must check whether the kindergarten recognizes families with multiple children as a priority admission category and what supporting documents are required.
When checking priority admission eligibility, review the following information:
The number of available places by age group and the priority admission categories at each kindergarten
The priority admission ranking applicable to your household
The documents required to establish eligibility and how to submit them
Whether online eligibility verification is available and the deadline for submitting any additional documents
South Korea's Public MyData integration can use certain family relationship and administrative records, but not every priority admission qualification is processed without additional verification.
If supporting documents are required, follow the submission method and deadline specified in the kindergarten's admission guidelines.
Must Families Who Do Not Qualify for Priority Admissions Wait Until November 17?
If your child does not qualify for priority admissions, you can submit an application during the general admission period beginning November 17. Children who are not selected through priority admissions may also apply through general admissions.
The main dates for South Korea's 2027 kindergarten admissions are as follows:
| Stage | 2026 Schedule | What Parents and Guardians Need to Do |
|---|---|---|
| View admission guidelines and save favorites | From 9:00 AM on October 28 | Check child information and eligibility requirements |
| Priority admission applications | November 2–4 | Confirm eligibility and submit applications |
| Priority admission results | November 9 | Check selection results |
| Priority admission registration | November 10–11 | Register at the selected kindergarten |
| General admission applications | November 17–23 | Submit applications to preferred kindergartens |
| General admission results | November 26 | Check selection and waiting-list results |
| General admission registration | November 27–30 | Register at the selected kindergarten |
Online applications open at 9:00 AM on the first day and close at 6:00 PM on the final day. Applications can be submitted during the designated operating hours within the application period. For detailed operating hours for in-person applications, check the relevant kindergarten's instructions.
If your child is selected through priority admissions, you must complete registration during November 10–11. Children selected through general admissions must be registered during November 27–30.
Receiving a selection result does not mean enrollment registration is automatically completed. Missing the designated registration period may be treated as declining the offered place.
Does Saving a Kindergarten Early Improve Your Chances in the Lottery?
South Korea's kindergarten admission selection process for the 2027 academic year is not first-come, first-served. Submitting an application earlier does not provide an advantage. Once the designated application period closes, selection takes place through a computerized lottery system.
Whether you save a kindergarten to your favorites in the morning or evening of October 28, or submit your actual application on the first day of the application period, does not by itself give your child selection priority.
However, the order in which you rank your preferred kindergartens matters.
General admissions use a lottery system that takes applicants' preference rankings into account. Rather than placing a kindergarten first simply because it appears easier to get into, parents should carefully rank kindergartens according to where they genuinely want their child to attend.
New applicants may apply to a maximum of three kindergartens in total, across public and private kindergartens and different regions. Different limits apply to children who are already enrolled in a kindergarten.
Before submitting applications, make sure to check each kindergarten's available places, priority admission categories, and your preference rankings.
Which Birth Years Are Eligible for Kindergarten Admission in the 2027 Academic Year?
The standard age eligibility range for South Korea's 2027 kindergarten admissions covers children born from 2021 through 2023. Eligibility is determined by the age-group class the child will enter during the 2027 academic year.
| Class | Birth Year |
|---|---|
| Age 3 class | Born in 2023 |
| Age 4 class | Born in 2022 |
| Age 5 class | Born in 2021 |
|---|
For example, a child born in August 2023 is eligible to apply for the age 3 class for the 2027 academic year.
However, exceptions to the standard age requirements and application procedures may apply to children born in January or February 2024 who seek early admission, as well as children whose entry into elementary school has been deferred.
In these cases, parents should contact the kindergarten they wish to apply to directly to confirm whether in-person applications are available and what admission requirements apply.
Rather than relying only on your child's birth year, it is safer to review the age eligibility requirements and exceptions stated in the kindergarten's actual admission guidelines before submitting an application.
How Can Parents Confirm an Application After Saving a Kindergarten to Favorites?
After saving kindergartens to their favorites, parents must return to the Integrated Childcare and Education Portal during the application period and complete the actual application process. Seeing a kindergarten's name on the favorites list does not establish that an application has been submitted.
During the actual application process, follow these steps:
1. Log in to the kindergarten admission service on the Integrated Childcare and Education Portal.
2. Confirm that the registered information for your child is correct.
3. Navigate to the applicable admission category, either priority admissions or general admissions.
4. Check the kindergartens you are applying to, your preference rankings, and any required eligibility information.
5. Submit the applications, then check your application records to confirm that each application has actually been received.
The final step is particularly important.
If you have merely selected a kindergarten of interest or are still entering information on the application screen, you should not assume that the application process is complete. Check the application records to confirm that the submitted application has been successfully received.
If supporting documents are required for priority admission eligibility, you should also check the document verification status separately from the application submission status.
Parents and guardians who have difficulty using the online service can contact their preferred kindergarten to ask about in-person application procedures. The applicable application period and eligibility requirements must still be checked when applying in person.
Is There Anything Else to Do After Submitting an Application in November?
After submitting an application, parents must still check the selection results and complete enrollment registration. Priority admissions and general admissions have different result announcement dates and registration periods.
Priority admission results are scheduled to be announced on November 9, while general admission results are scheduled for November 26.
Even if a child is selected by multiple kindergartens, final enrollment registration can be completed at only one. Once a child is registered at one kindergarten, the offers from other kindergartens where the child was selected are treated as declined.
If your child receives a waiting-list position through general admissions, you should also check the waiting-list management schedule in December. Priority admissions, however, do not have the same waiting-list management procedure as general admissions.
For parents and guardians preparing for South Korea's 2027 kindergarten admissions, the recommended sequence is to review the admission guidelines and priority admission eligibility requirements for their preferred kindergartens on October 28, then confirm successful application submission during the actual admission period.
