If you have already submitted a daycare enrollment waitlist application for March 2027 in South Korea, you do not need to apply again on November 2. Children with active applications whose requested enrollment month falls between a past month and March 2027 will automatically be included in the new school-year waitlist. The new rankings will be available starting at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, November 2, 2026.
Three points are particularly important in the guidance provided by the Korea Social Security Information Service through the Childcare Portal, known as i-Sarang in South Korea.
Existing daycare waitlist applications remain active, so there is no need to reapply simply because the new school-year process is beginning.
Starting at 10:00 a.m. on November 2, parents and guardians can check their new school-year waitlist rankings through the i-Sarang website or mobile app.
No separate text message will be sent when enrollment is confirmed for the new school year. Parents and guardians must contact the daycare center directly to confirm their child's enrollment status.
Rather than submitting another application, it is more important to check the requested enrollment month currently registered in the system, the new school-year waitlist ranking, and the daycare center's actual enrollment availability.
Do You Need to Reapply for Daycare Enrollment on November 2?
Children who already have a daycare waitlist application do not need to submit a new application on November 2. In South Korea, daycare enrollment waitlist applications can be submitted throughout the year. The opening of new school-year waitlist rankings does not require families to resubmit existing applications.
However, whether an existing application is included in the 2027 new school-year selection process depends on the requested enrollment month.
Consider the following situations.
If you applied in October 2026 and requested enrollment in March 2027
You can keep your existing waitlist application. Because the requested enrollment month is March 2027, the child will automatically be included in the new school-year selection pool.
If you requested enrollment in September 2026 but your child has not yet been admitted
Even if the requested enrollment month has already passed, the child will still be included in the new school-year selection pool as long as the existing application remains active. A past requested enrollment month does not automatically exclude a child from the new school-year waitlist rankings.
If you selected April 2027 or a later month as the requested enrollment date
The officially announced automatic inclusion period extends through March 2027. If the requested enrollment month is April or later, you should not assume that the child is included in the new school-year selection pool. Check the application status and contact the daycare center for guidance.
The important point is that you do not need to cancel an existing application to view the new school-year waitlist ranking. First, confirm that your current application remains active.
Where Can You Check the 2027 New School-Year Daycare Waitlist Ranking?
The new school-year waitlist rankings for March 2027 daycare enrollment will be available from 10:00 a.m. on November 2, 2026, through the i-Sarang Childcare Portal or its mobile app.
The checking procedures for computers and mobile devices are as follows.
On a computer
Go to the i-Sarang Childcare Portal → Daycare Centers → Enrollment Waitlist → Waitlist Application Status.
On a mobile device
Open the i-Sarang app → Waitlist Application Status.
When checking the ranking, also verify that the selected daycare center and requested enrollment month are correct.
It is important to distinguish between the regular waitlist ranking and the new school-year waitlist ranking. The regular ranking represents the waiting order for enrollment in the nearer term, while the new school-year ranking is a separately announced waiting order specifically for March 2027 enrollment.
If the two rankings differ, the difference alone does not mean there is an error in your application.
Above all, the appearance of a new school-year waitlist ranking does not mean enrollment has been confirmed. Actual admission availability must be determined according to the daycare center's available places and enrollment procedures.
When Will Daycare Enrollment Be Confirmed for the New School Year?
Daycare centers will carry out preparations for new school-year enrollment confirmations from 10:00 a.m. on November 2, 2026, through the end of February 2027. Actual admission and registration of children are expected to take place between late February and early March 2027, although detailed schedules will be announced later.
The key dates are summarized below.
| Process | Schedule |
|---|---|
| Daycare waitlist applications | Accepted year-round |
| 2027 new school-year waitlist ranking lookup | From 10:00 a.m. on November 2, 2026 |
| Daycare enrollment confirmation preparations | 10:00 a.m. on November 2, 2026, through the end of February 2027 |
| New school-year admission and child registration | Expected from late February to early March 2027 |
The enrollment process begins when each daycare center determines how many children it can admit. The center then conducts consultations for prospective children and their families. Once a parent or guardian decides whether to accept the available place, the daycare center confirms enrollment and processes the child's registration.
Therefore, even though waitlist rankings become available on November 2, not every daycare center will make enrollment decisions on that day.
When contacting your preferred daycare center, ask specifically about the number of available places for the new school year, whether consultations are being conducted, and the expected enrollment confirmation schedule.
Why Shouldn't You Wait for an Enrollment Confirmation Text Message?
For the 2027 new school year, the i-Sarang system will not send a separate notification text message when daycare enrollment is confirmed. This means parents and guardians should not rely solely on whether they receive a text message to determine their child's enrollment status.
After checking the new school-year waitlist ranking, contact the daycare center and discuss how your child's enrollment application is being processed.
It is especially important to distinguish between the following stages.
Waitlist application: The stage when a child has applied for daycare enrollment and is waiting for an available place.
New school-year ranking lookup: The stage when a parent or guardian checks the child's position on the waitlist for March 2027 enrollment.
Enrollment confirmation: The stage when the daycare center formally confirms enrollment after the parent or guardian decides whether to accept the place.
Child registration: The stage when the daycare center processes the child's actual admission and registration.
Having attended a consultation or receiving a favorable new school-year waitlist ranking does not necessarily mean the child's final registration has been completed.
Even if no text message arrives, stay in direct contact with the daycare center to confirm whether enrollment has been finalized. You should also review the application status in the i-Sarang system.
Can You Keep Another Daycare Waitlist Application After Your Child Enrolls at One Center?
Yes. If your child is confirmed for the 2027 new school year and actually begins attending a daycare center, you can complete a waitlist extension procedure within seven days to keep applications at other daycare centers active.
For example, suppose your child begins attending Daycare Center A, but you want to preserve the possibility of transferring to Daycare Center B. After your child enrolls at Center A, you should check whether the waitlist application at Center B needs to be extended to remain active.
This is a separate issue from maintaining an existing new school-year waitlist application before admission.
You do not need to reapply on November 2. However, after your child actually enrolls at a daycare center, additional action may be necessary to preserve waitlist applications at other centers.
The relevant procedures should be checked in the applicable daycare enrollment guidance.
What Should Parents and Guardians Check Around November 2?
If you are preparing for daycare enrollment in March 2027, checking your existing registration details and the daycare center's recruitment progress is more useful than submitting a new application.
2027 New School-Year Daycare Enrollment Checklist
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[ ] Confirm that your existing daycare waitlist application is still active in the i-Sarang system.
[ ] Check whether your requested enrollment month is March 2027 or earlier.
[ ] Check the new school-year waitlist ranking after 10:00 a.m. on November 2.
[ ] Ask your preferred daycare center about available places and consultation schedules.
[ ] Confirm your child's enrollment status directly with the daycare center.
[ ] Decide whether to keep other daycare waitlist applications active after your child actually enrolls.
If you experience problems using the i-Sarang system, you can contact the help desk at 1566-3232 (press 1). For questions about childcare policies and administrative guidelines, contact the South Korean Ministry of Education's public inquiry service at 02-6222-6060 (press 1).
For parents and guardians preparing for the 2027 new school-year daycare enrollment process in South Korea, November 2 is not a deadline to resubmit existing applications. It is the day when the new school-year waitlist rankings first become available. Start by checking the requested enrollment month and application status registered in i-Sarang, then consult your preferred daycare center to determine whether your child can actually be admitted.
