Suggested citations
AGLC4 | 어린이보육교양법 2013 [Childcare and Education Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2013)] [tr Daye Gang].
Bluebook | Eoliniboyuggyoyangbeob 2013 [Childcare and Education Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2013)] translated in Law and North Korea by Daye Gang, https://www.lawandnorthkorea.com/.
Adopted on April 29, 1976, as Law No. 7 of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on March 4, 1999, as Directive No. 488 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on April 4, 2013, as Directive No. 3058 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
CHAPTER I. BASICS OF CHILDCARE AND EDUCATION LAW
Article 1
Children in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are the future of the nation, the rear guard of the communist construction, and are the inheritors of our revolutionary feats who will carry on the revolution.
Article 2
Raising children socially is one of the important measures of a socialist State and is an educational method based on the theory of socialist pedagogy. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall raise all children in creches and kindergartens at the expense of the State and of society.
Article 3
Raising children at their homes without sending them to creche, even if the children are of an age to go to creche, is included in their parents’ freedoms.
Article 4
The Childcare and Education Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is a law that has inherited the splendid revolutionary tradition accomplished in the honourable anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle for the independence of the nation and the freedom and well-being of the people.
Article 5
The Childcare and Education Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea regulates a system and order of providing childcare and education to children of preschool age in childcare and education institutions such as creches and kindergartens at the expense of the State and of society.
Article 6
The Childcare and Education Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall serve to further consolidate and develop the advanced childcare and education system universally established in our country, to raise all children to be strong and to liberate women from the heavy responsibility of raising children.
Article 7
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall give every consideration so that all children can grow happily and without an envy in the world in the most magnificently prepared modern childcare and education conditions. This consideration is resolutely guaranteed by the solid foundations of the superior socialist system erected in our country and of the independent national economy, and by the socialist measures taking as their supreme principle of their activities the ceaseless rise of the material and cultural standards of the people, and it shall be ceaselessly grown according to the strengthening of the economic foundations of the country.
Article 8
Strengthening guidance and control over childcare and education work is an important guarantee to correctly implement the childcare and education policy of the State. In the work of caring for and educating children, the State shall strengthen guidance and control to thoroughly embody the theory of socialist pedagogy.
Article 9
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall also raise the children of foreign nationals who have been exiled after struggling for peace, democracy, national independence, and socialism, or for scientific or cultural freedom, in creches or kindergartens at the expense of the State according to the parents’ wishes.
Article 10
In this law, to refer to a child means children from the time they are born to the time before they go to school.
CHAPTER II. CHILDREARING AT THE EXPENSE OF THE STATE AND OF SOCIETY
Article 11
In the work of caring for and educating children, the State shall think of all things with people in the centre, and shall thoroughly attain the requirements of Juche ideology which requires service to the people.
Article 12
State organs and social, cooperative organizations shall take responsibility for and assure all things required for childcare and education work, according to the principle of 《the best things to the children》.
Article 13
State organs and social, cooperative organizations shall construct modern creches and kindergartens that have childcare and education facilities and sport and play facilities in the best locations and must outfit them with things like instruments, play materials, publications, and teaching aid equipment.
Article 14
State organs and social, cooperative organizations must manage children’s parks and playgrounds in streets, villages, and different places where children are, and must have different play facilities for them.
Article 15
All children in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall be supplied food from the moment of their birth.
Article 16
State organs and social, cooperative organizations must normally assure many kinds of manufactured food such as milk, meat, eggs, fruit, vegetables, and confectionary to creches and kindergartens. In these cases, the hygiene and safety of the food must be assured. The price of the food supplied to children at creches and kindergartens shall be the expense of the State and of social, cooperative organizations.
Article 17
The State shall make children’s clothing, shoes, and many different items for children’s use in the best quality and for those the price shall be determined to the degree of compensating the production costs or lower than that, and the difference shall be borne by the State.
Article 18
Children who cannot receive the care of parents shall be raised in orphanages and in nursery schools.
Article 19
The State shall especially protect the children of revolutionary martyrs, patriotic martyrs, the families of soldiers of the People's Army, soldiers disabled on duty and shall turn deep consideration to their childcare and education.
Article 20
The State shall especially protect mothers who have children. The State shall guarantee maternity leave to women. The living expenses, food, and distribution portions during the maternity leave period shall be borne by the State and by social, cooperative organizations. The State shall register pregnant women in time through medical institutions including maternity hospitals, shall give them systematic medical services and childbirth services for free, and shall protect their health after childbirth. The State shall give pregnant women easy work that suits them and to mothers with children shall guarantee breastfeeding time periods during working hours. The State shall reduce the labour time period of mothers who have many children and shall give them sufficient living expenses.
Article 21
The State shall give special benefits to mothers who birth and raise many children at a time and to their children. To mothers who birth and raise more than two children at once shall be given additional paid post-birth maternity leave for a constant period. In cases where more than triplets have been born, things like clothing, baby mattress, milk products shall be supplied without cost for a constant period, shall give a childcare subsidy until they reach an age to go to school, and shall assign a separate medical worker to the children and mother to responsibly look after their health.
CHAPTER III. CULTURAL AND SCIENTIFIC CHILDCARE
Article 22
Growing sturdy and wise children who are the flowerbuds of the country is the most noble duty for revolutionaries. The State shall pay deep attention to growing children culturally and scientifically.
Article 23
Creches and kindergartens shall warmly care for children with maternal feeling, and must raise them in conformity with the requirements of collective childcare norms and hygiene and epidemic prevention norms. The living environment of the children shall be cleanly managed, the temperature and humidity inside the rooms shall be adequately guaranteed, and personal training must be directed normally using the air, sunshine, water, medical equipment, and sporting equipment in conformity with ages and constitutions.
Article 24
Creches and kindergartens must sufficiently feed children different kinds of staples and snacks in conformity with the age and nature of the children according to nutritional standards.
Article 25
The State shall give systematic medical services to children in creches and kindergartens.
All medical services to protect and promote children’s health shall be done for free according to the universal free medical service executed in our country. Medical workers shall be placed in each creche and kindergarten, medical equipment, medicine, and medical supplies must be supplied, and children’s illnesses must be prevented and treated in time through specialist medical institutions.
Article 26
The State shall thoroughly protect children’s health, and shall keep paediatric wards in all places that have creches to actively assure the societal activity of women. Paediatric wards shall receive and treat children of creches who are not sick to the degree of requiring admission to hospital.
Article 27
The State shall well manage sanatoria for children at thermal springs, mineral waters, beaches, and places with good views to promote their health.
Article 28
State organs and childcare and education institutions must comprehensively analyse the state of health and growth of children, must adopt given measures, and must scientize and ceaselessly develop childcare work.
CHAPTER IV. REVOLUTIONARY CHILDREN’S EDUCATION AND CULTURE
Article 29
Educating and enculturating rising generations into revolutionaries from an early age is significant work that forms the security of the prosperous development of the nation and the resplendent future of the revolution. The State shall place the prerequisite strength in the work of educating and enculturating children in creches and kindergartens based on the theory of socialist pedagogy.
Article 30
The State shall educate children so that they do not forget our past, do not forget the South Choson people, and love our socialist system and resplendent future.
Article 31
The State shall educate the children with the collectivist mindset of “all for one, one for all”.
Article 32
State organs and childcare and education institutions must educate children so that they like to work and are habituated to working from a young age.
Article 33
State organs and childcare and education institutions must educate children to value and love property of the State and property of social, cooperative organizations and consider them to be precious.
Article 34
State organs and childcare and education institutions must educate children so that they have well-mannered dispositions and are habituated to living in a culturally hygienic manner.
Article 35
State organs and childcare and education institutions shall grow plentiful emotions and artistic abilities in children and must develop their intelligence in varied ways. Creches and kindergartens must teach children Korean, must teach them song, dance, and playing instruments, and must diversely organize play.
Article 36
The State shall give all children compulsory preschool education for a year in a high class in kindergarten. During the period of compulsory preschool education, the children shall have grown in them a revolutionary ethos of organizational life and shall give them foundational knowledge to smoothly receive school education such as cultural language, ways to write, and ways to do sums.
Article 37
The State shall educate children in creches and kindergartens in different forms and methods in conformity with their age and psychological nature.
CHAPTER V. CHILDCARE AND EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS, ORPHANAGES, KINDERGARTENS
Article 38
Childcare and education institutions in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are institutions that grow children into mentally sound and physically robust, intellectually developed and highly culturally literate labourers of the future.
Article 39
Childcare and education institutions include creches, kindergartens, orphanages, and nurseries. Creches are childcare and education institutions that grow children by the State and by society for the period until they go to kindergarten. Kindergartens are an education institution that provides children with preparatory education for school until they go to school. Orphanages and nursery schools are childcare and education institutions where the State takes and raises children who cannot receive the care of parents.
Article 40
The State shall rationally place creches and kindergartens close to residential complexes and women’s workplaces. The State shall extensively organize and operate weekly and monthly creches and kindergartens to actively assure the societal activities of women. Placing creches and kindergartens in places and buildings not appropriate for the health and growth of children is prohibited.
Article 41
Orphanage and kindergarten teachers are honourable revolutionaries who grow children into dependable inheritors of revolutionary feats and the new generation of the Juche model. Orphanages and kindergarten teachers who perform the important and worthwhile revolutionary duty of growing the children who are the future of the nation shall receive the high respect and confidence of the people. The State shall turn deep attention to societally loving and actively helping orphanages and kindergarten teachers so that they devote all stamina to raising and teaching children well. The State shall turn its consideration to workers who have rendered distinguished service in childcare and education work, including decorations, medals, and conferment of titles of honour.
Article 42
Orphanages and kindergarten teachers must dedicate all of their passion to childcare and education work for children that grows the future of the revolution, with high honour and pride about their work, to become true faithful servants and sincere revolutionaries of the people.
Article 43
Orphanages and kindergarten teachers shall strongly arm themselves with Juche ideology to resolutely adopt a revolutionary outlook on the world, and must thoroughly revolutionize themselves and make themselves working class.
Article 44
Childcare and education institution workers including orphanage and kindergarten teachers must not have illnesses that can have a bad influence on children’s health, and must possess professional knowledge and given qualifications required for childcare and education work. Childcare and education institution workers must regularly receive health examinations from medical institutions and in cases where they have not passed health examinations, they may not work at childcare and education institutions.
Article 45
Orphanage and kindergarten teachers must possess a refined revolutionary disposition and must be true role models for children in all ways.
Article 46
Orphanage and kindergarten teachers must raise children into sturdy and bright inheritors of our revolutionary feats who have correct dispositions.
CHAPTER VI. GUIDANCE AND CONTROL FOR CHILDCARE AND EDUCATION WORK
Article 47
Guidance for childcare and education work shall be done by the central education guidance institution, central public health guidance institutions, and local political institutions under the standardized guidance of the Cabinet. Central education guidance institutions, central public health guidance institutions, and local political institutions must correctly adopt a guidance system for childcare and education work and must normally command and guide it.
Article 48
Central education guidance institutions and central public health guidance institutions must organize and guide childcare and education work in the following manner.
1. Childcare and education doctrine shall make creche, kindergarten work standards, and shall ceaselessly improve and complete contents and methods for childcare and education.
2. They shall work to protect and promote children’s health.
3. They shall work to grow orphanage and kindergarten teachers and raise their level of political and practical affairs.
4. They shall provide technical and methodical guidance related to childcare and education work.
Article 49
Local political institutions shall organize and guide creche and kindergarten work in their jurisdictional area in the following manner.
1. They shall correctly implement childcare and education doctrines in creches and kindergartens and must work according to the requirements of the given standards.
2. They shall work to give medical services to children in creches and kindergartens.
3. They shall construct creches and kindergartens, shall have childcare and education facilities, and shall work to assure their material conditions including food.
Article 50
The State shall ensure its workers go normally to the lower levels to understand the reality and provide help, in accordance with the requirements of the anti-Japanese guerilla unit-style work method, shall prioritise political work, and shall resolve issues that have arisen by role modelling in accordance with the principle of role modelling for the masses.
Article 51
Creches and kindergartens must correctly implement childcare and education doctrine, regularize and standardize work, and must strengthen the children’s supervision system.
Article 52
The State shall strongly manage childcare and education worker training institutions and must qualitatively train orphanage and kindergarten teachers in conformity with demand.
Article 53
The State shall educate children into revolutionaries, shall develop scientific research to grow them culturally and scientifically, shall strongly manage scientific research institutions, and shall strengthen guidance about them. Literary institutions shall make many revolutionary literary works for children’s education and culture, such as films, songs, dances, poems, and stories.
Article 54
The State shall develop the production of items for children’s use and of food. The State shall ceaselessly increase the production of products at factories and enterprises producing items for children’s use and food in conformity with children’s demands and preferences and shall increase their quality.
Article 55
The State shall have creche and kindergarten supplies provision institutions in the centre and in the regions. Creche and kindergarten supplies provision institutions must responsibly supply supplies required for childcare and education such as items for children’s use and food.
Article 56
Social, cooperative organizations must assure the material conditions of creches and kindergartens according to the standards determined by the State. Cooperative farms shall raise many domestic animals such as chickens, goats, and milking cows, and shall store fruits and vegetables properly to normally supply to the creches and kindergartens of the farms with the required food.
Article 57
The guidance and control work for childcare and education in orphanages and nursery schools shall follow this law.
Article 58
Childcare and education work for children is nationwide and all-societal work. Institutions, enterprises and organizations shall mobilize and economize their internal reserves to strengthen societal support for creches and kindergartens.
Article 59
Supervision and control for childcare and education work shall be done by the education guidance institution, public health guidance institution, local political institutions, and given supervision and control institution. Education guidance institutions, public health guidance institutions, local political institutions, and given supervision and control institutions must strictly supervise and control the state of implementation of the State’s childcare and education policy.
Article 60
Responsible workers of institutions, enterprises and organizations and individual citizens who have caused grave consequences to childcare and education work by breaching this law shall have administrative or criminal responsibility imposed depending on the gravity.
Last updated 3 April 2022