‘평균 39일 대기’ 아이돌봄서비스…긴 대기 기간·아이돌봄사 저급여 숙제로

A South Korean father of two young children, 39-year-old Eun Ji-hwan, has been waiting an average of 39 days for an "idol care" service to take care of his children in Gyeonggi's Hanam City. He applied for the service in April last year, but has remained in a queue for over a year and a half. Eun said, "I even contacted the idol care center, but they only arrange services based on the waiting list, so there's nothing I can do but wait."

Despite the government implementing idol care services for 20 years, the long waiting times indicate a shortage of idol care workers.

A recent "2025 Idol Care Service Performance Survey" found that the average waiting time for services is 33.9 months, with a monthly cost of approximately 357,000 KRW per month. Respondents requested the expansion of idol care workers the most, with a score of 4.2 out of 5. The average age of idol care workers is 59.9 years, with half of them being 60 years or older.

Workers earn an average monthly income of 1.6 million KRW and work an average of 118.8 hours per month. The head of the Gender Equality Family Policy Division stated that while demand for idol care services has increased, supply has not kept pace, and improving worker conditions is urgent to ensure smooth service delivery.