G Dream Card (Child Food Support Card) to Be Used at All Restaurants from Now On, Payment Made Confidently

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hoon Reporter] Starting August 2020, Gyeonggi Province will comprehensively overhaul its system so that children eligible for school meal support can use the 'Child Food Support Card (G Dream Card)' confidently without discrimination at all general restaurants throughout the province.

The G Dream Card, used since 2010, was designed to be used only at affiliated merchants, requiring affiliated merchants to be secured for use. However, due to heavy workload for municipal and county offices and restaurants avoiding participation, there had been limitations in its use.
For this reason, among all 11,500 affiliated merchants, convenience stores accounted for 8,900 establishments (77%), and most children had been using the card primarily at convenience stores rather than general restaurants.
Additionally, the card was made as a magnetic card with a separate design, making it easily identifiable as a meal support card to third parties, causing stigma for children using it. Moreover, merchant information and balance inquiries were only possible on personal computers, creating inconvenience in use.
To address these issues, Gyeonggi Province devised a plan to automatically link BC card companies' general restaurant merchants to the G Dream Card. After more than a year of continuous coordination with Nonghyup Bank Gyeonggi Business Division, its headquarters, and BC card companies, the province reached final agreement on system improvements on January 8, significantly expanding affiliated merchants.

The main improvements include automatically linking all general restaurant merchants from BC card companies to the G Dream Card, and completely replacing the existing magnetic card with an IC card featuring a general debit card design so third parties cannot easily identify it. Additionally, a mobile app has been developed so children can easily check their balance through smartphones and other devices.

Upon completion of the system improvements, G Dream Card affiliated merchants are expected to expand significantly from the existing 11,500 establishments to approximately 124,000 establishments. Additionally, since the design is identical to a general debit card, it is expected to alleviate the stigma felt by children.
The approximately 200 million won cost required for the system improvements is expected to be covered by Nonghyup Bank, the operating agency of the G Dream Card system, as part of its corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Gyeonggi Province plans to collect opinions through meetings between municipal and county offices in February, complete system construction and app development from March to July, distribute new IC cards from July, and fully implement the improved system starting August, when children are on vacation.

Gyeonggi Province's meal support program for children experiencing food insecurity provides meals to approximately 65,000 children under 18 years of age who face the risk of missing meals due to poverty and parental unemployment, with costs shared by the province and municipal and county governments. In particular, since Governor Lee Jae-myung took office, Gyeonggi Province's meal support allowance was significantly increased from the existing 4,500 won per meal to 6,000 won.

Ryu Soon-yeol, director of Gyeonggi Province's Child Welfare Team, said, "This complete overhaul of the G Dream Card system is intended to ensure that children receiving meal support can eat confidently without discrimination anywhere, fostering confidence as members of society," and added, "With the acquisition of many more places of use through this initiative, we hope children will be able to consume quality meals from a wider variety of establishments."