Toy Rental Trend

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Buying toys for their kids can be quite a burden for parents with infants and toddlers. A service that lends toys out for an annual fee of 10,000 won is gaining popularity among frugal parents.

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This four-year-old is absorbed in playing with a toy that was newly borrowed. Financial burden has been reduced for his mother, since she began using a toy rental center to borrow various toys from cars to blocks and English learning tools.

[Soundbite] Kim Hyun-jeong(Toy Rental Center User) : "I spent about KRW 150,000 or KRW 200,000 a month on purchasing toys before I used the center. I can save on toy purchase expenses now that I use the center."

With a jump in the cost of child rearing, a toy rental center operated by a local government is enjoying a lot of popularity. It is possible to use all toys there if parents pay an annual fee of 10,000 won. The fee is 20.000 won for day care centers and nurseries. The number of toy rentals from this center amounted to 55,000 last year. The service has been popular because new toys are available without the strain on the pocketbooks of parents.

[Soundbite]
Yoo Je-yoon (Cheongju Toy Rental Center): I hope that it will not only serve as a toy rental center but also as a facility for parents to obtain parenting tips and to communicate with other parents.

The toy rental center has the double benefits of nurturing the emotional development of children while helping reduce the financial burden on parents.