Kids café location research: distinguish population from paid demand
Many children living nearby is a reason to investigate a site, not a booking forecast. Separate three questions: who lives in the area, whether families can use this particular space, and whether they will pay for the proposed offer at the proposed times.
Published by SunnyLabs Inc. · Updated
Prepared by SunnyLabs, maker of Wonder Bricks experience equipment and content. These planning resources concern venues in Korea.
Make the comparisons on the same basis
Mark the candidate address and the area you will compare, with the reason for that boundary. Use the same age band, data month/year and business category for candidates. An administrative area, a walking catchment and a driving catchment are not interchangeable; a café category may also differ from a children’s play venue.
What the public sources actually describe
The following source definitions were checked on October 27, 2026. They illustrate why a source’s coverage matters before you copy a number into a business plan.
| Source | Published basis | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly registered population by age | The Ministry’s page lets you select an administrative area, registration type, period and age range. Its “total” excludes foreigners; residents and other registration types are distinguished. | It is not a count of passing families, visitors or households willing to book. |
| SGIS industry statistics map | The displayed definitions list business counts at city/county/district level, average industry sales at national/provincial level, and data through 2024. Check each selected indicator’s period and geographic coverage. | A province-wide average does not establish one building’s sales or the bookings of a nearby competitor. |
N/A is not zero demand
SGIS explains that confidentiality protection can suppress measures other than the business count where there are two or fewer businesses; additional cells can also be suppressed to prevent inference. N/A therefore cannot be entered as zero sales. Keep unavailable values missing and record the reason. [2]
Walk the actual route a family will take
Check the entrance, stairs or lift, stroller access, parking and toilets at relevant times, and record what you actually observed. Check comparable venues’ actual age rules, booking unit, price and available offer. A blocked time on a booking calendar may be a closure, not a sale.
Keep enquiries, paid bookings and cancellations separate
Where you have a genuine offer or operating record, compare enquiries, paid bookings, cancellations and usable slots for the same offer and period. Separate weekdays and weekends. Before launch, interest expressed in a conversation remains stated interest. Keep views, likes and regional sales separate from your own paid-booking record.
Record the source beside the decision
For each candidate, record a fact and source link, the data period and geographic unit, and the question still unanswered. Then compare real booking evidence with the cost and capacity worksheet. Neither a favorable population count nor a low break-even booking requirement proves that those bookings will arrive.
| Candidate / fact / source link | Data period / area / category | Limit / unanswered question / next check |
|---|---|---|
A planning worksheet to adapt to your venue; it is not a completed operating log or a statutory inspection form.
Download the location evidence sheet · CSV
Compare with the break-even booking calculator
Sources and further reading
- Ministry of the Interior and Safety · monthly population by age and administrative area
- SGIS · industry statistics map and data definitions
Sources checked on October 27, 2026. Check the linked original for the current scope, data period and applicable conditions.