This study examines the philosophical foundations of play support competency, a key concept in the revised Nuri Curriculum for early childhood education. Play support competency refers to the teacher’s ability to recognize, facilitate, and meaningfully engage in children’s play in developmentally appropriate ways. It proposes a reconceptualization of this competency based on philosophical insights. While the OECD’s current emphasis on competency—defined as a synthesis of knowledge, skills, and attitudes—has been broadly applied to early childhood education, the dominant discourse continues to frame play primarily as an instrument of children’s learning. Drawing on the notions of play (Heraclitus), affect and conatus (Spinoza), will to power (Nietzsche), and assemblage and difference (Deleuze), the study reframes play as a spontaneous, embodied practice rooted in freedom and creativity. Furthermore, it critiques modernist conceptions of competency(e.g., standardization, measurement, or productivity-focused logic), instead approaching the notion through the lens of bodily agency and the process of becoming. Based on these theoretical perspectives, this study proposes three dimensions of play support competency for early childhood educators: 1) conceptualizing play beyond its function as a learning tool, 2) co-participating in play experiences with children, and 3) reimagining the curriculum as an active and creative process that generates new images of life.
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