South Korea has passed a bill banning the use of mobile phones and smart devices during class hours in schools, becoming the latest country to restrict phone use among children and teens.
The law, which comes into effect from the next school year in March 2026, is the result of a bi-partisan effort to curb smartphone addiction, as more research points to its harmful effects.
Lawmakers, parents and teachers argue that smartphone use is affecting students’ academic performance and takes away time they could have spent studying.
The ban has its sceptics, including students, who question how it would work, its wider implications and whether it is addressing the root cause of addiction.
The bill passed convincingly on Wednesday afternoon, with 115 votes in favour out of 163 members present.
Most South Korean schools have already implemented some form of a smartphone ban. And they are not the first to do so.
Some countries like Finland and France have banned phones on a smaller scale, applying the restriction only to schools for younger children. Others like Italy, the Netherlands and China have restricted phone use in all schools.
But South Korea is among the few to enshrine such a ban in law.
Children these days “just can’t seem to put their smartphones down,” says Choi Eun-young, mother of a 14-year-old in Seoul.
It’s not just children though. Nearly a quarter of the country’s 51 million people depend on their phones too much, according to a 2024 government survey. But that figure more than doubles – to 43% – for those between the ages of 10 and 19. And it has been rising over the years.
More than a third of teens also say they struggle to control the amount of time they spend scrolling through videos on social media. And parents fear that this is getting in the way of everything else they could be doing with their time.
“When they go to school, they’re supposed to study, but also build friendships and take part in various activities. Yet they’re unable to focus on those things,” says Ms Choi. “Even when they’re chatting with friends, they quickly go back to their phones, and naturally this interferes with learning as well.”
Some parents, like Kim Sun, whose two daughters are in primary school, are also worried about bullying on social media, where “kids throw around unthinkably harsh insults” at each other.
Cho Jung-hun, an MP from the opposition People Power Party who introduced the bill, says he was encouraged to act as other countries made similar moves. He says there is “significant scientific and medical proof” that smartphone addiction has “extremely harmful effects on students’ brain development and emotional growth”.
Although it only bans phone use during class hours, the law gives teachers the power to stop students from using their phones on school premises. It also asks schools to educate students about the proper use of smart devices.
There are some exemptions. The bill allows students with disabilities or special educational needs to use assistive devices, and permits use for educational purposes or during emergencies.
Teachers, however, appear to be divided over the ban. Of the two major teachers’ groups in the country, only the conservative Korean Federation of Teachers’ Association backed the bill, saying it provides “a much firmer legal basis” for restricting phones in classrooms.
BBC / Titilayo Kupoliyi
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