South Korea prohibits phones in school classes across the country

South Korea has passed a bill that prohibits the use of mobile phones and smart devices in school hours – becoming the last country to limit the use of phones among children and adolescents.

The law, which comes into force from the next academic year in March 2026, is the result of two -party efforts to stop dependence on smartphones, as additional studies indicate its harmful effects.

Legislators, parents and teachers claim that the use of smartphones affects students’ success and takes the time they could spend on their studies.

The ban has its skeptics, including students who call how it will work, its broader consequences and whether it resolves the root cause of the dependence.

The bill was passed convincingly on Wednesday afternoon, and 115 votes in favor of 163 members.

Most South Korean schools have already implemented some form of ban on smartphone. And they are not the first.

Some countries, such as Finland and France, have banned phones on a smaller scale, applying a limitation only for young children. Others, like Italy, the Netherlands and China, have restricted the use of phones in all schools.

But South Korea is one of the few such bans in law.

Children these days “just can’t lower their smartphones,” says Choya Yong-Yang, a 14-year-old Seoul.

It’s not just children. Almost a quarter of 51 million people depends too much on their phones, according to a 2024 government poll. But this figure is more than twice – up to 43% – for those who are 10 to 19, and it has increased over the years.

More than a third of the teens also say that they are fighting for the control of the amount they spend by scrolling the video on social media. And parents are afraid that it prevents everyone that they could do with their time.

“When they go to school, they should study, but also build friendships and participate in various events. But they cannot focus on these things,” says Ms Choy. “Even when they chat with friends, they quickly return to their phones, and naturally it also hinders learning.”

Some parents, like Kim Song, whose two daughters are in elementary school, also worried about the bullying on social media, where “children are affected by incredibly rigid insults.”

Cho Jung Hong, a deputy of the opposition authorities, who introduced the bill, says he was offered to act as other countries took similar steps. He says there is “significant scientific and medical evidence” that dependence on smartphones has “an extremely harmful effect on brain development and emotional growth of students.”

Although it forbids use the phone only during hours, the law gives teachers the opportunity to prevent students from using their phones in school premises. He also asks schools to teach students about the proper use of reasonable devices.

There are several releases. The bill allows students with disabilities or special educational needs to use auxiliary devices and resolutions for educational purposes or during emergencies.

However, teachers are divided into ban. Of the two major groups in the country, only the Conservative Korean Federation supported the bill, saying it provides a “much tougher legal basis” to limit the phones in the classes.

The group’s press -secretary said that, according to their internal poll, nearly 70% of teachers reported interruptions in the class of smartphones, and some students “cannot control their emotions at the time (if teachers limit the use of the phone), cursing or even attacking teachers.”

The second group, Korean teachers and trade union of educational workers stated that it did not have an official position by law – it was said that some members were concerned that the law violated students’ right to access their smartphones.

“In modern reality, students have no place to meet with friends outside the CRAM schools, with the exception of Kakaotalk (communication app) or instagram, and they are constantly pushing for competition at school,” says Cho Young Son, a high school teacher who believes that the bill focuses on phones, College.

Known as Suneung, this is an eight -hour back test marathon that many Koreans believe that their fate is compacted. The assessment plays an important role in determining whether they go to university, and if they do it, which will, and this, in turn, decides its prospects and profits.

Korean children begin to prepare for the exam from their first school day. A 13-year-old student who did not want him to be called, told the BBC that he simply did not have time to admire his phone because private classes and homework after school usually support it midnight every day.

“Instead of just picking up phones, I think the first step should be students’ training that they can without them,” says CEO Mi Dzhong, an 18-year-old senior scientist who opposes a smartphone ban.

The ban on phones during hours of classes does not reach much, it claims because “students will still be on their phones while traveling or lying in bed at night.”

“There was no real education about healthy use, just confiscation.”