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. 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.
Some parents 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, states that there is significant scientific and medical proof of the negative impact of smartphone addiction on students.
Although the law allows teachers to control phone use on premises, it also includes exemptions for students with disabilities or for educational purposes and emergencies.
While many welcome the move, others question whether it addresses the deeper issues behind technology dependency among students. Students argue that rather than a simple ban, there should be education on healthy use of their devices.
