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.