{"id":34788,"date":"2025-08-27T12:25:01","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T12:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=34788"},"modified":"2025-08-31T00:28:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T00:28:51","slug":"south-korea-outlaws-use-of-smartphones-during-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=34788","title":{"rendered":"South Korea Outlaws Use of Smartphones During Class"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It becomes the latest country to restrict phone use in schools, with a law that will go into effect in 2026.<\/p>\n

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South Korea passed a bill on Wednesday outlawing the use of mobile phones and other smart devices during classes at elementary and middle schools.<\/p>\n

The new law will take effect next spring, making South Korea the latest country to restrict smartphone use among young students to minimize its harmful influence.<\/p>\n

Most South Korean schools had already restricted the use of smartphones in classrooms since 2023 under various guidelines. But the new bill, passed through the country\u2019s National Assembly on Wednesday, officially makes it illegal nationwide, except during emergencies and for educational and other purposes specified under the law.<\/p>\n

The legislation bans smartphone use only during class hours and does not stipulate punishment for violators. But it also gives school principals and teachers the power to stop students from carrying or using their phones on school premises. The new law also requires schools to teach students how to develop healthy digital habits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Parents and teachers have lobbied for such a law for years, arguing that the use of smartphones disrupts classes and hurts students\u2019 academic performance and emotional development.<\/p>\n

Cho Jung-hun, an opposition lawmaker, said he first drafted the bill to address smartphone addiction among South Korean youths and to protect their mental health. But some proponents of students\u2019 rights said that the country went too far.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough they can already restrict the use under the existing regulations, they \u200bwant to write it down in law, directly infringing upon students\u2019 basic constitutional rights, such as freedom of communication and rights to keep privacy and seek happiness,\u201d opponents to the law said in a statement<\/a> released last week.<\/p>\n

Other countries that impose various levels of restriction on smartphone use at school include France, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands and China.<\/p>\n

A 2024 government survey found that nearly a quarter of South Korea\u2019s 51 million people were so addicted to their smartphones that they could not control how long \u200bthey used them, despite their \u201cnegative effects on their physical, psychological and social life.\u201d Among those aged 10 to 19, the figure \u200brose to nearly 43 percent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Some schools have taken drastic measures\u200b, like confiscating \u200bstudent smartphones\u200b for the entire day. Last year, the country\u2019s National Human Rights Commission reversed its earlier position and said that confiscation didn\u2019t violate student rights.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It becomes the latest country to restrict phone use in schools, with a law that will go into effect in 2026.South Korea passed a bill on Wednesday outlawing the use of mobile phones and other smart devices during classes at elementary and middle schools.The new law will take effect next spring, making South Korea the latest country to restrict smartphone use among young students to minimize its harmful influence.Most South Korean schools had already restricted the use of smartphones in classrooms since 2023 under various guidelines. But the new bill, passed through the country\u2019s National Assembly on Wednesday, officially makes it illegal nationwide, except during emergencies and for educational and other purposes specified under the law.The legislation bans smartphone use only during class hours and does not stipulate punishment for violators. But it also gives school principals and teachers the power to stop students from carrying or using their phones on school premises. The new law also requires schools to teach students how to develop healthy digital habits.Parents and teachers have lobbied for such a law for years, arguing that the use of smartphones disrupts classes and hurts students\u2019 academic performance and emotional development.Cho Jung-hun, an opposition lawmaker, said he first drafted the bill to address smartphone addiction among South Korean youths and to protect their mental health. But some proponents of students\u2019 rights said that the country went too far.\u201cAlthough they can already restrict the use under the existing regulations, they \u200bwant to write it down in law, directly infringing upon students\u2019 basic constitutional rights, such as freedom of communication and rights to keep privacy and seek happiness,\u201d opponents to the law said in a statement released last week.Other countries that impose various levels of restriction on smartphone use at school include France, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands and China.A 2024 government survey found that nearly a quarter of South Korea\u2019s 51 million people were so addicted to their smartphones that they could not control how long \u200bthey used them, despite their \u201cnegative effects on their physical, psychological and social life.\u201d Among those aged 10 to 19, the figure \u200brose to nearly 43 percent.Some schools have taken drastic measures\u200b, like confiscating \u200bstudent smartphones\u200b for the entire day. Last year, the country\u2019s National Human Rights Commission reversed its earlier position and said that confiscation didn\u2019t violate student rights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34790,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34788"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34791,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34788\/revisions\/34791"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}