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 skeptics, 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 favor 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.

Some parents are 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 cites 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 appear divided over the ban, with the conservative Korean Federation of Teachers' Association backing the bill, while the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers' Union expressed concerns about violating students' access rights.

In the current reality, students have no place to meet friends outside of cram schools except through KakaoTalk or Instagram, and they are constantly pushed into competition at school, says Cho Young-sun, a teacher who believes the bill targets phones rather than addressing deeper issues like academic stress.