Jung Da-hyun is a reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues in Korea, including foreign residents, education, environment and politics. Driven by a deep interest in people’s stories, she focuses on investigative and feature reporting through direct interviews and field coverage. She received the Amnesty International Korea Media Award for her “Deepfake Crisis at Schools” series. Reach her at dahyun08@koreatimes.co.kr. Always open to hearing your stories.
Gyeonggi Province pushes phone-free school policy
gettyimagesbank
By Jung Da-hyun
Gyeonggi Province's education office is pushing ahead with a "phone-free school" initiative that would restrict students' mobile phone use during the school day — one of Superintendent Ahn Min-seok's flagship campaign pledges — drawing mixed reactions over whether the policy is enforceable and legally valid.
The initiative aims to limit phone use at elementary, middle and high schools across the province to support learning, strengthen interpersonal relationships and restore the educational environment.
It has gained momentum as students spend increasing amounts of time on smartphones, exposing them not only to excessive screen use but also to online gambling, fraud, deepfake-related crimes and even prostitution, prompting continued calls for stronger regulation of smartphone use among students.
According to a survey of 1,000 people conducted by the education office from June 27 to 29, 77.3 percent said schools should collect and store students' mobile phones during the school day to protect the right to learn.
Support was even higher among parents, with 84 percent backing the measure.
Respondents also favored a standardized provincewide policy, with 67.7 percent supporting uniform regulations compared with 24.8 percent who preferred leaving the decision to individual schools. The most popular implementation method was requiring students to hand in their phones upon arrival at school and return them when leaving, an option selected by 51.6 percent of respondents.
However, critics argue that while schools may be able to limit smartphone use in schools, they cannot regulate students' behavior outside school, making it more important to teach students how to use smartphones responsibly and exercise self-control than to impose blanket bans.
Others say that the policy infringes on students' rights. They point out that the Gyeonggi Student Human Rights Ordinance stipulates that students should not be prohibited from possessing mobile phones, making the policy fundamentally at odds with the existing provincial rules.
The education office's survey also highlighted key concerns about the initiative. Student resistance and noncompliance topped the list, cited by 34.7 percent of respondents, followed by difficulties contacting students during emergencies at 23.6 percent.
The Gyeonggi Teachers' Union called on the provincial education office to establish standardized guidelines for implementing the policy. It said the guidelines should clarify procedures for collecting and storing phones, liability for lost or damaged devices, emergency communication and exceptions during the school day, as well as how schools should respond to parental complaints when students refuse to hand over their phones.