How do you think smartphone usage affects academic performance?

Discussions on the matter are gaining momentum again as cases continue to emerge where academic achievement improved after restricting smartphone use in schools.

As Ahn Min-seok, the superintendent-elect of the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, announced plans to push for a "Phone-Free School" policy that restricts smartphone use not only during class but also during breaks and lunch hours, cases where schools have already achieved academic success by limiting smartphone use are drawing attention.

A prime example is Hwaseong High School in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, which produced the highest number of Seoul National University admissions among all general high schools in the country this year.

The school showed such high academic achievement that 37 out of the 44 students admitted to Seoul National University this year were current third-year high school students.

Hwaseong High School, where all students live in dormitories, restricts the use of smartphones not only during daily school hours but even during bedtime.

It is also reported that Samgoe High School, another school in the Hwaseong area, achieved the result of six students being admitted to Seoul National University after implementing restrictions on smartphone use.