Not a science high school, yet 44 students got into Seoul National University — here's what changed

Amid Gyeonggi Province education superintendent-elect Ahn Min-seok's announcement of a "phone-free school" initiative as his first policy priority after taking office, schools in the province that have already restricted in-school smartphone use — and seen academic results improve — are drawing fresh attention.

What these schools share is that they did not impose blanket bans from above. Instead, they reached consensus through extensive dialogue among students, parents and staff. Education officials say the schools' experience of building the policy on voluntary, community-driven agreement could serve as a model for the incoming phone-free school initiative.

Hwaseong High School in Hwaseong, which this year produced more Seoul National University admissions than any other general high school in the country, is one of the most prominent examples, according to a Yonhap News Agency report Sunday.

Of the school's 44 students admitted to Seoul National University this year, 37 were current third-year students — a strong college entrance result.

The school, where all students live in dormitories, has maintained a policy restricting in-school smartphone use for about 20 years. Students hand in their phones not only during class but also at bedtime.

Choi Seung-il, the school's former principal, said requiring students to surrender their phones even at bedtime — when young people tend to use smartphones most — had a significant effect. "If students stay up late playing games or watching videos and lose sleep, their concentration naturally suffers," he said. "Ensuring adequate sleep translated directly into better academic performance."

However, the policy did not take hold smoothly from the outset.

Choi said the pushback when the phone ban was being established centered on claims that it violated or stripped students of their rights. "You have to guarantee members of the school community enough opportunity to talk and debate," he said. "Ultimately, students will realize it is they themselves who lose out, and the school has to persuade them that it is trying to help."

Samgoe High School, another school in Hwaseong, is also cited as a case where restricting smartphone use lifted academic performance.

This year the school sent six students to Seoul National University and seven to eight each to Yonsei University and Korea University — a striking change from the one or two SNU admissions it recorded in a typical year in the past.

Samgoe High School, located in a rural township, began discussing the issue about eight years ago after unauthorized in-school photography by students sparked privacy concerns.

Principal Kong Myeong-hyeon said the school did not force a ban on students. "We gave it one to two years and waited for students to find their own way voluntarily," he said.

A consensus on restricting phone use was eventually reached through a large-scale open debate involving students, parents and teachers, as well as discussions within the student council.

Under the current system, phones are collected when students arrive in the morning and returned when they leave. If a student breaks the rules — for instance by submitting a stripped-down "dummy phone" — the homeroom teacher confiscates the device.

The operating procedures and detailed rules were themselves worked out by the school community through trial and error.

"Banning smartphone use raised concentration levels not only in class but also during self-study periods," Kong said. "Whether by coincidence or not, our rural school's university entrance results have improved greatly."

Superintendent-elect Ahn plans to pursue the phone-free school initiative as a core education priority, drawing on real-world cases like these as well as academic research.

Amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that took effect this semester already restrict students' smartphone use during class, but Ahn believes management of phone use and possession is also needed during the rest of the school day.

The policy, however, will not be imposed uniformly. Schools will be allowed to operate it autonomously after their own discussions and consensus-building. After taking office, Ahn also plans to promote broader public debate on the phone-free school concept.

In a recent interview with a YouTube channel, Ahn cited "The Anxious Generation," a 2024 Amazon bestseller, saying its author scientifically analyzed how smartphones affect the brain and psychological well-being and argued that excessive use — which he described as more harmful than marijuana — must be curbed. "The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education is trying to invite the author, Professor Jonathan Haidt," Ahn said. "I intend to play a role in sparking public debate on this issue."

Education circles say the key to the policy's success will not be the smartphone restrictions themselves but the depth of consultation and shared understanding built among school communities beforehand. Because schools that established the system through voluntary, community-driven consensus have already shown results, experts say a phased rollout that reflects each school's individual circumstances will be essential for the phone-free school initiative going forward.