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Korea research · South Korea

Half of Korean elementary schoolers use a phone while walking — 2026 survey and school-zone figures

A Samsung Traffic Safety Research Institute survey reported by the Dong-A Ilbo in August 2026 found 54.0% of elementary students use a smartphone while walking. Child pedestrian accidents in school zones rose from 353 to 496 in four years.

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A children's protection zone in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province (2024, file photo)
A children's protection zone in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province (2024, file photo) Photo: LandAndTree / Wikimedia Commons · CC0
Published
August 2026
Source
Samsung Traffic Safety Research Institute, Korean National Police Agency and others (Dong-A Ilbo report)
Covers
Elementary school students
Key figure
54.0% use a phone while walking

On Aug. 21, 2026, the Dong-A Ilbo brought together several studies on children walking while using phones. In an app-based survey by Samsung Traffic Safety Research Institute, 54.0% of elementary students said they use a smartphone while walking. When researchers watched children walking to and from school, 13.7% were looking at a phone.

초등생 절반은 "걸으며 스마트폰 사용"… 눈높이 낮아 사고위험 커

"Half of elementary schoolers 'use a smartphone while walking' — shorter children face higher risk." — Dong-A Ilbo headline (Aug. 21, 2026)

Korean children get their first smartphone at 9.4 years old on average (ChildFund Korea, 2024). Police figures show child pedestrian accidents inside school zones rose from 353 in 2021 to 496 in 2025.

What this shows

Children are shorter, so drivers see them later, and a screen narrows what they notice around them. With kids getting phones younger, the rules for walking should start with the first phone.

Sources

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