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Is corporal punishment in schools illegal in South Korea?

Yes. Corporal punishment in schools is banned in South Korea. Banned nationwide in 2011, a year after Seoul banned it on its own.

Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act revised 2011 to ban it nationwide (Korean gov. report to UN CRC); Seoul banned it in all its schools Nov 2010 (AP); Child Welfare Act art. 5(2). ECP table Mar 2025: YES.

Source: ECP; Korea decree 2011

• South Korea is one of 124 countries where corporal punishment in schools is banned, and 30 more restrict it.
• Its neighbours: banned in 0 of 1.
• In Asia: banned in 27 of 46 countries.

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Other countries that ban corporal punishment in schools

AndorraUnited Arab EmiratesAlbaniaArmeniaArgentinaAustriaAzerbaijanBosnia & HerzegovinaBangladeshBelgiumBulgariaBahrainBeninBoliviaAll 124 on the map ›

What else is banned in South Korea