More than 90 per cent of schoolchildren in South Korea own a mobile phone and they start using them at an average age of 10 years and four months, according to a newly-published survey.

The study, conducted by a local politician and Dankook University’s medical school, polled 6,052 elementary, middle and high school students.

It found that some 96 per cent of middle and high school students and 83 per cent of elementary students owned a mobile and the monthly average phone bill was 27,290 won ($23). Asked about the ban on mobile phone use in school, about 48 per cent of elementary school students agreed while more than 70 per cent of middle and high school students opposed the policy.