S.Korea delays college exam after earthquake

South Korea postponed its annual university entrance exam by a week on Wednesday after a rare earthquake of 5.4 magnitude rattled the country, shaking buildings and causing damage but no deaths or injuries.

Minister of Education Kim Sang-kon said the hugely competitive exam, scheduled for Thursday, would be postponed for the first time ever because of a natural disaster. It was the country's second-biggest earthquake on record.

“A fair amount of damage was reported,” Kim told a media briefing.

“Due to the continued aftershocks, we are seeing many citizens, including students unable to return home.”

The exam would now be held on November 23 to ensure conditions were fair for everyone, he said.

The quake struck about 9 kilometers north of the southeastern port city of Pohang, the Korea Meteorological Administration said.

Shaking was felt across the country and there were numerous reports of minor damage but operations at nuclear reactors were not affected, the state-run nuclear operator Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co said.

The university entrance exam is taken very seriously.

Commercial airliners refrain from flying during listening portions of the exam, while financial markets open later in the day to ensure light traffic for students to get to their exam centers.