All quiet in S. Korea as key exam takes place
SEOUL: South Korea closed its airspace to ensure silence and offered police escorts for tardy test takers as more than half a million students sat high-stakes college admission exams.
Seoul’s Education Ministry said 508,030 students were sitting the annual nine-hour test this year, the results of which are crucial for securing spots at top universities.
But the bevvy of anxious parents dropping off their children for the test – and visiting local temples to pray for success – highlights the broader significance of the exam, success in which is also seen as the key to lucrative careers and even marriage prospects.
The enormous pressure on students in South Korea’s ultra-competitive education system has been blamed for teenage depression and suicide rates that are among the highest in the world.
This year’s exam, locally known as “Suneung” – an abbreviation for College Scholastic Ability Test – marks the third year it has been held under Covid-19 restrictions. Pandemic-linked measures continue to affect the students, who will have to bring their own water and lunch and be masked throughout the test.
Local police were called in to transport students running late to enter classrooms by a 8.10am deadline either on motor bikes or in police cars, as has happened in previous years.
Videos of the police rushing students to exam halls have been an annual ritual for domestic media.