Shh! It’s time for the college entrance exam
Print Edition
South Korea fell silent for annual college entrance exams yesterday, rescheduling flights and restricting traffic as 650,000 students sat a test that will define their adult lives in an ultra-competitive society.
Preparation for the crucial exam starts from primary school, and so does the relentless pressure which has been blamed for everything from early burnout and teenage depression to suicide.
Success in the exam — meaning a secured place in one of South Korea’s elite universities — is seen as the key to everything from future careers to marriage prospects.
With so much riding on the outcome, the day of the test — held simultaneously in 1,257 centers nationwide — sees the entire country go into “hush” mode.
The transportation ministry bans all airport landings and departures for a 40-minute period to coincide with the main language listening test.
The military also reschedules airforce drills and live-firing exercises and traffic is barred within a 200-meter radius of the test centers.
Public offices and major businesses, as well as the stock markets, opened an hour later than usual to help keep the roads relatively clear and ensure the students arrived on time.
Anyone who did get stuck could dial the emergency number 112, and request help from police cars and motorbikes on standby to rush them to the centers.
At Seoul’s Pungmoon Girls’ High School, junior students put up good-luck banners and lined up to shout encouragement as seniors entered the exam room.
For the equally stressed parents, for whom their child’s result will partly be seen as a mark of their parental aptitude and devotion, there was little left to do.
Mothers, one flicking through her Buddhist prayer beads, prayed outside the Pungmoon school gate, while others went directly to temples in search for some divine intervention.
The approach of the exam day tends to renew a perennial debate in South Korea about the country’s obsession with education and the pros and cons of the college entrance system.
The bottom line for many is that the examination itself is fair. Everyone takes the same paper, which relies on the multiple choice system to prevent subjective marking.
But if the exam treats everyone equally, critics say preparation favors the rich, and can be ruinous for poorer and middle-income families.
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