South Korea grounds all planes so students can concentrate on college entrance exam
Gruelling eight-hour exam said to determine students' entire lives in ultra-competitive country
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Your support makes all the difference.South Korea grounded planes and ordered businesses to open late on Thursday, as more than half a million teenagers sat the country's annual college entrance exam.
The gruelling eight-hour test is said to decide the rest of students’ lives in the east Asian country.
Success in the exam – which South Koreans spend years preparing for – means a place in one of the nation's elite colleges, seen as key to a future career and even marriage prospects.
To ensure the 606,000 entrants arrived on time and did not get caught in traffic, government offices, major businesses and even Seoul’s stock market opened at 10am, an hour later than usual.
Transport authorities halted all airport landings and take-offs for 30 minutes in the afternoon to coincide with the main language listening test.
Work at many construction sites was suspended and large trucks were banned from roads near the 1,183 test venues nationwide.
Police vehicles and motorcycles were enlisted to escort students running late to the test.
The exam, which includes mathematics, science and language components, begins at 9am and ends on Thursday evening.
TV news channels showed nervous-looking students walking into test centrs after tearful hugs with parents. Hundreds of younger students cheered on their senior classmates, many handing them sticky rice cakes which are believed to bring good luck.
South Korea has one of the best education systems in the developed world, but critics say teenagers are under too much pressure to perform well in the annual College Scholastic Ability Test. Young people in the country have one of the highest rates of depression worldwide.
With so much at stake, thousands of parents flocked to temples and churches to pray, and monks and pastors held special sessions for students.
“My little boy is taking the exam for the third time,” said Kim Yong-woo, a 59-year-old mother, who joined other parents at cathedral to pray for their children.
“All I can do is pray as his mom and I came out here hoping that he can manage his condition well and get a good score he wants,” she told Reuters.
Lee Se-la, a 19-year-old student about to take the test, told the news agency she felt confident.
“I won't get nervous and I will work hard to solve problems in exams as I've been preparing" she said.
Additional reporting by AFP
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