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| ▲ This photo shows high school seniors at a school in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, on Nov. 14, 2023, two days ahead of the College Scholastic Ability Test. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ In this file photo, a taker of the College Scholastic Ability Test reaches his test site in Seoul in a police car on Nov. 17, 2022. (Yonhap) |
college entrance-exam
Yearly national college entrance exam set to kick off nationwide
SEOUL, Nov. 16 (Yonhap) -- About half a million students were to sit down for the college entrance exam across the country Thursday, South Korea's most important annual academic event during which airplane takeoffs and landings will be temporarily banned for noise control.
A total of 504,588 high school seniors, graduates and others signed up to take this year's state-administered College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), a nine-hour five-session exam, set to kick off at 1,279 test sites nationwide.
For the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, CSAT takers with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 symptoms will be allowed to take the test in the same room as others without the virus.
In the three previous consecutive CSATs since the pandemic, students with COVID-19 had taken the exam in separate rooms.
Masking wearing, which had been mandatory for CSAT takers for the past three years, will also be lifted for this year, although those with confirmed or suspected coronavirus symptoms are strongly recommended to wear a mask to prevent infections.
Exam takers with COVID-19 will also be recommended to move to separate rooms to eat during the lunch break.
The CSAT, held on the third Thursday of November each year, is one of the nation's most important academic events, deemed as the culmination of years of hard work for many students anxious to enter top universities.
Results from the once-a-year test are widely regarded by students and parents as one of the major factors determining one's university entrance and career path throughout their lifetime.
To control noise during the listening evaluation of the English test session, all aircraft takeoffs and landings will be prohibited for 35 minutes between 1:05 p.m. to 1:40 p.m. across the country.
All aircraft in flight, excluding those in emergency situations, must also remain in airspace at an altitude of 3 kilometers or higher during the restriction time. Operating schedules of 94 flights will also be adjusted during the period, the transportation ministry has also said.
The morning rush hour time for increased subway services in Seoul will be expanded to cover 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. from the current 7 a.m to 9 a.m. time zone to help exam takers reach their test centers on time, while bus services will also be enhanced.
Police cars and regional government officials will also stand by to help tardy students reach their test sites on time. Government institutions and ward offices in Seoul will begin work an hour later than normal starting at 10 a.m. to reduce traffic congestion.
The operating hours of South Korea's stock exchange and the foreign exchange market will also be delayed by an hour, starting at 10 a.m., officials said.
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