Post: CSAT

Korea, of course, has a birth crisis; yet (so far) more than 500,000 students take the annual College Scholastic Aptitude Test (CSAT).

Students taking the CSAT, also known as suneung, must arrive at the test site by 8:10 am. The first part of the exam - Korean (in this case, native) language - starts at 8:40 am. The exam ends at 17:45 - either the second foreign one or Chinese characters (yes, they are not needed in everyday life, but they are a necessary attribute of “education” and culture; in addition, knowledge of hieroglyphs is often required when applying for a job, when passing exams for officials ; therefore, they are also included in suneun. Between these two sections there will be those parts of suneun that are devoted to such subjects as mathematics, Korean history, and English.

The Seoul Metropolitan Education Office stressed the need for test takers to familiarize themselves with the rules before the exam. For example, test takers are prohibited from bringing electronic devices with them on test day. Last year, as many as 79 people were accused of cheating on the exam in Seoul.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said this week it would increase subway and bus service on Thursday morning to ensure test takers arrive at testing sites on time. And yes, this is an annual practice. In addition, from 6 to 10 am, an additional 31 metro trains will be launched; and in case of an emergency, 16 more trains will be prepared. A total of 698 vehicles will wait outside subway stations and bus stops near the testing sites to provide rides to those arriving late.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that all aircraft will be prohibited from taking off and landing from 13:05. and 1:40 p.m. on Thursday when students take an audio English test. Any aircraft flying into the country during this period will be ordered to remain at least 3 kilometers above the ground until the test is completed. (But there are no such concessions for foreigners taking the Korean language exam. Lyrical digression...) A total of 94 flights planned for this period have already been postponed or rescheduled. The National Police Agency also said it would mobilize about 16,000 police officers specifically for Suneung to reduce noise, control traffic and ensure security.

The Seoul city government said its employees' work start times will be moved up by an hour to 10 a.m. to ease traffic congestion during the morning rush hour. Commercial banks in the country will also open and close an hour later, operating from 10:00 to 17:00. on Thursday.

This year's exam will be the first without masks in four years. Candidates with symptoms of Covid-19 or coronavirus will take the exams at the same test center (what a nightmare!). However, Covid-19 patients will still have a separate place to dine (which is good news).

The results of suneun determine to a large extent which university applicants can enter - this is why it is considered, perhaps, the most important thing in life; After all, time is spent preparing for it in school, at least 3 years of middle school and 3 years of high school. However, it can be rescheduled - next year.

“Schoolchildren will continue to attend hagwons (courses; out-of-school educational institutions) - this is a necessary condition for successfully answering tricky exam questions,” says the director of one of the hagwons. Although this year's exams, unlike previous years, are based solely on material taught in regular schools in Korea, the questions are not any easier, say those involved.

“You are given 2-3 minutes for questions on mathematics; our teachers,” says the director of the hagwon (!), for a moment, “believe that it is impossible to answer the questions in this time.”

In June, the government announced that this year's suneung will be based solely on school material to reduce students' stress (and ease the financial pain of parents forced to spend on hagwons). Has education reform begun?