S. Korean students take all-important college entrance exam

A South Korean student revises before the College Scholastic Ability Test at a school in Seoul, South Korea, November 23, 2017. The test is all important for those wish to enter top universities in South Korea. The test was postponed due to the earthquake last week. [Photo/VCG]

SEOUL - South Korean students took an annual college entrance exam, seen as the all-important test in the education-obsessed society, on Thursday with government measures taken to reschedule the morning rush hour and control traffic.

The College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) was originally scheduled a week earlier, but it was delayed as the country's second-biggest ever earthquake hit the southeastern region.

Some of school buildings were damaged so badly where students could not take the all-important exam.

The CSAT, which started at 8:40 am local time, would run through 5:40 pm at 1,180 test sites nationwide, according to the education ministry.

This year, a total of 593,527 high school students and graduates registered to take the nine-hour exam, which was believed to determine their course of life and future professions.

The score a student earns from the test is a key decider of college entrance. In the South Korean society, graduating from a prestigious university is crucial to obtaining a successful job.

Under government orders, companies and public offices opened an hour later than usual to alleviate a traffic jam during a morning rush hour. The local bourse also opened an hour later.

Buses and subways extended rush-hour services to help all test-takers arrive on time, while traffic was restricted by police within 200 meters of test centers.

All airplane takeoffs and landings will be suspended for 25 minutes from 1:10 pm during the listening section of an English exam as part of the noise-control measures.

The CSAT consists of five sections, including the Korean language, mathematics, English, the Korean history and natural sciences and the second foreign language and Chinese character.