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From flight restrictions to police escorts, Korea goes all out for test-takers on college entry exam day

Published: 12 Nov. 2025, 20:23 Updated: 12 Nov. 2025, 20:38

LEE SOO-JUNG
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High school seniors leave their school compound in Gwangju to warm cheers from their teachers and first-year and second-year students on Nov. 12, a day before the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). [NEWS1]

[EXPLAINER]

Airplanes halted on the tarmac, police on standby to escort tardy students to the exam, nervous parents waiting outside all day, braving the chilly winds of late autumn.

Such sights are customary on one very special day each year in Korea.

The nationwide heightened security and anxiety are not for a global summit or a military drill. They are for college hopefuls taking the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), an exam that could very well determine the rest of their lives.

The CSAT, or suneung in Korean, is an annual state-administered exam in which students compete to earn higher scores and secure spots at top universities. Except for the English, Korean history and second foreign language sections, all subjects are graded on a curve.

It is held on Thursday every third week in November — this year, it falls on Nov. 13.

A misstep on the exam is likely to result in disqualification from college admission or another year of preparation for the CSAT next year. In addition, Korea's social atmosphere, which equates a university’s prestige with an individual’s social standing, places immense pressure on exam takers and their families.

Families and relatives of College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT)-takers pray in Daegu on Nov. 12, 2024. [NEWS1]

With heartfelt hopes that students will achieve their best results after at least three years of preparation and over 10 state-run mock tests, many parents pray at school gates, churches and Buddhist temples.

The country also does its best to provide the most favorable environment for test-takers. It halts military training, grounds airplanes, mobilizes police officers en masse for traffic control and offers escort services.

Who is taking the exam and where?

College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT)-takers check details and protocols at their testing sites in Busan on Nov. 12, a day before the exam. [NEWS1]

On Thursday, 554,174 applicants will take the fateful exam from 8:10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. at 1,310 testing sites nationwide.

High schoolers in their third year or those who have a high school diploma are eligible for the CSAT. This year, senior high schoolers accounted for 67.1 percent of the entire pool, with 371,897 test-takers. The remaining included 159,922 repeat test-takers and 22,355 homeschooled candidates.

The nation’s birthrate has steadily declined over the decades, and so has the number of CSAT applicants. While there were 896,122 CSAT-takers in the 2000 academic year, the figure has now nearly halved.

Applicants taking four subjects — Korean, mathematics, English, and Korean history — must pay a testing fee of 37,000 won ($25). Those taking five subjects, including an elective in science or social studies, should pay 42,000 won. Those who additionally take the second foreign language section must pay 47,000 won.

High school seniors leave their school compound in central Seoul with a special ceremony by their teachers and first-year and second-year students on Nov. 12, a day before the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). [YONHAP]

Almost every high school becomes a testing site, and a few middle schools do as well. Candidates are notified of their testing venues and seats the day before the exam. Local education offices assign students within their jurisdictions. Each classroom accommodates 28 exam-takers.

On exam day, first- and second-year high schoolers and middle schoolers whose schools have been designated testing sites can enjoy the day off. Some underclassmen, in turn, become cheerleaders, launching confetti and dancing in groups when their seniors leave the school compound the day before the exam. This encouragement to energize test-takers has become a yearly tradition in some schools.

Middle and high school teachers — who are drafted as exam proctors — undergo a 2-hour-long protocol training session a day before the exam. They reportedly receive an extra daily wage of around 180,000 won.

How is the exam prepared?

A student checks her test identification slip for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) at a high school in Incheon on Nov. 12. [YONHAP]

While the test-taking is an arduous mission in itself, preparing CSAT questions is also a challenge.

The panel of question writers, consisting of veteran schoolteachers and university professors, is confined together for about 40 days in a facility where they have no access to the outside world, either physically or electronically. The location of their lodging facility is classified.

Once the test ends at 5:45 p.m., the question writers can have their cell phones back and return home.

Boxes containing the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) papers and answer sheets are transferred by education authorities in Busan on Nov. 10. [YONHAP]

Logistics service also plays a crucial role.

On Monday, exam questionnaires were sent to the confidential storage sites of 85 educational districts. Local education authorities inspect the parcels to ensure they are securely sealed. Test papers must arrive at each testing site by dawn on Thursday. On Friday, answer sheets are sent to the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation for grading.

The CSAT has been held only on Thursdays since 2007 — mainly due to logistics.

If it were to take place on Wednesday, pre-exam delivery would begin on Sunday. If the exam were conducted on Friday, the delivery of answer sheets would be carried out over the weekends, when traffic congestion is severe.

How does the country get ready?

Police officers on Nov. 11 attach signs on their motorbikes that indicate ″CSAT support vehicles″ providing free rides to ensure test-takers arrive on time for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) in Suwon. [NEWS1]

Given the gravity of the exam, the CSAT has seemingly become an annual state function, prompting police, military personnel, pilots and public servants to adjust their operations and schedules.

On Thursday, 10,475 police officers and 2,238 patrol cars will manage traffic nationwide. Any test-takers in danger of being late who call 112 can enjoy free rides in police cars or on motorcycles to their testing sites — similar to an Uber ride but with a siren and priority use of the road. Those who arrive later than 8:10 a.m. cannot enter the venue and must wait another year to take the test.

Last year, the National Police Agency said it had transported 154 test-takers and helped nine examinees to find missing exam identification slips required to take the test.

Throughout the exam, police will crack down on illegal parking and make trucks and buses detour. An additional 9,210 police officers will be stationed at grading facilities for security.

An airplane with flight number CES2017 is seen circling above Incheon International Airport on Nov. 15, 2018, a day the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) was held. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

All flights will be either grounded or restricted from landing between 1:05 p.m. and 1:40 p.m., when the listening section of the English exam is underway, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The measure intends to prevent noise from landings and takeoffs.

Airplanes in the air should maintain an altitude above 3,000 meters (9,842 feet). Exceptions are flights that declare mayday or are in an emergency.

The temporary restriction led to the rescheduling of 65 international flights and 75 domestic flights nationwide.

Besides airplanes, flying drones and ultralight vehicles is banned during the 35-minute listening session. Defense drills, such as artillery fire and tank maneuvers, are also suspended.

The government also requested that state-run agencies and institutions adjust the start of the workday to 10 a.m. to ensure a hassle-free morning for test-takers heading to their testing sites.

Families and relatives of College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT)-takers pray at Jogye Temple in central Seoul on Nov. 9. [NEWS1]

Parents are usually on standby all day, allowing their children to focus solely on the exam.

Collective prayers take place at churches and temples across the country, with families reciting the Bible and Buddha’s teachings restlessly throughout the day.

Such prayer services are not single-day rituals. Some churches and temples hold daily prayer sessions early in the morning, beginning 100 or 30 days before the exam.

Parents of College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT)-takers prepare bundles of gifts for their children at a high school in North Gyeongsang on Nov. 11, two days before the exam. [NEWS1]

Before the exam, families and test-takers usually receive a shower of gifts — especially sweets and desserts — from their neighbors, acquaintances and relatives. Rice cakes are the most notable gift because their sticky texture symbolizes a hope of being glued into the university of the candidates’ choice.

What comes after?

College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT)-takers for the 2025 academic year walk out from their testing site in Suwon, Gyeonggi, on Nov. 14, 2024. [NEWS1]

What awaits test-takers after the exam is preliminary scoring at home — an experience that can be either cruel or rewarding.

Test and answer sheets are posted online in real time when each section ends.

Test-takers should mark their answer choices on the back of their test identification slip because proctors collect test and answer sheets. Based on preliminary scoring results, they can estimate their percentile.

Korea’s private cram schools also share predictions on universities’ cutoff scores, which serve as indicators of where candidates might be admitted.

College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT)-takers prepare for the exam at their testing site in southern Seoul on Nov. 14, 2024. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The official test scores will be announced on Dec. 5.

Those who applied for early admission tracks, or susi, must submit their test records by Dec. 11. Test-takers applying for the regular admission track, or jungsi, must submit their scores no later than Dec. 31.

In the meantime, test-takers take advantage of discounts and special perks available in eateries, hair salons and amusement parks, all of which came in return for their years of hard work. Once they present their test identification slip, sweet and heartfelt words from clerks, and CSAT-taker markdowns, help make Korea's harsh winter a bit warmer.