Dubai Telegraph - South Koreans sit key exam as flights halted to limit distraction

EUR -
AED 3.938479
AFN 73.284283
ALL 98.19234
AMD 417.267449
ANG 1.943348
AOA 978.447316
ARS 1071.53141
AUD 1.629089
AWG 1.930079
AZN 1.82711
BAM 1.955647
BBD 2.17713
BDT 128.849948
BGN 1.9562
BHD 0.406468
BIF 3183.551653
BMD 1.072266
BND 1.425189
BOB 7.467417
BRL 6.152562
BSD 1.078316
BTN 90.972903
BWP 14.300884
BYN 3.528725
BYR 21016.42052
BZD 2.17343
CAD 1.49386
CDF 3073.115756
CHF 0.939162
CLF 0.03726
CLP 1028.119797
CNY 7.698019
CNH 7.63378
COP 4640.937963
CRC 551.556973
CUC 1.072266
CUP 28.415058
CVE 110.256399
CZK 25.259812
DJF 192.015021
DKK 7.459869
DOP 64.934934
DZD 142.958848
EGP 52.835878
ERN 16.083995
ETB 133.503285
FJD 2.399951
FKP 0.820465
GBP 0.830088
GEL 2.916983
GGP 0.820465
GHS 17.683621
GIP 0.820465
GMD 76.671173
GNF 9295.27488
GTQ 8.33535
GYD 225.592402
HKD 8.336174
HNL 27.205878
HRK 7.386875
HTG 141.888931
HUF 407.236454
IDR 16786.168917
ILS 4.020796
IMP 0.820465
INR 90.481213
IQD 1412.489812
IRR 45134.375558
ISK 148.766647
JEP 0.820465
JMD 171.076654
JOD 0.760348
JPY 163.686863
KES 139.08915
KGS 92.433433
KHR 4378.658423
KMF 493.644665
KPW 965.039476
KRW 1499.246878
KWD 0.328832
KYD 0.89853
KZT 530.808592
LAK 23665.153893
LBP 96559.167469
LKR 315.465391
LRD 204.33406
LSL 18.869628
LTL 3.166124
LVL 0.648604
LYD 5.232592
MAD 10.648369
MDL 19.338491
MGA 4988.610841
MKD 61.5252
MMK 3482.679288
MNT 3643.561097
MOP 8.633826
MRU 42.957649
MUR 49.75717
MVR 16.566921
MWK 1869.754141
MXN 21.634265
MYR 4.699212
MZN 68.521819
NAD 18.869628
NGN 1788.626462
NIO 39.676905
NOK 11.794827
NPR 145.556645
NZD 1.797446
OMR 0.412628
PAB 1.078316
PEN 4.044584
PGK 4.328662
PHP 62.679371
PKR 299.424042
PLN 4.325898
PYG 8431.342275
QAR 3.931893
RON 4.977143
RSD 116.980874
RUB 104.99181
RWF 1478.084695
SAR 4.02742
SBD 8.943509
SCR 14.390377
SDG 644.972153
SEK 11.594849
SGD 1.4214
SHP 0.820465
SLE 24.501684
SLL 22484.885861
SOS 616.251927
SRD 37.497551
STD 22193.748611
SVC 9.435264
SYP 2694.101668
SZL 18.864528
THB 36.687634
TJS 11.462006
TMT 3.763655
TND 3.347839
TOP 2.511359
TRY 36.822021
TTD 7.327428
TWD 34.580984
TZS 2878.975413
UAH 44.514627
UGX 3946.692121
USD 1.072266
UYU 45.046486
UZS 13787.924411
VEF 3884341.194834
VES 47.874003
VND 27101.532073
VUV 127.301648
WST 3.003615
XAF 655.905833
XAG 0.031788
XAU 0.000394
XCD 2.897854
XDR 0.808437
XOF 655.905833
XPF 119.331742
YER 267.878982
ZAR 19.79817
ZMK 9651.687743
ZMW 29.35571
ZWL 345.269328
  • JRI

    0.1600

    13.53

    +1.18%

  • BCC

    1.4700

    142.32

    +1.03%

  • BCE

    0.3000

    28.37

    +1.06%

  • GSK

    -0.3700

    36.29

    -1.02%

  • RBGPF

    61.4000

    61.4

    +100%

  • CMSD

    0.2350

    25.125

    +0.94%

  • RIO

    -3.0400

    64.43

    -4.72%

  • SCS

    0.0600

    13.14

    +0.46%

  • CMSC

    0.1600

    24.84

    +0.64%

  • BTI

    -0.0100

    35.39

    -0.03%

  • RELX

    0.3200

    47.98

    +0.67%

  • VOD

    -0.0100

    9.31

    -0.11%

  • RYCEF

    0.0100

    7.15

    +0.14%

  • BP

    -0.8800

    28.93

    -3.04%

  • NGG

    -0.3600

    63.94

    -0.56%

  • AZN

    -0.2000

    64.49

    -0.31%

South Koreans sit key exam as flights halted to limit distraction
South Koreans sit key exam as flights halted to limit distraction / Photo: Chung Sung-Jun - POOL/AFP

South Koreans sit key exam as flights halted to limit distraction

More than half a million students in South Korea are sitting the crucial national university entrance exam on Thursday, with authorities set to take extraordinary measures including halting flights to minimise distraction.

Text size:

The nine-hour test, which is being taken by 504,588 pupils this year, is crucial for securing spots in top universities. It is also considered key to elevated social status, lucrative careers, and even marriage prospects.

Enormous pressure placed on students in South Korea's ultra-competitive education system has been blamed for teenage depression and suicide rates which are among the highest in the world.

"I'm nervous and trembling because what I've been studying for three years ends with this exam today," Lee Min-yup, a test-taker, told AFP outside Kyungbock High School in central Seoul.

The importance of the test was reflected by the aggressive measures authorities were taking to prevent any disturbance.

To reduce noise disruption during the listening portion of the English test, Seoul's transportation ministry has announced a nationwide ban on all aircraft takeoffs and landings outside of emergency situations.

The ban will be in effect for 35 minutes, from 1:05 pm to 1:40 pm local time (0405 to 0440 GMT).

With the exception of aircraft in distress, all airborne planes must maintain an altitude higher than 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) during the restricted time.

More than 90 flights had to be rescheduled because of the exam.

Public offices and major businesses were requested to adjust their opening hours to 10 am or later to alleviate traffic congestion and ensure that students arrived on time for the nationwide exam, which commenced at 8:40 am.

The stock market also opened an hour later than usual.

Police cars and regional government officials were on standby to help students running late for the exam reach their test sites in time.

This year's test also marks the first time that test-takers are allowed to take the exam without wearing masks since the pandemic began.

- Killer questions -

Outside Kyungbock High School, some test-takers appeared visibly nervous, with others running late for the exam arriving on motorcycles that had been designated as emergency convoy vehicles by the authorities.

High school freshmen and juniors gathered outside the entrance of the venue to show their support for the test-takers.

They chanted phrases including "Success in Suneung", using the local name for the exam, while enthusiastically waving banners adorned with messages such as "Strive for a perfect score in Suneung".

Relatives also showed up to express their support for their children.

"Right now, for them this is everything," Lee Jong-hwa, a mother of one of the exam-takers, said.

"At this moment it's too much of a burden for them to just let it pass by."

For this year's exam, authorities dropped so-called "killer questions" -- which cannot be answered by simply studying the curriculum taught at public schools -- in a bid to reduce reliance on expensive private cram schools.

"In accordance with the Ministry of Education's measures to reduce private education, so-called 'killer questions' were excluded," Jeong Moon-seong, a university professor who supervised the exam's administration this year, told reporters Thursday morning.

"Questions of suitable difficulty were selected evenly to ensure that (students) can demonstrate their understanding based solely on the content covered in the public education curriculum," he added.

South Korean households spent more than $20 billion on private education for primary, middle and high school students last year, according to Statistics Korea.

R.El-Zarouni--DT