Half a million students breathe free as life-defining test day ends

Thursday marked the defining moment for hundreds of thousands of takers of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) in Korea.

Students leave a high school in Suwon, Gyeonggi, in joy after completing the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Thursday marked the defining moment for hundreds of thousands of takers of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) in Korea.

From those who barely made it to the test venues riding in a police patrol car to a high-school senior student who sat for the exam in a hospital after having an appendectomy, the nerve-wracking day that students spent years preparing for has finally come to an end.

“I am thankful for my child enduring this arduous path,” a 49-year-old mother who followed her child to a high school in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, told the JoongAng Ilbo Thursday morning.

Another parent, who teared up seeing her child entering the test venue, said she prayed that her child’s hard work would pay off in the exam.

Students bow to seniors taking the College Scholastic Ability Test in Gaepo High School in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Thursday morning. [LEE YOUNG-KEUN]

As all test-takers were required to arrive at the test venue by 8:10 a.m., some barely made it on time, riding in police patrol cars or vehicles prepared by local governments in case of emergencies.

A student arrived at Ewha Girls’ Foreign Language High School in Jung District, central Seoul, by police patrol car at around 8 a.m. The police officer was so hurried to get the student to the venue in time that he damaged the car on a curb.

Some 11,265 police officers were dispatched near schools or test venues nationwide, with over 2,600 patrol cars and motorcycles ready for traffic management and transport of test-takers.

A taker of the college entrance exam runs to a test venue in Chuncheon, Gangwon, on Thursday morning as other sophomores and juniors wish him good luck. [YONHAP]

In Sokcho, Gangwon, an 18-year-old high-school senior student had to sit for the CSAT in a hospital after having an appendectomy a few hours before the exam. He went to see the doctor at around 4 a.m. Thursday, suffering from extreme abdominal pain.

After the surgery, he was placed in a single room and sat for the exam. According to the hospital, medical staff and patients were advised to stay quiet and turn off their TVs during the English listening test.

In Jeju, some students were left in a panic as two classrooms of Namnyeong High School suddenly experienced a power outage just five minutes before the first section — the Korean language section — ended.

The students had to move to another classroom and continue taking the exam during the additional five minutes they were given, the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education said.

A taker of the college entrance exam arrives at Ewha Girls' Foreign Language High School in Jung District, central Seoul, at around 7:40 a.m. in a police patrol car. [KIM MIN-JEONG]

Meanwhile, some students fell ill and gave up on the exam.

According to the Incheon Fire Headquarters, a 19-year-old test-taker who suffered from hyperventilation during the first section of the exam gave up on the exam as the symptoms did not go away.

Another 19-year-old student in Jecheon, North Chungcheong, passed out during break time after taking the first exam of the day. He was rushed to a hospital due to rapid breathing and took the second section — mathematics — about 30 minutes later than the actual schedule at the hospital.

Due to severe exam pressure, a student who was supposed to take the exam jumped from the fourth floor of an apartment building in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, at around 1:50 a.m. Thursday, according to the police. He suffered severe but non-life-threatening injuries.

Another student preparing to take the exam at a high school in Hwaseong was sent home after she suffered a spasm in the morning.

Students embrace each other after finishing their college entrance exams in Seoul on Thursday. [YONHAP]

This year’s exam marked the first mask-free one in four years. It was also the first time a detention center hosted a test venue. Some 10 juvenile inmates took the college entrance exam at Seoul Nambu Detention Center in Guro District, western Seoul.

Some 504,888 individuals registered for the CSAT, including 82-year-old woman Kim Jeong-ja, the oldest taker of the exam this year.

Around 32 percent were repeating the exam this year, the highest number so far, as the government announced it would eliminate so-called killer questions. Such questions refer to unnecessarily difficult questions not covered in public education curricula.

Students jump in excitement after completing the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) at a high school in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [NEWS1]

A student hugs his family as he finishes off the college entrance exam in southern Seoul on Thursday. [NEWS1]

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]