entrance

The annual college entrance exam was held nationwide Thursday with the largest number of applicants in seven years due in part to an unusually high birth rate in 2007.

The College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), seen as one of the nation’s most important academic events, began at 1,310 test centers across the country at 8:40 a.m. and is set to end at 5:45 p.m.

Test-takers arrived at designated centers amid cheers from their juniors, parents and teachers. Police officers were deployed nationwide to help transport students and, in some cases, bring them their lunch boxes from home. And students residing on small islands had traveled to the mainland beforehand as no test centers were set up on islets.

A total of 554,174 people have applied for this year’s exam, up 31,504, or 6 percent, from last year and the highest figure since 2018, according to the education ministry.

High school seniors and graduates account for 67.1 percent and 28.9 percent of the total, respectively, it said.

Outside a high school in Cheongju, about 110 kilometers south of Seoul, 21-year-old Shin Ju-won, a student at Chungbuk National University, joined a cheering squad.

“We were cheered on when we took the exam, so we want to repay our juniors,” Shin said. “They’re probably very nervous, but I hope they do well.”

Competition for admission to top colleges is expected to be fierce due to the large number of test-takers and the government’s backtracking on a medical school quota increase.

Last year, the quota was increased by 1,497 slots to 4,610 under former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s policy to address a shortage of doctors.

The plan backfired, however, forcing a return to the previous level of 3,123 seats.

Meanwhile, the number of test-takers is up in part because most people born in 2007, the year of the auspicious Golden Pig that saw an unusually high birth rate, are now in their third year of high school.

In Jeonju, some 200 km south of Seoul, a mother quietly wiped away tears as she watched her daughter enter a test center.

“I’m just thankful to my daughter that she studied for over 10 years to take this exam,” she said, giving her last name as Kang. “I just want her to perform as usual without aiming too high.”

The CSAT is the culmination of years of grueling studies for many students, and the government makes every effort to cater to their needs on exam day.

All aircraft takeoffs and landings across the country will be banned from 1:05 p.m. to 1:40 p.m. to minimize noise during the English listening portion of the exam.

Aircraft in flight, excluding those in emergency situations, must remain in the air at an altitude of 3 kilometers or higher under the direction of air traffic control authorities.

In Seoul, the subway service was increased by 29 runs, mostly between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m., to help students get to their test centers on time.

Stock markets, which are typically open from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., opened one hour later to ease morning rush-hour traffic and will close one hour later.

The exam answers will be finalized and announced at 5 p.m. on Nov. 25 before report cards are distributed to test-takers on Dec. 5.