SEOUL, South Korea – Nearly half a million senior South Korean high school students hunted Thursday to prepare for the annual university-entrance exam preparing for kindergarten – a nine-hour exam marathon that could determine their futures.
But this year, the government had to make sure the test did not become a super-spreading phenomenon for coronavirus.
For days, health officials in full protective gear repeatedly disinfected 31,000 classrooms where exams were to be held.
All students had to take its temperature before entering the classroom. They sat on a desk separated from the plastic dividers and wore a mask during the test.
Government-run health clinics stayed overnight to check on students at the last minute and check anyone infected with the virus. People suffering from fever or sore throat were taken to a separate room for their examination. At least one student showed full protective gear for fear of catching the coronavirus.
“I arrived early because I was afraid I might have a traffic jam,” another student, Kim Moon-jung, told cable channel JTBC. “I also wanted to familiarize myself with it and check into the exam room earlier than other students to get composers.”
In a country plagued by this education, it is difficult to overestimate the importance of a college college’s academic ability tests, or sunung, in the life of a South Korean student.
Most universities largely select their students on the basis of exam tests at the end of the standard year alone. Diploma from some of the top universities like Seoul National can make a huge difference when applying for jobs and scholarships. Many students who fail to enter universities take the exams again and again in the following years, often living and studying in disciplined institutions such as the military.
Exam day is also a day when the country is collectively biting its hand and most of life is suspended.
All banks, businesses and government offices delay opening their doors in an hour to reduce road traffic. All the planes were grounded and all the military guns remained silent for half an hour so that they could distract the students as they focused on the English hearing-comprehension test. At the Jogyasa Buddhist Temple in central Seoul, candles were lit and incense burned while parents prayed for success to give the children an exam.
Epidemics have added a new twist to the tedious test and an extra level of anxiety and suspense. South Korea has been battling a third wave of coronavirus infections, while health officials have reported several daily cases seen in the country. In the past week, 438 to 581 new cases have been reported daily in the country, including 540 on Thursday.
Prime Minister Chung Si-kin said, “The test takers and their parents, who are supporting them, had a harder time this year than before because of Kovid-1 of,” said Prime Minister Chung Si-kun. That’s how the epidemic has moved school life forward. “We must do everything we can to ensure that students take their exams safely, and to prepare for any emergencies that may arise during exam day.”
Sunyung usually occurs in mid-November, but the test was withdrawn two weeks later because the epidemic delayed school start by a month in the spring. Officers took extra vigilance to ensure that students reach the examination venues safely and on time.
On Thursday, police officers with motorcycles were dispatched to catch people running late for the test.
Those who tested positive for the virus also had the opportunity to take a college entrance exam. Ministry of Education and health officials set up negative pressure hospital chambers at Seoul Medical Center and 24 other hospitals so that 35 students with Covid-19 could take their exams, while examiners administered Level-D protective suits. Nurses also monitored students through close-circuit television screens for signs of trouble.
More than 400 students were also allowed to sit for the test under the two-week quarantine in the specially designed facilities.
The importance of Sunyang can be traced back to the devastating decades after the Korean War, when families saw their children as education as a ticket to escape poverty. The sharp focus is on the education of the country, moving from one of the world’s poorest under dictatorship to its richest democracy to help with its dramatic post-war transformation.
Today, young South Koreans are among the most highly educated people in the world. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, in 2017, 70 per cent of the country’s population aged 25 to 34 had a third-grade education.
Many families begin preparing their children from kindergarten, enrolling them in after-school cram sessions or hiring private tutors to enhance their math and English language skills. Wealthy families spend thousands of dollars a month to help their children, create a million-dollar exam-preparation industry, and disprove the once-widely held belief in poor families that college entrance exams are a great equalizer for social mobility.
Exams have been linked to a tendency to trouble.
The country’s low birth rate is often blamed on skyrocketing educational costs, as families feel they can’t afford to pay for multiple children’s education. Suicide is the leading cause of death for South Koreans between the ages of 10 and 29. And while analysts discuss the country’s suicide rate among the world’s highest, they often cite the level of stress caused by the exam.
But Sunung suffers.
In previous years, when the rest of the country was silent on Sunyung’s day, early morning scenes in front of school-turned-test venues could be juicy. As students gathered against the cold, junior high school students would shout slogans, call flashcards, beat drums, and hand out moist rice taffy – all for good luck.
Such scenes have disappeared this year due to the rules of social distance. Elsewhere, the balance of school life in South Korea has been left, health officials have placed limits on the number of students entering the classroom or closed schools altogether and turned to inst online notification as the epidemic broke out and subsided.
On Thursday, mothers quietly went to the test sites with their babies, hugged them and said, “Good luck!” At the door. They placed wreaths of roses while praying on the walls of Father’s school.
For those who complete the exam, the result of the official exam will come out on December 23.
But as soon as students leave the test space, they can get an ink on how good – or weak – they have done. A government website publishes preliminary answers to all the questions as soon as the completion of each section of the nine-hour exam is completed.
