Grounded flights and police escorts: Inside Korea’s intense exam season | News World

Hay fever, revision cards and brightly colored timetables can mean just one thing: exam season is upon us.

But if you happen to otherwise you’re kids are scuffling with revision, you might wish to thank your lucky stars you’re not in South Korea, where exam preparation takes on a complete latest meaning.

Each November, a whole bunch of hundreds of scholars sit the Suneung, an all‑day marathon of back‑to‑back tests in Korean language and literature, mathematics, English, science, national history and other subjects in an eight-hour slog, with breaks for meals.

In readiness for the gruelling exam, many Korean students immerse themselves within the so‑called ‘10‑10’ routine, spending ten hours a day in class and one other ten revising – either through private tuition or alone.

‘At the tip of the yr, the entire nation shuts down for one exam. If a student fails and desires to retake it, they must wait one other yr – and a few repeat it two or thrice,’ explains Dr Kahee Jo, lecturer in East Asian Studies on the University of Sheffield.

Everyone seems to be invested – not only the scholars

The outcomes of the Suneung determine university options and, by extension, job prospects and future income. So the pressure to succeed is immense.

‘All universities depend on this one examination, so it have to be fair and not possible to cheat, which is why it’s held on sooner or later. Public administration and police are involved,’Kahee explains.

‘In the course of the English listening section, airplanes are grounded to forestall noise. All the pieces is arranged to make it fair for everybody.’

Within the capital Seoul, some shops open late, banks delay their hours and the stock market starts later. Construction work pauses and certain military training exercises are halted.

‘All the pieces must stop. Private corporations often shift working hours to avoid rush‑hour congestion when students are travelling to exam centres, that are held in local middle and high schools,’ adds Kahee.

This implies younger children can enjoy a time without work school, and plenty of line the streets to cheer the older students – chanting, singing and dancing as they head to their exams.

And for the unfortunate few who oversleep, local police provide escorts to make sure they arrive on time. Your entire nation plays a job in helping students prepare, while many parents spend the day in temples or churches, praying for his or her children’s success.

Food also plays a key role

‘Studying isn’t just sitting at a desk. Nutrition helps students focus and maintain strength and mental health,’ says Kahee. ‘School lunches in Korea are healthful and nutritious, recurrently checked by parents’ committees. It’s not a sandwich – it’s rice, side dishes, vegetables and meat.’

Sticky rice becomes a staple, as some consider it helps knowledge ‘stick’ and family and friends often give rice cakes, often called tteok, as encouragement.

Exam Day

On the day of Suneung, nervous students sit the test away from their usual classmates and in unfamiliar rooms – which might cause tension.

Kahee explains: ‘If someone is shaking their legs or making noise and the invigilator intervenes, it will probably cause a scene. By the tip of the exam, stress and disappointment construct up, and students sometimes argue because they need someone responsible.’

When she took the exam in November 2004, Kahee was certainly one of 32 women in a room at an area highschool – tests centres are allocated by gender.

She sat down at her solo desk filled with nerves, but additionally excitement that her labor was nearly over – and watched quietly as students filed in from various local schools.

‘Students in several school uniforms behaved in a different way. While some tried to revise until the last minute, there have been others who tried to sleep or close their eyes until the invigilators got here in.

‘Some found their friends and chatted, others were annoyed by the noise and put their earphones of their ears. There have been also some students attempting to eat sweets to maintain the energy throughout the primary session,’ she remembers.

Invigilators sorted exam papers and answer sheets and picked up everyone’s digital devices and tested the sound system for the listening tests before the varied first session began; Korean.

With each break between sessions, the mood modified, Kahee remembers. ‘Some students immediately realised that this wouldn’t go well, others were quite relieved by the very fact one session had passed.

‘I felt somewhere in between, but additionally felt prefer it was certainly one of those mock exams that we had done several times already and practiced with a timer time and again.’

Over lunch students dissected the morning’s efforts with their friends, refuelling on rice porridge or other lunches provided by parents. Many were careful to not overeat so that they didn’t go to sleep in the course of the afternoon English listening assessments.

‘Some students began crying’

Describing the tip of her exam, Kahee recalls: ‘At the primary chime, the invigilator told us to place down pens, and place each hands on our heads until they collect all the reply sheets from the scholars. Finally the ultimate chime rang, all the reply cards were collected and digital devices returned to the scholars who were allowed to go away the room ultimately.

‘Some students began crying the moment they turned on their phones, others looked nervous but completely happy. I headed out to the gate in search of my mother, who was waiting for me amongst other parents, and picked up dinner at a neighbouring restaurant to have fun the finish. I do not forget that my family and I intentionally shut out the media simply to benefit from the moment unbothered from all news reports or experts’ evaluation.’

While Kahee’s family were relatively relaxed, she was aware that some friends were put under a whole lot of pressure.

‘It isn’t only a day or every week of support. For families, it’s the culmination of greater than 12 years of education, all decided by one exam. Everyone seems to be nervous and tries to not disturb the scholar,’ she explains.

‘It depends upon the household, but generally families are especially kind to the ultimate‑yr student while ensuring they stay focused. Hobbies and other activities are put aside until after the exam.’

It is just not unusual for college kids to take medication for anxiety or depression ahead of the exam, says Kahee, who passed her exam with flying colors and went on to check the distinguished Ewha Women’s University, before moving to the UK for her doctorate..

‘Academic achievement may be very vital to many Korean families. Education is seen because the foremost path to maintaining or improving social status. So investing heavily in children’s education feels natural.’

Is it too intense?

Balancing this pressure has proven difficult. Lately, the education system has faced criticism for putting an excessive amount of strain on young people and students have reported severe stress, insomnia, anxiety and symptoms of depression. In response, the Ministry of Education removed exams from elementary schools, amongst other measures.

However the changes didn’t have the intended effect. Families as a substitute poured extra money into private tutoring to arrange children for secondary school.

In consequence, private education spending rose by 60% in the last decade to 2024,’ says Kahee. ‘The federal government tried to scale back the burden, however the numbers show more students are preparing outside public institutions. Families often have just one or two children, so that they invest loads.’

And what happens after an eight‑hour exam marathon? Wild parties? Beach holidays? Not quite.

Some aren’t at legal drinking age, so as a substitute of bars they may go to karaoke or spend time with friends. Others, exhausted, simply go home to look at TV or scroll on their phones. Students get only one evening of freedom before returning to highschool for a post‑mortem of the tests.

Kahee explains: ‘After the exam, reactions vary. Some feel sad, some feel they didn’t do well, and a few think – whatever, it’s done. They rush to cinemas, restaurants and hairdressers, which supply discounts to exam takers. They spend time with family and friends and be at liberty.

‘Then the following day, everyone goes back to to the classroom. There isn’t any single day of rest. Attendance in school remains to be required. Students consult with teachers, compare answers and estimate their scores so that they know what to anticipate before the official results arrive weeks later.

‘Then they will judge which universities they may apply to – or determine whether to retake the exam and do all of it again the next yr.’

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