SEOUL, Nov 18, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - A hush fell over South Korea Thursday as
more than half a million students sat the high-stakes national university
entrance exam, with authorities taking extraordinary measures to minimise
distractions.

   Locally known as "Suneung", the nine-hour test is crucial not only for
securing spots in top universities, but is also considered key for elevated
social status, lucrative careers and even marriage prospects.

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

   One parent was keen to ease the stress ahead of the 2021 exam.

   "I just want to tell my daughter that I'm proud of her for working so hard
up until this point, and that this test, regardless of the result, doesn't
define who she is as a person," Koh Min-soon, the mother of a test-taker,
told AFP on Wednesday.

   Since last year, Covid-19 has added to the pressure on students, parents
and education authorities.

   All classes became online for exam takers in the two weeks leading up to
the test, while the students and their families were advised to stay at home
as much as possible in that time.

   More than 509,000 students are taking the test this year, the education
ministry said.

   Throughout the exam, which started at 8:40 am, students will be required
to wear face masks.

   South Korea is among the leading nations in Covid-19 vaccinations -- close
to 80 percent of the population has been fully jabbed -- but it has seen a
surge in cases in the run-up to the exam.

   Students arriving for the test were checked, and those showing Covid
symptoms would have to take it in separate designated spaces. Some 70
students will sit the exam despite recently testing positive for the
coronavirus, at medical facilities with desks and chairs specially prepared
for them.

   - Extraordinary measures -

   The national importance of the exam is reflected in the extraordinary
measures South Korean authorities take to remove any disturbance for test-
takers.

   Public offices, banks and the stock market open an hour later than usual
to help ease traffic and ensure students arrive on time for the exam.

   All take-offs and landings at the country's airports are suspended for 35
minutes during an English listening test. All planes in the air must maintain
an altitude higher than 3,000 metres (10,000 feet).

   The South Korean transport ministry said 79 flights -- 16 of them
international -- have been rescheduled because of the exam.

   Police car and motorbike escorts were available in school areas for any
students stuck in traffic or running late.

   "It's a very important day for the test takers, and the past year has been
very tough for them," an official at the National Police Agency told AFP
before the exam.

   "So we are just trying to do what we can to show support."