Hundreds of thousands of students taking delayed college entrance exam
2018 수능시험 전국 1,180곳 에서 시행 Our starting point this morning --- is the make-or-break test day for high-school seniors here in South Korea. Some five-hundred-93-thousand students are about an hour and 20 minutes into their College Scholastic Ability Test or 'Suneung.' This year's test,... even more special - as the government took the unprecedented step of postponing the college entrance exam by one week to ensure the safety of students- following a five-point-four magnitude earthquake that struck the southeastern city of Pohang last Wednesday. For more, we check with our Kim Mok-yeon who just so happens to be in Pohang for us. Mok-yeon, the students should have all filtered in... and will be busy taking their test now,... but how's it looking down there? Hi Mark , I'm here at Pohang Idong High School, one of the test sites in the city that's recovering from last Wednesday's earthquake. Behind me you can see families and juniors waiting and cheering for their loved-ones and seniors who are taking their mathematics exams at this very moment. I grabbed a chat with some of them. Take a look. (KOREAN) "I brought some cookies and snacks for my seniors to eat." (KOREAN) "We all share the same feeling. We want to support our seniors who have been through a tough week." Such a scene-- cheering for college entrance exam takers-- is something quite unique to Korea,... you don't see anything quite like this elsewhere. That's because this is a country where admission to top-tier universities is considered a path to a successful life,... a good performance today could shape their entire lives. Like you mentioned, the test started at 8-40 am and will end at before six p.m.... so it's a long and grueling day for the teenagers. Just like any other Suneung day, traffic restrictions are in place on roads near the test centers, and public transportation services have been extended. Flights will also be controlled during the English-language listening section of the test,... which is coming up later in the day. Also, the stock markets and some businesses delayed their opening hours to help keep traffic off the streets prior to the start of the test. Those people will be just starting work now. And Mokyeon tell us more about the precautions that have been taken in Pohang today. Fortunately no reports of any aftershocks today,... but we hear the authorities are ready to act if there are... Well,... as much as the entire nation is focused on helping all the students do well,... more attention focused on those in this region,... where locals have been experiencing constant tremors following last week's quake. The government has dispatched safety officials and earthquake experts at the test sites. They are on stand-by in case any tremors occur during the exam period. And test-sites that are located near the epicenter of the quake have been transfered away to the southern part of the city. Education Minister Kim Sang-gon is also here in Pohang, to stay in close contact with relevant authorities-- and give on-the-ground instructions if necessary. Back to you, Mark. Arirang News Facebook: / arirangtvnews ------------------------------------------------------------ [Subscribe Arirang Official YouTube] ARIRANG TV: / arirang ARIRANG RADIO: / music180arirang ARIRANG NEWS: / arirangnews ARIRANG K-POP: / arirangworld ARIRANG ISSUE: / arirangtoday ARIRANG CULTURE: / arirangkorean ------------------------------------------------------------ [Visit Arirang TV Official Pages] Facebook: / arirangtv Twitter: / arirangworld Instagram: / arirangworld Homepage: http://www.arirang.com ------------------------------------------------------------ [Arirang K-Pop] YouTube: / arirangworld Facebook: / arirangkpop Google+: http://plus.google.com/+arirangworld
