Various crowds fill exam venues

Surrounded by friends and families wishing them luck, high school seniors head into their designated test venue to take the state-administered college exam, Thursday morning. / Yonhap

By You Soo-sun

The state-administered college entrance exam took place Thursday at schools around the country from 8:40 a.m. to just before 6 p.m.

Over 600,000 high school seniors showed up at their designated locations for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), which was postponed for a week in the aftermath of an earthquake last week.

Just as any other year, test venues were teeming with not only test-takers but also their friends, family members and other well-wishers.

Visible around some of the schools were also reporters and fans who came to see high school student celebrities on their way into the buildings to take the exam.

At Yeouido Girl's High School in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, where I.O.I member Kim Do-yeon and Laun of the idol group ONF took the test, reporters outnumbered students who gathered to support the test-takers.

A 17-year-old female student was among the fans that came to cheer for Kim. “I came to show my support for Do-yeon,” she said, holding a digital camera.

Another common sight was merchants selling watches, pens and snacks.

Many private education institutions also came to promote themselves, handing out gum and hot packs.

Albamon, a recruiting site for part-time workers, also tried to make itself known to prospective jobseekers.

Emergency officials on motorcycles drove students to their test venues at the last minute. Around 15,000 officials were dispatched for this.

There were also volunteers offering to do the same. At nearby subway stations, members of motorcycle clubs offered students rides to school to help them arrive on time for the exam that would play a determining role in their college admissions.

One biker who has done this yearly for the past 12 years said, “I wait by the subway station here and give rides to students who ask. I began volunteering as I didn’t want students to do poorly in the exam just because they were late.”

Inside the school, announcements were made about what actions to take in the event an earthquake. These guidelines were written on boards as well.

Officials took extra caution as an earthquake hit the southeastern city of Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, last Wednesday, just one day before the exam was originally supposed to take place.