South Korea has suspended all flights so that students can safely pass the main exam of the year
More than half a million Korean schoolchildren took the important annual entrance exam: offices were open later, police helped students get to their seats on time, and planes were temporarily grounded to avoid creating noise during the auditions. About this reportedReuters agency.
On November 13, South Korea took the traditional nine-hour exam, which young Koreans and their parents consider key to success in a society that the publication calls “hypercompetitive.”
To ensure the timely arrival of applicants, the country deployed police, delayed office hours by an hour, and banned all aircraft, including flights at Incheon International Airport, from taking off and landing from 1:05 p.m. to 1:40 p.m. — during which time an English audition was taking place. The decision affected the schedules of 140 flights, 65 of which were international: on the instructions of the Ministry of Transport, planes were forced to circle over airports at an altitude of at least 3,000 meters.
The number of participants in the exam, which is required for admission to the country’s top universities, has reached its highest level in seven years. This is because most of this year’s entrants were born in 2007, a period of high birth rates. In total, more than 550,000 people registered for the test, which is 6% more than last year.
