R.C There is one day a year in South Korea in which the entire country literally stops. It is not for a world summit or a military exercise. It is for something much more important: the future of its young people!
This day is the Third Thursday of November of each year, and today, November 13, 2025, It was the day! It is the day of CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test), known to all Koreans as the Sunung.
And when I say they stop, I’m serious! Today in Locos Por Korea we tell you everything about this epic day and this exam, which I am sure you felt it named in more than one K-drama And you dress more than one character worried about him.
What is the Suneung or CSAT and why is it so important?
For those who are not up to date, the Sunung or Csat It is the national entrance exam to the university that students take in Chorea. But it is much more than that. It is a test of almost 9 hours (from 8:10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.) that ‘It could very well determine the rest of their lives‘.
On Chorea, there is an immense social pressure that equates the prestige of the university with the social status of a person. A bad result on this day can mean having to prepare one more year, to try again. Therefore, more than 554,000 students They have given up today, and the whole country supports them!
A national operation! Aircraft on the ground and VIP escorts
The Government does everything possible to create the most favorable environment for students. And the measurements are from film!
- Silence in the sky!: You don’t have a joke! All flights in Korea are suspended or restricted between the 1:05 p.m. and the 1:40 p.m.. the reason? so as not to make noise during the section of LISTENING (auditory comprehension) of English. Airplanes that are already in the air must be kept above 3,000 meters!
- VIP Police Escort: Did you fall asleep and are late? Call the 112!. Today there is more than 10,400 police officers and 2,200 Patrolmen mobilized to control traffic. They offer free ‘escort services’ on patrol cars or motorcycles, with mermaids, to take students to their exam sites. (Although eye! If you arrive after the 8:10 a.m., you can’t get in).
- The country on pause: The Government calls for public offices to start working at the 10 a.m. to reduce morning traffic. In addition, all military trainings are suspended, such as tank maneuvers or artillery fire!
H2: Fighting! K-pop unites to encourage students
On a day so full of emotions for so many students, the support of the stars of K-pop It is always a nice detail. Social networks have turned to send messages of encouragement!.
- V of BTS He posted a photo with his thumb up giving encouragement and saying that if you don’t know the answer, choose the 3.
- RM of BTS, today, shared a photo of a peper (Since it was also Pepero Day) Giant and a short video saying ‘Good luck at CSAT. Fighting!’.
- Karina of Aespa He dressed for the occasion! He uploaded a photo in a school uniform and a Santa hat, writing: ‘Good luck, examined! ♥’.
- IU He used his channel YouTube To give a deeper message, recognizing cold weather and nerves, and advised: ‘Try to let go of your nerves… and come out feeling good.’
- legends like G-Dragon (Bigbang) and Taeyeon (girlsgeneration) They also joined, posting photos and wishing ‘good luck’.
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They give up too! The idols facing CSAT today
Not all idols are cheering, some are sitting on those desks rendering the Csat or Sunung! Today is also the big day for the ‘Line 2007‘of the K-pop. Among the students who render the Suneung are TWS Kyumin, , Han Yujin from ZerobaseOne and Kickflip’s Donghyun. We wish you all the success!
What happens before and after? Prayers, gifts… and discounts!
the madness of the Csat It goes beyond the exam.
- The creators of the exam: The panel of teachers who writes the questions is confined during 40 days! In a secret installation, without access to the outside world or their cell phones, to prevent leaks.
- prayers and gifts: The previous days, families pray non-stop in temples and churches (some do daily prayer sessions for 100 days!). Sweets are given away, especially Rice cakes (d)tteok), due to its sticky texture, which symbolizes the hope of ‘gluing’ (being admitted) to the university they want.
- FINALLY FREE!: Once they are finished, students can enjoy discounts and special benefits at restaurants, hairdressers and amusement parks, just by showing their proof of the exam. A well-deserved award for years of effort!
FAQs Suneung (CSAT): 7 key questions about the most difficult exam in the world
1. Why is the English test so ‘crazy’? Isn’t it just knowing English?
Not at all! The English exam Csat or Sunung it is notoriously difficult, to the point that native English speakers (adults with college education) have called it a ‘crazy’ exam.
Why? because it does not measure your ability to talk English. Measure your ability to Reading comprehension and analytical reasoning under extreme time pressure. Students must solve each question in less than two minutes, and the texts are not magazine articles: they are complex academic passages on topics such as Data philosophy, law or science. It’s more of a logic test than a language!
2. What are the infamous ‘Killer Questions’?
Ah, everyone’s terror! the ‘Killer Questions‘ (Killer Questions) were, for years, the most feared feature of the Sunung or Csat. They were questions extremely difficult (sometimes only 1% of the students answered them well) and they were so complex that, according to critics, they required college level knowledge.
The purpose was to differentiate students from 1% superior, usually those who competed to enter medicine or universities ‘Sky‘ (Seoul National, Korea, Yonsei).
3. Is it true that the government banned them? Is the exam easier now?
yes, it’s true! Last year (2023-2024), the President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered to be remove the ‘killer questions’ of the exam. The main reason was to reduce the ‘injustice‘ and dependency on Hagwons (Very expensive private academies), since these questions often required resolution techniques that were not taught in public school.
But is it easier? No! Experts who analyzed this year’s review (2025) said that, although there was no ‘Killer questions‘, the exam was Harder than last year. The trap? Instead of a ‘killer question’, they put many ‘high difficulty’ questions that require a lot of time, increasing the overall difficulty.
4. How serious are police escorts taken?
Totally serious! It is not a myth. As we mentioned before, it is very real, for example, last year 154 students were transported. There are even incredible anecdotes. There have been cases of students waking up in the wrong city and the police coordinate patrol relays 150 km/h on the highway to get them. It is really a national emergency service!
5. Is it true that you can’t use a pencil of your own?
Well! Security is stricter than at an airport! To prevent fraud (such as hiding devices), students They cannot use their own mechanical pencils. The Ministry of Education gives everyone a mechanical pencil and an identical standard pen on the day of the exam. Digital watches are not allowed, just analog!
6. What if there is a bomb threat? Is everything canceled?
Not even a bomb threat stops the Sunung! This is amazing. educational authorities and police have a Special protocol for bomb threats. If the threat is considered ‘low’, the examination continues. If it is considered ‘moderate or tall’, the exam is stopped, the students are evacuated, the police check the site for explosives, and then (if sure) the exam continues! In fact, on Wednesday night, yes, the night before this year’s exam, a high school student made a false bomb threat at a site of the Csat And he was caught.
7. Why do teachers who write the exam stay ‘locked up’?
to guarantee the state secret. The Sunung It is prepared as an intelligence operation. A panel of professors and academics is confined to a secret facility (whose location is classified) for a few 40 days. They do not have access to the Internet or their cell phones. They live completely isolated from the outside world until the exam ends (at 5:45 p.m. on D-day). At that moment they return their phones and they can return home!
8. Where do they take the exam? In your own school, all together?
Not at all! The system is designed to be as fair (and strict) as possible. The students They do not take the exam in their own schools.
How does it work? local education offices assign each student A test site (and a specific seat) within your jurisdiction. They find out where it was just the day before!
This is done to avoid any type of favoritism or trap that could occur in your ‘origin’ school. The exam is distributed in more than 1,300 test sites All over the country, which are mostly other high schools and even some middle schools. And as extra data, the younger students of those schools that are used as venues have the day off!
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