Anchor: The annual state-administered College Scholastic Ability Test, or CSAT, is taking place this Thursday. With more than half a million sitting for the exam, which is considered the most important test for most South Koreans, the whole nation tried to keep quiet, with airplanes grounded during the foreign language section of the test, among other measures.
Kim Bum-soo has more.

Report:

[Sound bite: students cheering for CSAT test takers (Nov. 16 / Kyungbock High School, Seoul)]

The annual College Scholastic Ability Test is taking place at some 12-hundred test sites across South Korea on Thursday.

In front of test centers, high school juniors gathered in the morning to rally behind the exam takers, a scene revived for the first time in four years after the COVID-19 quarantine regulations were eased earlier this year.

[Sound bite: a CSAT taker (Nov. 16 / Kyungbock High School, Seoul)]
"I'm nervous and trembling because what I've been studying for three years ends with this exam today."

[Sound bite: a CSAT taker (Nov. 16 / Ewha Girls' Foreign Language High School, Seoul)]
"I studied hard and my aim is not to make mistakes and get the ones I know right." 

[Sound bite: a CSAT taker (Nov. 16 / Ewha Girls' Foreign Language High School, Seoul)]
"The Suneung(CSAT) day came as I frantically prepared for the exam. It's got to be the same for everyone and I hope everyone will answer the exam questions well today."  

Nearly 504-thousand-600 people applied to take this year's test, which is considered the most important exam for many South Koreans, and the whole nation pitched in to set optimal conditions for them. 

Government offices and companies pushed back the start of the work day by an hour from 9 to 10 a.m. to help alleviate traffic during the morning rush hour.

Flight takeoffs and landings were banned during the 35-minute English-listening section from 1:05 p.m. Planes approaching airports during the time were advised to stand by three-kilometers above the ground.

Drivers were advised not to use their horns and live-fire military exercises were rescheduled to ensure the most conducive test environment.

Stock exchanges also delayed their trading by one hour.

Unlike the three previous exams, which were held amid the COVID-19 pandemic, applicants took the test without wearing masks.

Many parents were seen at churches and temples praying for their children taking the exam, which can determine the future of its takers in the highly competitive South Korean society.

The results will be released on December 8.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.