SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- South Korean students on Thursday took the annual college entrance exam, regarded as a highly important test, amid the COVID-19 resurgence here.
The College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), which started from 8:40 a.m. local time, would run through 5:40 p.m. at 1,383 test sites nationwide, according to the education ministry.
A total of 493,433 high school students and graduates registered the nine-hour exam this year, down 10.1 percent, or 55,301, from the previous year. It was the lowest since the CSAT was introduced in 1994.
Despite the record-low applicants, the number of test sites was up 198 from last year as the government tightened social-distancing guidelines amid the COVID-19 resurgence here for the past month.
In the latest tally, South Korea reported 540 more cases of COVID-19 for the past 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 35,703. The daily caseload grew in triple digits for 26 days running, staying above 500 for two days.
The number of CSAT applicants who tested positive for COVID-19 was 37 as of Tuesday, with 430 more students being under self-quarantine. The students were required to take the test at hospitals or residential treatment facilities.
All the applicants were required to wear a mask and check body temperature. Students showing symptoms, such as fever and cough, were required to take the test at separate classrooms.
The CSAT has been delayed by two weeks as the school reopening was postponed because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The college entrance exam is believed to be highly important in the students' course of life and future professions in the South Korean society where graduating from a prestigious university is crucial to obtaining a successful job.
The CSAT consists of five sections: Korean language; mathematics; English; Korean history and the social and natural sciences; and the second foreign language and the Chinese character. Enditem
