Students had 70 minutes to solve 45 questions. (File Photo) The head of South Korea’s national exam authority has resigned after widespread complaints that this year’s English test for a key university entrance exam was too difficult.
Why the exam matters
The test, known as the Suneung, decides entry to top universities and is closely linked to future jobs, income and even marriage prospects in South Korea. Because of its importance, students, parents and schools follow every detail of the exam.
Only about 3% of students achieved the highest grade in English this year the lowest since absolute grading began in 2018. Students had 70 minutes to solve 45 questions.
Some questions drew strong criticism. One asked students to compare the views of Immanuel Kant and Thomas Hobbes on the rule of law. Another asked them to think about the nature of time and clocks.
A third asked how the idea of existence could apply to video-game characters.
Exam conditions in South Korea are so strict that flights are halted for 35 minutes during the English listening section to prevent noise.
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Following the backlash, Oh Seung-keol, head of the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, stepped down.
According to the institute, he said he felt “a heavy sense of responsibility for the English section of the test, which did not align with the principles of absolute evaluation”.
He also apologised for “causing concern to test-takers and their parents, and for causing confusion in the college entrance exam process,” as reported by The Guardian.
The agency issued its own apology, saying it “takes seriously the criticism that the test failed to meet the appropriate level of difficulty and the goal of reducing students’ academic burden”.
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The strange word that confused everyone
The English test also included the word “culturtainment”, which caused confusion even for the academic who coined the term.
Stuart Moss, a lecturer at Leeds Beckett University in the UK, told a Korean student in an email, quoted by The Guardian, that he was “very surprised” to see the word used.
He added: “I am also of the opinion that this word should never have featured in the exam due to it not being in common English usage.”
Why the issue is sensitive in South Korea
Pressure on students in South Korea’s highly competitive schooling system has long been linked to stress and mental-health concerns among teenagers.
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The Guardian reported that South Korea’s parliament recently banned private English institutes from holding entrance tests for preschool children.
Exam scores often attract national attention. This week, local media highlighted that the nephew of Samsung Electronics chief Lee Jae-yong missed one question on the Suneung but still secured admission to Seoul National University, the country’s top institution.
