Across South Korea, nearly 550,000 students will appear for the World's longest exam today. The infamous college entrance test runs for more than 12 hours. Shops are shut, flights are delayed to reduce the noise, daily commutes have slowed down, and the whole nation is at a halt. The Suneung or College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) is not only for admission into a great university, but also the gateway to job prospects, income, lifestyle and future relationships in South Korea.&nbsp;<h2>Suneung or College Scholastic Ability Test of South Korea</h2>The test contains approximately 200 questions from various subjects, including Korean, mathematics, English, Korean history, one elective from social or natural sciences or Vocational education, and a Second language and Hanja (classical Chinese characters used in Korean). The test continues for back-to-back eight hours, with 1.7 times the standard time allocated for the visually impaired or low vision students, which can last nearly 13 hours. The standard booklet for a paper is 16 pages long, and for braille script it's 100 pages. It begins around 08:40 and finishes around 17:40, and for visually impaired students it can last till 21:48, without any dinner or lunch breaks.&nbsp;"It's really exhausting because the exam is so long," said Dong-hyun, who was born without any sensitivity to light.Approximately 554,174 applicants applied in 2025, which is an increase of 31,500 from the previous year and the highest number of applicants in the last seven years. The marathon exam is open for high school graduates and final year students. A small number of visually impaired students also appear for the exam."…There's no special trick. I just follow my study schedule and try to manage my condition. That's the only way," said Dong-hyun. According to data from the Ministry of Education and the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, in 2024, there were 99 students with low vision and 12 with severe visual impairments.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Nearly 550,000 students across South Korea are appearing for the Suneung, or College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), a marathon 12-hour exam that halts the nation, decides careers, and shapes futures.

Across South Korea, nearly 550,000 students will appear for the World's longest exam today. The infamous college entrance test runs for more than 12 hours. Shops are shut, flights are delayed to reduce the noise, daily commutes have slowed down, and the whole nation is at a halt. The Suneung or College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) is not only for admission into a great university, but also the gateway to job prospects, income, lifestyle and future relationships in South Korea. Suneung or College Scholastic Ability Test of South Korea The test contains approximately 200 questions from various subjects, including Korean, mathematics, English, Korean history, one elective from social or natural sciences or Vocational education, and a Second language and Hanja (classical Chinese characters used in Korean). The test continues for back-to-back eight hours, with 1.7 times the standard time allocated for the visually impaired or low vision students, which can last nearly 13 hours. The standard booklet for a paper is 16 pages long, and for braille script it's 100 pages. It begins around 08:40 and finishes around 17:40, and for visually impaired students it can last till 21:48, without any dinner or lunch breaks. "It's really exhausting because the exam is so long," said Dong-hyun, who was born without any sensitivity to light. Approximately 554,174 applicants applied in 2025, which is an increase of 31,500 from the previous year and the highest number of applicants in the last seven years. The marathon exam is open for high school graduates and final year students. A small number of visually impaired students also appear for the exam. "…There's no special trick. I just follow my study schedule and try to manage my condition. That's the only way," said Dong-hyun. According to data from the Ministry of Education and the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, in 2024, there were 99 students with low vision and 12 with severe visual impairments.

Nearly 550,000 students across South Korea are appearing for the Suneung, or College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), a marathon 12-hour exam that halts the nation, decides careers, and shapes futures.

World's longest exam: 550,000 students across South Korea appear for Suneung today

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World's longest exam: 550,000 students across South Korea appear for Suneung today