South Korea's 520000 candidates welcome the ＂de

On the 14th, the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) for the 2025 academic year in South Korea, also known as the South Korean National College Entrance Examination, kicked off simultaneously in 1282 examination rooms across 85 examination districts nationwide. Over 520000 candidates welcomed this decisive battle that would determine their fate.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the number of people who registered for the college entrance examination this year reached 522670, an increase of 18082 compared to last year, with a growth rate of 3.6%. Among them, there are 340777 students, 161784 graduates, and 20109 candidates of other types, accounting for 65.2%, 31.0%, and 3.8% of the total number of candidates, respectively. The South Korean newspaper "Jingxiang News" pointed out that the number of graduates referred to this time has reached a new high in nearly 21 years. Some analysts believe that this is mainly due to the South Korean government's policy of expanding enrollment in medical schools, which has led to a significant increase in the number of students challenging medical schools, such as repeaters.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the one-day college entrance examination officially started at 8:40 am on the same day and ended at 5:45 pm. Consistent with last year, the 2024 college entrance examination will still be conducted in the order of Chinese language, mathematics, English, Korean history and exploration (social, scientific, and vocational), and second foreign language/Chinese language. The Seoul News reported that this year's South Korean college entrance examination will continue to use the reform plan applicable since the 2022 college entrance examination, adopting a compatible examination system that does not differentiate between arts and sciences. At the same time, this exam will continue to abandon the so-called 'killer questions', which are extremely difficult questions. The South Korean Ministry of Education stated that the questions will be based on the scope of public education and must be able to achieve the goal of selecting and distinguishing talents. Experts predict that the overall difficulty level of the 2025 college entrance examination will remain at the relatively simple simulated exam level of September this year, while some more difficult questions will be set to select outstanding talents. According to MBC TV in South Korea, based on the current situation, the Chinese language exam is easier compared to last year.

To ensure the smooth implementation of the college entrance examination, multiple industries in South Korea, such as transportation and finance, have taken action to adjust their daily arrangements, presenting a trend of "holding their breath nationwide" to make way for the college entrance examination. For example, in order to prevent aircraft noise from interfering with English listening exams, during the English listening exam on the afternoon of the 14th, aircraft takeoff and landing will be suspended throughout South Korea, and non emergency aircraft must fly at an altitude of no less than 3000 meters. For example, the Korea Banking Association announced that the operating hours of each bank will be adjusted from 9:00 to 16:00 to 10:00 to 17:00. Other financial institutions are also expected to adjust their operating hours to alleviate road congestion and provide convenience for candidates' travel.