Virtually everyone has heard of the SAT, a standardized test used to evaluate students’ abilities in reading, writing, and math. Each section is worth 800 points, so a perfect score on the SAT would be 2400. These days, many students take the SAT two or three times (sometimes even more) in order to achieve the score they want. They may then choose which score to send to the colleges they apply to.
Korea has its own SAT, which is known as sooneung. In the U.S., students may take the SAT during almost any month of the year, but in Korea, sooneung is offered only once per year. That one day–which happens every November–is an extremely important day for third year (senior) high school students. It is so important that extra measures are taken to ensure that the testing runs smoothly. For example, businesses open later on exam day so that students will not have to fight traffic to get to their schools. The test lasts about nine hours, and students are tested in Korean, English and another foreign language, math, and the sciences. Sooneung is the primary factor Korean universities consider in their admission processes.
On a typical day, students start school at around 7:30 AM. The actual school day is about the same length as that of the average American high school, but third year students often stay there for self-study until 10 PM, 11 PM, or even midnight. There are also hagwon (academies or private tutoring centers) and dokseoshil (private study rooms), where students spend even more time studying. The life of a third year student in Korea essentially revolves around sooneung. If they don’t score exceptionally well on the exam, then getting into a good college–such as Seoul National University–will be very difficult.
On exam day, many of the younger students go to cheer on their sunbaes (older students) early in the morning. They sing, chant, shout, clap, and wave signs in order to cheer the test takers on. (Video: Exam Day Cheering) Many celebrities also send messages of encouragement to students. (Video: “Egg Song” by U-Kiss)
Judy Suh, a student at Northwestern University, produced a short documentary on sooneung, called ExamiNation. In it, Suh examines the life of Bitna Hwang, a third year student, as she prepares for the test.
The Korea Project 