‎South Korea exam chief resigns after outrage over ‘too difficult’ English test

Illustration image. South Korea’s exam chief quits amid outrage over ‘too hard’ English paper. Photo: EPA / BBC

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‎‎The chief organiser of South Korea’s notoriously gruelling university entrance exams has resigned — after complaints that an English test he designed was just too difficult.

‎South Korea’s college entry exam, known locally as the “Suneung”, is essential for admission to top universities and widely regarded as a gateway to social mobility, economic security and even a good marriage. ‎ ‎But this year, just over three per cent of exam-takers scored top marks in the English test — the lowest since absolute grading was introduced for the subject in 2018. ‎ ‎Students were given just 70 minutes to answer 45 questions. ‎ ‎One question singled out for criticism asked students to assess the political philosophers Immanuel Kant and Thomas Hobbes and analyse their views on the rule of law. ‎ ‎Another asked students to consider the nature of time and clocks, while another probed how the idea of existence might apply to video game avatars. ‎ ‎These sparked significant backlash in a country where the exam is taken so seriously that flights are grounded nationwide for 35 minutes during the English listening test to eliminate any potential noise. ‎ ‎In response, Oh Seung-keol, the chief of Korea’s Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, stepped down. ‎ ‎He felt “a heavy sense of responsibility for the English section of the test, which did not align with the principles of absolute evaluation”, the institution said in a statement sent to AFP. ‎ ‎He also apologised for “causing concern to test-takers and their parents, and for causing confusion in the college entrance exam process”. ‎ ‎The agency also issued a separate 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”. ‎ ‎The use of the portmanteau “culturtainment” in the test was also a source of confusion, even from the academic behind the phrase. ‎ ‎Stuart Moss, a senior lecturer at Leeds Beckett University in the UK, said he was “very surprised” to see the phrase featured. ‎ ‎”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,” he said in an e-mail reply to a South Korean test-taker reported by local daily Munhwa Ilbo. ‎ ‎Enormous pressure placed on students in South Korea’s ultra-competitive education system has been partly blamed for teenage depression and suicide rates that are among the highest in the world. ‎ ‎This month, South Korea’s National Assembly approved an amended law banning private English-language educational institutes from administering entrance tests to preschoolers. ‎ ‎And test scores have long been a highly sensitive and scrutinised issue. ‎ ‎This week, the nephew of Samsung Electronics chief Lee Jae-yong — one of South Korea’s most powerful and wealthy families — made headlines after he reportedly failed just one question on the exam, earning him admission to the nation’s top Seoul National University. ‎ ‎AFP ‎ ‎

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