The infamous Suneung, an abbreviation for College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) in Korean, is an eight-hour marathon of back-to-back exams, which not only dictates whether the students will go to university, but can affect their job prospects, income, where they will live, and even future relationships.
Every year in November, Suneung brings the whole country to a standstill. Silence descends across the capital Seoul as shops are shut, banks close, even the stock market opens late. Most construction work halts, planes are grounded and military training ceases.
Occasionally the stillness is broken by distant sirens because police motorbikes race to deliver students running late to their exam.
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