"'Apartment' Is Like a Banned Song, Even Planes Don't Fly: Foreign Media's View on the 'Suneung' Scene"

The 2025 College Scholastic Ability Test Held on the 14th
Foreign Media Spotlight Korean Society on the Test Day
Parents Praying at Temples and Churches Draw Attention

The 2025 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) was held on the 14th, and foreign media also highlighted the scenes of Korean society on the day of the CSAT.

British broadcaster BBC, in a Seoul-based article on the day, transcribed the CSAT phonetically in Hangul as ‘Suneung’ and reported that “500,000 students nationwide took the most important exam of their lives.” BBC mentioned that during the English listening test, aircraft were controlled and buses and taxis were advised not to honk to minimize noise, stating that “a brief silence covered all of Korea.”

On the 14th, students who completed the 2025 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) are exiting the examination hall at Yeouido Girls' High School in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News.

It also introduced the background of why the song ‘Apartment (APT.)’, sung by BLACKPINK member Ros? and pop star Bruno Mars, became a ‘CSAT banned song’ among test-takers. BBC pointed out that due to the song’s catchiness, there were concerns it could cause loss of concentration, and students “feared” the melody of ‘Apartment.’ Previously, songs like BTS’s ‘Go Go’ and SHINee’s ‘Ring Ding Dong’ were mentioned online as CSAT banned songs.

It added, “Many people see the CSAT as the ‘culmination’ of years of formal education and a turning point that determines university admission, career, and social status,” explaining that “any distractions during the CSAT, no matter how trivial, are not tolerated.”

On the morning of the 14th, when the 2025 College Scholastic Ability Test was held, citizens are praying for high scores at Jogyesa Temple in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

AFP also reported on the CSAT day scenes in a Seoul-based article, detailing the ‘live-streamed prayers of Korean parents overwhelmed by pressure.’ Parents of test-taking children prayed specifically according to the test times for each subject: for the Korean language section, “Please help them read the passages clearly,” and for the math section, “Please help them calculate easily.” AFP introduced cases where some parents visited temples to perform 108 prostrations, and others who could not visit churches in person participated in live prayer sessions via YouTube.

According to EBS and entrance exam companies, this year’s CSAT was generally considered easy across the Korean, math, and English sections. It was easier than last year’s CSAT, which was rated as historically difficult, and was assessed to be similar to or slightly more difficult than the September mock exam this year.