Let's start with one of the key dates,... if not THE key date on South Korea's education calendar,... College Scholastic Ability Test day.
It's the most important day of their young lives,... something they've been squarely focusing their attention on for years.
Today, over 594-thousand high school seniors all across South Korea are taking their 'Suneung' as it's known here.
For more, we connect to our Yoon Jung-min, who is at one of the test sites.
Jung-min, where are you... and how's going there...

Hi, Mark. Currently, I'm standing in front of Seoul High School, one of the hundreds of test sites where today's 'Suneung' is taking place.
The students have just finished their first test which was Korean language.

As you touched upon,... nearly 600-thousand students...mostly high school seniors....are taking the College Scholastic Ability Test or CSAT at 1-thousand-190 test sites nationwide.
The exams began at 8:40AM (around an hour and 20 minutes ago...) and the students will take mathematics, English, Korean history and more tests later on.
This year, the education ministry is allowing students to wear face masks during the test due to the unhealthy levels of fine dust.

At a briefing an hour ago, the education ministry said this year's test is focused on basic and key elements in the high school curriculum.

These exams are so important as students spend years studying day and night for them, and the results determine which universities they will go to next year.
Koreans believe a college shapes a student's future... so many of them study around the clock with little sleep to get into the best college possible.

So, it's no wonder the whole country gets behind the test-takers.
Today, workers in the public sector and a lot in the private sector started work an hour later than usual -- at 10AM (a few moments ago) -- to ensure traffic on the roads was light and the test-takers could arrive on time.
The country's stock markets also opened and will close an hour later than normal, too.
More subway trains and buses were in operation and police officers on motorbikes were be on hand to rush students to test centers if they are running late.
From 1 p.m., even flights will be put on hold for about 30 minutes during English listening comprehension section to minimize disturbance.
Traffic near the test sites is being controlled as well.

Also, for the big day, groups of juniors gathered outside the test-sites to cheer on their seniors.
They are all gone now, but they were here to encourage their seniors and wish them good luck. Plus, they might come back when the test is about to finish.

That's all I have for now, but I'll bring more updates for our next newscasts.
Back to you, Mark.