A foreign friend asked me this. "I heard even planes stop on the day of the CSAT. Is everyone just following along because they're afraid of the government?" If you hear it for the first time, you might think so. It looks like the country steps in and orders everything. But it's a little different. ## Things Go Quiet in Time with the Exam Every November, on the day of the College Scholastic Ability Test, flight takeoffs and landings are rescheduled during the English listening exam. That's because noise must not disturb the test. Government offices and many companies push back their start times so that traffic is lighter. Police cars or motorcycles sometimes even give students who look like they'll be late a ride to the test site. ## It's not because they're told to, but because people come together These things are closer to requests and promises than to orders. In Korea, many people feel that college admission depends heavily on this single exam. So everyone thinks of it as "the day my younger sibling or my child goes through." Underclassmen cheer them on in front of the school, and people give them yeot (taffy) and chapssal-tteok (sticky rice cakes) to wish them success. Both are sticky, so they mean "stick right to it!" ## What to do on that day Please don't honk your horn near the exam sites, and walk quietly. Bus or subway times may be different from usual, so it's a good idea to check your plans in advance. You can find the exact date and time in the news or in announcements from the Ministry of Education.