South Korean College Entrance Exam Presents Unique Challenges for Blind Students

More than 550,000 students across South Korea are sitting for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), known as the Suneung, today, but for a small number of visually impaired students, the exam represents a grueling, nearly 13-hour ordeal.

The Suneung is a pivotal moment in South Korean students’ lives, significantly impacting their future educational and career paths. While most students complete the eight-hour exam by late afternoon, blind students with severe visual impairments are allotted 1.7 times the standard testing duration, often finishing close to 10 p.m. This extended timeframe is due to the conversion of test materials into braille, which expands the volume of each test booklet six to nine times. Eighteen-year-old Han Dong-hyun, a student at Seoul Hanbit School for the Blind, is among those taking the longest version of the exam this year.

“It’s really exhausting because the exam is so long,” Dong-hyun said, focusing on stamina as he prepares to take the test using braille papers and a screen-reading computer. The Korean language section poses a particular challenge, with a standard 16-page booklet becoming roughly 100 pages in braille. Access to study materials remains a significant hurdle, as braille versions of essential preparation books, like those produced by EBS, are often delayed, sometimes arriving only months before the exam. The Korea Times reports on the ongoing efforts to improve accessibility for visually impaired students. Oh Jeong-won, another student at Hanbit School, noted the difficulty of maintaining focus for such an extended period, stating, “Around 4 or 5pm…that’s when it gets really tough.”

Officials at the National Institute of Special Education acknowledge the delays in producing braille materials and state they are “making various efforts to ensure that blind students can study without disruption.” The Korean Blind Union plans to file a constitutional petition demanding greater accessibility to textbooks. This year’s Suneung sees 111 blind test-takers nationwide, according to data from the Ministry of Education and the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation.

Authorities are continuing to work on solutions to address the challenges faced by visually impaired students, with a focus on faster production of braille materials and improved access to resources.