Everyone in this country takes school exams very, very seriously

Students from a high school cheer for their seniors in front of a gate at the examination hall in South Korea. Photos: Reuters

Financial markets stayed closed and aircraft grounded as students in South Korea sat down last week for the annual college entrance exam that could make or break their careers.

Some 600,000 high school students will take the gruelling eight-hour exam to determine if and where they will spend four years in higher education, with anxious parents heading to places of worship to pray for their children.