[DiaryPoint = Reporter Eom Ju-yong] South Korea’s 2027 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), the national university entrance exam, will be held on November 19. Test takers who accidentally bring a phone, smartwatch or similar device can hand it over to a proctor before the first session begins and collect it after the exam.
Items banned from the test site include anything with communication or payment functions, electronic displays and other electronic devices. The list covers phones, smartwatches, smart glasses, tablets and earphones, as well as electronic dictionaries, watches and tumblers with electronic displays, e-cigarettes and portable chargers.
Devices cannot be brought into the test site even if they will not be used during the exam. Anyone who realizes they have brought one must tell a proctor and turn it in before the test starts. If a test taker is found in possession of an undeclared device, it is treated as cheating and the exam is invalidated.
Wearing smart glasses during the exam is considered use of the device. The Ministry of Education said the test will be invalidated and the test taker barred from sitting the CSAT the following year. It also said it plans legal action, including filing a complaint or requesting an investigation, in cases of planned or intentional cheating.
The only watches allowed during the exam are analog models with no communication or payment functions and no electronic display. Test takers may bring identification, their admission ticket, a black computer-scored answer-sheet pen, white correction tape, a black pencil, an eraser and black 0.5 mm mechanical-pencil lead. Masks must be checked by a proctor.
The Ministry of Education has told test takers to enter their assigned test site by 8:10 a.m. on exam day. The simplest preparation is to bring an admission ticket and ID and leave electronic devices at home. Test takers asked to show a smart device during the exam must follow the proctor’s instructions.