Military training was suspended, flights rescheduled and emergency calls reserved for latecomers as hundreds of thousands of South Korean students sat a crucial college entrance examination.

    As every year, the focus of the education-obsessed country narrowed for one day to ensure the smooth running of the exam, seen as a defining moment that can hold the key to everything, from future careers to marriage prospects.

    Police cars and motorbikes in cities across South Korea were put on standby, available for any students needing to make a late dash to take their seats before the exam began Thursday at 8:40 am.

    In one case, police responded to a distress call from a father whose car had blown a tyre and hit a railing as he was driving his 18-year-old daughter to the test in the southern city of Busan.

    The police took the student to a nearby hospital for treatment before rushing her to the exam centre, Seoul's CBS radio said.

    More than 668,500 students took the day-long standardised College Scholastic Ability Test at 1,191 centres nationwide, the education ministry said.

    Aviation authorities said 83 flights had been rescheduled to avoid noisy landings and take-offs during language listening tests in the morning and afternoon.

    The stock market's opening and closing was delayed by an hour while many government offices and private companies opened late to ease rush-hour traffic so that students could arrive at test centres on time.

    In South Korea's hyper-competitive education system, high marks in the exam are essential for entry to top universities, which is in turn crucial to securing prestigious jobs.

    News networks offered recipes for special lunches which are easily digestible and contain ingredients supposed to boost mental concentration.

    Parents gathered in anxious groups outside the test centres or went to pray for their childrens' success in Buddhist temples and churches.

    The pressure on teenagers to perform well in exams is blamed for dozens of suicides every year that generally peak around the time of the annual entrance exam.

    For most of their school lives, South Korean students study late into the night -- often at costly, private cram schools -- to stay ahead in the rat race for admission to top universities.

    军事训练暂停、航班重新调整时间、紧急呼叫电话为迟到考生预留……韩国几十万考生近日参加了竞争激烈的高考。

    韩国是一个很重视教育的国家。每年高考时，全社会都在总动员，保证高考顺利举行。在韩国，高考被认为是决定考生未来职业和婚姻前景等所有前程的关键时刻。

    高考当天，韩国各城市的警车和摩托车都严阵以待，做好准备将有可能迟到的考生送到考场。考试在周四上午8点40开始。

    比如，警方曾接到一位父亲的求救电话，说自己车胎爆胎，撞到了栏杆上。当时他正在釜山送18岁的女儿参加高考。

    据首尔CBS电台报道，警察把考生送往附近医院治疗，接着紧急把她送到考试中心。

    韩国教育部表示，超过66.85万考生在1191个考试中心参加了为期一天的大学学生能力标准化测验。

    民航当局表示，共有83架航班调整了时间，以避免起降噪音影响上午和下午进行的语言听力测试。

    韩国股市的开盘和收盘时间延后一小时，很多政府部门和私人公司的上班时间也相应推后，避免上下班交通拥堵，这样考生就能准时到达考场了。

    在韩国现在的教育制度下，学生们的竞争非常激烈，考试高分对进入名牌大学至关重要，也对毕业后找到好工作至关重要。

    新闻上提供了特别午餐食谱，非常好消化，而且富含能让考生集中精力的营养元素。

    家长们焦虑地等候在考场门外，或者去寺庙和教堂为孩子们祈祷。

    据称，高考带来的压力导致韩国每年有几十名学生自杀，每年高考时分也通常是自杀高峰。

    韩国学生在校读书时大多要在学费高昂的私人补习学校学习到深夜，以便在激烈的高考竞争中取胜，考入名牌大学。