Third Thursday of November, Korea's university entrance exam
How many days until Korean CSAT (Suneung) exam day?
There are 76 days until Korean CSAT (Suneung) exam day 2026 (Thursday, November 19, 2026).
Korean CSAT (Suneung) exam day 2026 falls on
- Days
- 76
- Weeks
- 10 weeks and 6 days
- Months
- 2 months and 15 days
- Hours
- 1,824 hours
- Sleeps
- 76 sleeps
- Working days
- 54 working days (Mon–Fri)
Counting down to midnight local time on the date.
Is it Korean CSAT (Suneung) exam day today? No. Korean CSAT (Suneung) exam day 2026 is 76 days away, on Thursday, November 19, 2026. This page reads your device's date and rolls over automatically at midnight.
Upcoming dates
| Year | Date | Weekday | Days away |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Thursday | 76 | |
| 2027 | Thursday | 440 | |
| 2028 | Thursday | 804 | |
| 2029 | Thursday | 1,168 | |
| 2030 | Thursday | 1,539 | |
| 2031 | Thursday | 1,903 |
The Korean Ministry of Education sets the date as the third Thursday of November and formally confirms it each spring, so this rule can differ from the ministry's announcement in rare cases. The one recent exception was 2020, when the exam was pushed to December 3 because of COVID-19.
About Korean CSAT (Suneung) exam day
The Suneung, formally the College Scholastic Ability Test, is the single exam that decides university admission for most Korean high school seniors. It is held on the third Thursday of November each year, a date the Ministry of Education confirms in an official announcement every spring; 2026학년도 수능 (for the 2026 admissions cycle) was held on November 13, 2025, and 2027학년도 수능 falls on Thursday, November 19, 2026. Roughly 500,000 students apply nationwide, and on exam day flight schedules near test sites are adjusted, subway and bus service is increased during the morning rush, and offices across the country delay their opening by an hour so students are not caught in traffic on the way to their 시험장 (test site).
The exam runs on a fixed timetable that every Korean adult recognizes: students must be seated by 08:10 and the first period begins at 08:40. 1교시 국어(Korean) comes first, followed by 2교시 수학(Math), then 3교시 영어(English), which includes a listening section around 13:10 during which aircraft near test centers are grounded for about 35 minutes to keep the audio clear. The afternoon continues with 4교시 한국사·탐구(Korean History and Elective subjects) and, for students who chose it, 5교시 제2외국어/한문(Second Foreign Language or Classical Chinese). The day before the exam is 예비소집일, when students visit their assigned test site to confirm their seat number and room before the real thing.
Korean students and families often count down to the exam in a different way than most other countries: instead of only tracking the exam date itself, many mark D-100, exactly one hundred days before Suneung, with a small tradition called 백일주 (rice cakes or sweets shared for luck) and renewed focus for the final stretch. For the 2027학년도 exam on November 19, 2026, D-100 lands on August 11, 2026. From there, the countdown becomes part of daily conversation at school, on TV news, and among parents until exam day itself.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Suneung always on the third Thursday of November?
- It is the rule the Ministry of Education follows and confirms each spring, but it is not absolute. The one recent exception was 2020, when the exam moved to December 3 because of COVID-19.
- What time does Suneung start and end?
- Students must be seated by 08:10 and the first period starts at 08:40. The exam runs through five periods, including a 3교시 English listening section around 13:10, and ends in the late afternoon for students taking all five periods.
- What is D-100 and when is it in 2026?
- D-100 is the day exactly one hundred days before the exam, traditionally marked with 백일주 as a milestone for final exam preparation. For the November 19, 2026 exam, D-100 is August 11, 2026.
- What day of the week is Korean CSAT (Suneung) exam day 2026?
- Korean CSAT (Suneung) exam day 2026 falls on a Thursday (Thursday, November 19, 2026). It is in 2027 a Thursday, in 2028 a Thursday, in 2029 a Thursday. The table above lists each year to 2031.
- How many weeks until Korean CSAT (Suneung) exam day 2026?
- As of today there are 10 weeks and 6 days until Korean CSAT (Suneung) exam day 2026, 76 days in total. The counter at the top updates every second.
Content last reviewed: 2026-09-03