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South Korea Exam Chief Quits Over Complaints of Too-hard Tests

People wearing thick winter coats walk on Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, South Korea, 12 December 2025. EPA/YONHAP
People wearing thick winter coats walk on Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, South Korea, 12 December 2025. EPA/YONHAP
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South Korea Exam Chief Quits Over Complaints of Too-hard Tests

People wearing thick winter coats walk on Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, South Korea, 12 December 2025. EPA/YONHAP
People wearing thick winter coats walk on Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, South Korea, 12 December 2025. EPA/YONHAP

The chief organizer of South Korea's notoriously grueling university entrance exams has resigned -- after complaints that an English test he designed was just too difficult.

South Korea's college entry exam, known locally as the "Suneung", is essential for admission to top universities and widely regarded as a gateway to social mobility, economic security and even a good marriage.

But this year just over three percent of exam-takers scored top marks in the English test -- the lowest since absolute grading was introduced for the subject in 2018.

Students were given just 70 minutes to answer 45 questions, Agence France Presse reported.

One question singled out for criticism asked students to assess the political philosophers Immanuel Kant and Thomas Hobbes and analyze their views on the rule of law.

Another asked students to consider the nature of time and clocks, while another probed how the idea of existence might apply to video game avatars.

These sparked significant backlash in a country where the exam is taken so seriously that flights are grounded nationwide for 35 minutes during the English listening test to eliminate any potential noise.

In response, Oh Seung-keol, the chief of Korea's Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, stepped down.

He felt "a heavy sense of responsibility for the English section of the test, which did not align with the principles of absolute evaluation", the institution said in a statement sent to AFP.

He also apologized for "causing concern to test-takers and their parents, and for causing confusion in the college entrance exam process".

The agency also issued a separate apology, saying it "takes seriously the criticism that the test failed to meet the appropriate level of difficulty and the goal of reducing students' academic burden".

The use of the portmanteau "culturtainment" in the test was also the source of confusion -- even from the academic behind the phrase.

Stuart Moss, a senior lecturer at Leeds Beckett University in the UK, said he was "very surprised" to see the phrase featured.

"I am also of the opinion that this word should never have featured in the exam due it not being in common English usage," he said in an e-mail reply to a South Korean test-taker reported by local daily Munhwa Ilbo.

Enormous pressure placed on students in South Korea's ultra-competitive education system has been partly blamed for teenage depression and suicide rates that are among the highest in the world.

This month, South Korea's National Assembly approved an amended law banning private English-language educational institutes from administering entrance tests to preschoolers.

And test scores have long been a highly sensitive and scrutinized issue.

This week, the nephew of Samsung Electronics chief Lee Jae-yong -- one of South Korea's most powerful and wealthy families -- made headlines after he reportedly failed just one question on the exam, earning him admission to the nation's top Seoul National University.

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75 Wildlife Species Released into King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve

With this release, the total number of wildlife species released by the NCW to date has exceeded 10,000 as part of its specialized programs - SPA
With this release, the total number of wildlife species released by the NCW to date has exceeded 10,000 as part of its specialized programs - SPA
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75 Wildlife Species Released into King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve

With this release, the total number of wildlife species released by the NCW to date has exceeded 10,000 as part of its specialized programs - SPA
With this release, the total number of wildlife species released by the NCW to date has exceeded 10,000 as part of its specialized programs - SPA

The National Center for Wildlife (NCW), in cooperation with the King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority, today released 75 wildlife species into the King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve.

With this release, the total number of wildlife species released by the NCW to date has exceeded 10,000 as part of its specialized programs.

The release included 50 Arabian sand gazelles and 25 Arabian oryxes, within the framework of breeding and reintroduction programs for endangered wildlife species into their natural habitats, supporting ecosystem sustainability and enhancing biodiversity, SPA reported.

Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mohammed Ali Qurban explained that field releases represent a core component of the center’s work, contributing to strengthening the presence of wildlife in natural habitats and supporting ecosystem stability, based on a scientific methodology that relies on prior planning and assessment.

He added that the center continues to enhance integration with relevant entities and support national partnerships in biodiversity conservation, contributing to unified efforts, improved planning and implementation efficiency, and long-term sustainable environmental impact.

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Astronomers Unveil Map of Dark Matter's Distribution in Universe

Artist's rendering of James Webb Space Telescope in space near Earth, in this image released on September 19, 2023. NASA/dima_zel/Handout via REUTERS
Artist's rendering of James Webb Space Telescope in space near Earth, in this image released on September 19, 2023. NASA/dima_zel/Handout via REUTERS
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Astronomers Unveil Map of Dark Matter's Distribution in Universe

Artist's rendering of James Webb Space Telescope in space near Earth, in this image released on September 19, 2023. NASA/dima_zel/Handout via REUTERS
Artist's rendering of James Webb Space Telescope in space near Earth, in this image released on September 19, 2023. NASA/dima_zel/Handout via REUTERS

Using observations from the James Webb Space Telescope in a patch of the sky covering almost three times the area of the full moon, scientists have created the most detailed cosmic map to date of the mysterious substance called dark matter that accounts for most of the stuff that populates the universe.

Ordinary matter makes up stars, planets, people and everything else we can see. But it represents only about 15% of all the matter in the cosmos. The rest is dark matter, which does not emit or reflect light, making it invisible to the human eye and to telescopes, Reuters reported.

Scientists infer its existence based on the gravitational effects it exerts on a large scale such as how quickly galaxies rotate, how galaxy clusters are held together and how light from distant objects bends as it passes through massive cosmic structures.

The new map of the distribution of dark matter was based on this phenomenon of light bending - causing subtle distortions in the shape of roughly 250,000 distant galaxies as observed by Webb - thanks to the gravitational effects of matter along the line of sight.

A previous map of dark matter was based on observations by the Hubble Space Telescope. The new map, powered by Webb's greater capabilities, offers double the resolution of the previous map, spans more parts of the cosmos and peers further back in time - effectively looking to roughly 8 to 10 billion years ago, a key period for galaxy formation.

"This allows us to resolve finer dark matter structures, detect mass concentrations that were previously unseen, and extend dark-matter mapping into earlier epochs of the universe," said observational cosmologist Diana Scognamiglio of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, lead author of the research published on Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy, opens new tab.

The map reveals with unprecedented clarity new details of the macrostructure of the universe called the cosmic web - galaxy clusters, immense filaments built of dark matter along which galaxies and gas are distributed, as well as regions with less density of mass.

Webb, an infrared telescope possessing about six times the light-gathering power of Hubble, was launched in 2021 and became operational in 2022.

"The James Webb Space Telescope is like putting on a new pair of glasses for the universe," Scognamiglio said. "It sees fainter and more distant galaxies with much sharper detail than ever before. That effectively gives us a much denser grid of background galaxies to work with, which is exactly what you want for this kind of study. More galaxies and sharper images translate directly into a sharper map of dark matter."

The map covers a part of the sky called the Cosmic Evolution Survey, or COSMOS, located in the direction of the constellation Sextans. The map will facilitate future investigations of the universe in numerous ways, the researchers said.

"For example, a major question in astrophysics is how galaxies grow and evolve with time - how the universe went from an almost perfectly homogenous soup to the spectacular variety of galaxies we see today," said observational cosmologist and study co-author Jacqueline McCleary of Northeastern University in Boston.

"Dark matter halos - self-gravitating 'clouds' of dark matter - are the site of galaxy formation, the nurseries of galaxies, if you will. So knowing where the dark matter is, how much of it there is and connecting it to the population of galaxies inside the dark matter distribution places an important boundary condition on models of galaxy formation and evolution," McCleary said.

The method used by the researchers involving the bending of light revealed the distribution of dark and ordinary matter.

The researchers said their observations are in harmony with the leading cosmological model - called Lambda-CDM, or cold dark matter - that explains the universe's beginning with the Big Bang and its subsequent evolution and structure. The model sees a universe dominated by dark matter and the invisible cosmic force called dark energy that is responsible for its accelerating expansion.

"In this framework, dark matter provides the gravitational backbone on which galaxies, groups and clusters form, creating the large-scale cosmic web. Our map provides a much sharper observational view of this dark-matter scaffolding," Scognamiglio said.

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Japan’s Beloved Last Pandas Leave for China as Ties Fray

Giant panda Lei Lei eats bamboo at Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo, Japan, 25 January 2026. (EPA)
Giant panda Lei Lei eats bamboo at Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo, Japan, 25 January 2026. (EPA)
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Japan’s Beloved Last Pandas Leave for China as Ties Fray

Giant panda Lei Lei eats bamboo at Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo, Japan, 25 January 2026. (EPA)
Giant panda Lei Lei eats bamboo at Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo, Japan, 25 January 2026. (EPA)

Hundreds gathered to say farewell to two popular pandas departing Tokyo for China on Tuesday, leaving Japan without any of the beloved bears for the first time in 50 years as ties between the Asian neighbors fray.

Panda twins Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao were transported by truck out of Ueno Zoological Gardens, their birthplace, disappointing many Japanese fans who have grown attached to the furry four-year-olds.

"I've been coming to watch them since they were born," Nene Hashino, a woman in her 40s wearing a panda-themed jacket and clutching a bear stuffed toy, told AFP.

"It feels like my own children are going somewhere far away. It's sad."

The pandas' abrupt return was announced last month during a diplomatic spat that began when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hinted that Tokyo could intervene militarily in the event of an attack on Taiwan.

Her comment provoked the ire of Beijing, which regards the island as its own territory.

The distinctive black-and-white animals, loaned out as part of China's "panda diplomacy" program, have symbolized friendship between Beijing and Tokyo since they normalized ties in 1972.

Their repatriation comes a month before their loan period expires in February, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which operates Ueno Zoo.

"According to the relevant agreement between China and Japan, the giant pandas who were living in Japan, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, today began their return trip to China," said Guo Jiakun, China's foreign ministry spokesman.

"As always, we welcome the Japanese public to come see giant pandas in China."

Japan has reportedly been seeking the loan of a new pair of pandas.

However, a weekend poll by the liberal Asahi Shimbun newspaper showed that 70 percent of those surveyed do not think the government should negotiate with China on the lease of new pandas, while 26 percent would like them to.

On Sunday, Ueno Zoo invited some 4,400 lucky winners of an online lottery to see the pandas for the last time.

- 'Part of my heart' -

Well-wishers wearing panda-themed clothes, hats and badges waited for hours on the streets lining the zoo two days later to say their final goodbyes.

They called out to the animals as the windowless truck left the gates.

"It's so sad," said Daisaku Hirota, a 37-year-old shop worker who said he tried to visit the pandas as often as he could on his days off.

"I lost one part of my heart," he said.

Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao were delivered in 2021 by their mother Shin Shin, who arrived in 2011 and was returned to China in 2024 because of declining health.

Since late last year, China has discouraged its nationals from travelling to Japan, citing deteriorating public security and criminal acts against Chinese nationals in the country.

Beijing is reportedly also choking off exports to Japan of rare-earth products crucial for making everything from electric cars to missiles.

However, China routinely removes pandas from foreign countries and the latest move may not be politically motivated, said Masaki Ienaga, a professor at Tokyo Woman's Christian University and an expert in East Asian international relations.

"If you talk about (Chinese) politics, the timing of sending pandas is what counts," and pandas could return to Japan if bilateral ties warm, Ienaga said.

Other countries use animals as tools of diplomacy, including Thailand with its elephants and Australia with its koalas, he added.

"But pandas are special," Ienaga said.

"They have strong customer-drawing power, and... they can earn money."