Live-streamed prayers for South Korean exam parents

SEOUL

Nine-hour prayer sessions, live-streamed speaking in tongues, bowing before a Buddhist altar 108 times: South Korean parents are turning to God as students sit a crucial exam on Nov. 14.

The "Suneung" university entrance exam is a major event in the education-obsessed South, and officials take extreme measures, from rescheduling flights to pausing construction, to ensure students can give their best performance.

At a church in Seoul's wealthy Gangnam district, parents gathered for a nine-hour prayer marathon, with specific requests to God tailored around the structure of the multiple choice exam, which will be taken by 522,670 pupils this year.

At a church on the outskirts of Seoul, pastor Han Seung-woo was leading a prayer session for hundreds of parents. Many wept as he asked God to bless their test-taking offspring with "wisdom and courage."

At the Bongeunsa Buddhist temple, one of Seoul's largest, head monk Wonmyung was trying to comfort parents, who were performing rituals to help their children.

Some parents bowed 108 times before the altar, which in Buddhist theology should result in their wishes coming true.

For parents who are unable to pray in person, many churches and temples stream the sessions live on YouTube.

BTN, South Korea's largest Buddhist television channel, broadcast chants that parents can join in from home.

Nearly a third of those sitting the nine-hour exam this year are retaking it, the highest percentage ever as people hope to join expanded cohorts of trainee doctors.

Thousands of trainee doctors and medical students stopped working in February in protest of the plans, which sharply increased the number of places available for trainee doctors.