Among the more than 520,000 people sitting for Suneung, the national college entrance exam, on Thursday will be a number of well-known K-pop idols born in 2006.
That list includes Park Jihoo of Evnne, Eunseop of Lun8, Kim Dogyun of 82Major and Seungmo and Mackiah of Ampers&One.
Park Jihoo, for instance, debuted in September last year and is currently enrolled at Hanlim Arts School, a prestigious arts high school in Seoul with many singers and actors among its alum.
Mackiah, who holds Australian citizenship through his father, will be taking the test, demonstrating his determination to continue both his studies and career in Korea.
Some artists, however, have decided to just focus on their careers, skipping the Suneung.
Haerin of NewJeans, for instance, announced through her agency Ador that she would be focusing on expanding her career.
Having debuted in July 2022 at age 16, Haerin dropped out of middle school. Instead, she earned a general equivalency diploma for both middle and high school.
She quickly became an icon for Generation Z after her debut, releasing numerous hit singles, including “Attention,” “Hype Boy,” “Ditto,” “OMG” and “Super Shy.”
Kyujin of Nmixx is also not taking the Suneung this year, following in the footsteps of older group members Sullyoon, Bae and Jiwoo, who also did not take the college entrance exam. Kyujin dropped out of Hanlim Arts School after debuting in February 2022.
K-pop rookie Jihoon of TWS will be appearing on “Best Hits Kayosai,” an annual music show on Japan's Yomiuri TV and Nippon Television, on the day of the exam. He is also looking forward to the release of the single “Last Bell” on Nov. 25, which led to his decision not to take Suneung this year.
Other K-pop stars not taking the college entrance exam include Hong Eunchae of Le Sserafim, ShiOn of Assemble24 and Hana of Fifty Fifty.
A total of 522,670 applicants registered for this year’s Suneung, to be administered on Thursday from 8:40 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. at 1,282 exam centers nationwide.
