Opinion

OPINION: When a language becomes a barrier

Every society reveals its anxieties in its exams. South Korea revealed quite a lot this year. The English section of the College Scholastic Ability Test, the Suneung, became so difficult that it briefly escaped the country’s borders. The BBC compared it to deciphering an ancient script. The New York Times, with a mix of bemusement and challenge, presented readers with excerpts from the test — a passage invoking Immanuel Kant, another steeped in gaming jargon &mda

December 14, 2025