Is this how you take a test?

An elderly South Korean man in a traditional costume arrives to take a test during a reenactment of “gwageo,” a traditional state exam. (AP)
Elderly South Korean men in a traditional costume review each other’s work as they take a historical exam at the Changdeok Palace in Seoul, South Korea. (AP)
The gwageo examination first took place in the year 958 to help choose government officials in Korea. (AP)
Koreans stopped giving the test after 1894, but today men still reenact the historic examination. (AP)
A senior man in a traditional costume watches his smartphone as he takes the test. (AP)

THIS JUST IN

You have {{ remainingArticles }} free {{ counterWords }} remaining.

The bad news: You've hit your limit of free articles.
The good news: You can receive full access below.
God's Big WORLD | Ages 3-6 | $35.88 per year

Already a member? Sign in.

Young men in long-ago Korea studied hard. They wanted to do well on the gwageo [GWAH-go] test. Then they might get good jobs.

No one takes that test anymore. But older people remember those days. They dress up. They act out taking the test.

READ MORE: The king would watch over the exams hundreds of years ago. An actor might play the part of the king today. Everyone dresses as they did back then. It is a way for Korean people to remember the olden days. There have not been gwageo tests for 125 years. But Korean boys and girls still take many other tests before they can get jobs. There is one kind of testing we should always do. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:21, “Test everything; hold fast what is good.”