An analysis found that the difficulty of the Korean section, the first period of the 2026 College Scholastic Ability Test, was overall similar to last year's CSAT.

Han Byung-hoon, a teacher at Deoksan High School and an EBS Korean section instructor, said at a briefing on trends in the 2026 CSAT Korean section held at the Government Sejong Complex on the 13th that "this year's CSAT, compared with last year's, saw the difficulty of 'Reading' rise, while Literature and the elective subjects became less difficult," adding, "overall, it appears the difficulty was balanced."

Teacher Han Byung-hoon of Deoksan High School (right) analyzes the question trends for the Korean section of the 2026 College Scholastic Ability Test at the Ministry of Education briefing room in the Government Complex Sejong on the 13th. On the left is Teacher Yoon Yoon-gu of Hanyang University College of Education Affiliated High School. /Courtesy of Yonhap News

Question 8 in "Reading" and question 40 in "Speech and Composition" were analyzed to have been tricky or relatively difficult. It was also judged that question 12 in "Reading," question 34 in "Literature," and question 36 in "Language and Media" likely had discriminating power.

Han said, "In particular, question 12, a science and technology passage asking about the relationships among 'linear thermal expansion coefficient and curvature, radius of curvature, flexural sensitivity, and reaction completion time,' would have been difficult," but added, "However, since this passage was also linked to EBS textbooks, it does not stray far from the curriculum and does not demand excessive inference, so I do not judge it to be a 'killer question.'"

The EBS linkage rate was 53.3% (24 questions). All four passages in Reading and three works in Literature were drawn from EBS CSAT-linked textbooks. The questions linked to EBS in the common subjects "Reading" and "Literature" were ▲ nos. 1–3 ▲ 5–6 ▲ 8 ▲ 10–12 ▲ 14 ▲ 16–17 ▲ 18–21 ▲ 22–23 ▲ 25 ▲ 31–32 ▲ 34, and in the elective "Speech and Composition" ▲ no. 40 ▲ no. 42, and in "Language and Media" ▲ no. 36 ▲ no. 39.

Meanwhile, the admissions industry said this CSAT was somewhat easier than the mock test on Sept. 9. Compared with last year's CSAT, Jongro Academy said it was "similar," while Etoos Edu said "this time was slightly more difficult." Jongro Academy said, "The 'Reading' passage part was likely overall difficult for test-takers," citing questions 8, 15, and 17, and question 36 in the elective "Speech and Composition," as tricky items. Etoos Edu said, "In the 'Reading' section, the science and technology passages would have been tricky," and added, "In 'Language and Media,' there were many judgment factors needed to choose the correct answer, so it likely took more time than usual."

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