The handwriting verification phrase for the 2026 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) held on the 13th was "Like youth with popping green waves." It is a line from poet An Gyu-rye's poem "Morning walk."
CSAT takers must write the phrase in the handwriting verification box on the answer sheet at the start of each section. The phrase is printed on the cover of the test booklet.
The handwriting verification phrase was introduced with the 2006 CSAT to prevent proxy testing. It followed the detection of large-scale cheating in the 2005 CSAT. Test-takers must handwrite the phrase on every subject's answer sheet.
The phrase is generally chosen as a message of encouragement to test-takers. According to the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE), the criteria for the handwriting verification phrase are that it be from a domestic poet's work, contain 12 to 19 characters, and include complex final consonants such as "ㄻ," "ㄺ," and "ㅀ."
The handwriting verification phrase for the 2025 CSAT held last year was "Unfurl big dreams in that wide world." It is a line used in poet Gwak Ui-yeong's poem "My one and only lovely daughter."
Lines by poet Jeong Ji-yong have been quoted the most in history. They were used three times in total (the 2006, 2007, and 2017 academic years), and "My heart grown from the soil, blue sky light," used in the 2006 CSAT, was used once more in the 2017 CSAT.
◇The following are the handwriting verification phrases from past CSATs
▲2006 academic year My heart grown from the soil, blue sky light (Jeong Ji-yong's "Nostalgia")
▲2007 academic year To the eastern edge of the broad field, an old story (Jeong Ji-yong's "Nostalgia")
▲2008 academic year Clear river water flows through my palm lines (Yun Dong-ju's "Boy")
▲2009 academic year On the hill where this abundant starlight has fallen (Yun Dong-ju's "Counting the stars at night")
▲2010 academic year Quiet and gentle like clear river water (Yu An-jin's "Dreaming of true friendship")
▲2011 academic year Every day becoming new, deepening, and widening (Jeong Chae-bong's "First heart")
▲2012 academic year The reason I truly love you is (Hwang Dong-gyu's "Joyful letter")
▲2013 academic year Shimmering and tinting with clear sunlight (Jeong Han-mo's "In autumn")
▲2014 academic year Shall I brighten my eyes as if lighting flower lanterns (Park Jeong-man's "Little serenade")
▲2015 academic year A clear day when even sunshine bunches up round and round (Mun Tae-jun's "Boat of stone")
▲2016 academic year Filling the heart with breadth and depth (Ju Yo-han's "Young people, sing")
▲2017 academic year My heart grown from the soil, bluuue sky light (Jeong Ji-yong's "Nostalgia")
▲2018 academic year We possess the great sea and the wide sky (Kim Yeong-rang's "Let's go to the sea")
▲2019 academic year I have never seen anyone as lovable as you (Kim Nam-jo's "Letter")
▲2020 academic year O one of them, a star so clear and bright (Park Du-jin's "Lying in a star field")
▲2021 academic year Among the many, many people, you, one person (Na Tae-ju's "Walking a field path")
▲2022 academic year Dreaming of a flight into the wide sky (Lee Hae-in's "Little song 2")
▲2023 academic year My dream is to become a clear wind (Han Yong-un's "My dream")
▲2024 academic year The widest road is always in my heart (Yang Gwang-mo's "The widest road")
▲2025 academic year Unfurl big dreams in that wide world (Gwak Ui-yeong's "My one and only lovely daughter")
▲2026 academic year Like youth with popping green waves (An Gyu-rye's "Morning walk")