Prestigious universities located in Seoul and its adjacent areas such as Korea University and Yonsei University have decided to require applicants to take an exam on national history as a mandatory subject on their college entrance examinations. This will start in 2010 when current first-year high school students are entering into college.

Since only Seoul National University has required applicants to take a history exam, there have been a few students who chose history among other subjects available in the social inquiry part of the college entrance exam. Therefore, from 2010, most of the students who plan to study in the field of humanities will have to prepare for a history exam.