”University Exam Sharp” dominates second-hand trading sites in Korea

The mechanical pencils distributed to South Korean students taking the 2025 College Scholastic Ability Test (equivalent to the common test for university entrance in Japan), commonly known as "Schuun Sharps," have been on sale on second-hand trading sites since the day of the test.
On the 14th, online second-hand trading sites were flooded with posts requesting transactions such as "Get this year's CUA sharpener" and "Selling the CUA sharpener."
The mechanical pencils for the Scholastic Aptitude Test are known as collectibles for stationery enthusiasts, and are even purchased by students who are about to take the exam to get a feel for writing in advance.
The pencils are said to be trading at around 10,000 won (about 1,100 yen) each. This year, unlike previous years, the color of the mechanical pencils is a clear light green, which has been well received by many people.
Netizens responded on social media with comments such as, "This year's SAT Sharpener is a beautiful mint color," and "I want to take the SAT Sharpener too and get one."
This year, the evaluation agency invested 379 million won to purchase a total of 884,000 mechanical pencils and 33,750 mechanical leads for use in the Scholastic Aptitude Test.
The SHARP system was introduced after large-scale cheating was uncovered in the 2005 exam. Starting with the 2006 exam, students were allowed to use their own SHARP.
Writing implements such as paper pencils and ballpoint pens are not permitted to be used during the exam; using such implements will be treated as cheating.
Since 2006, the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation and the Ministry of Education have
The new color of mechanical pencils are being produced and distributed to prevent cheating. An official from the evaluation center said, "The purpose is to prevent cheating, and we chose colors that do not overlap with those used in past exams.
"The principle is as follows," he explained.