AKIPRESS.COM - The 5.4 magnitude tremor hit the south-eastern port city of Pohang, South Korea in the afternoon of November 16, and dozens of aftershocks have occurred since.

The quake was the second-strongest on record, leaving at least 57 people injured and more than 1,500 homeless.

South Korea's second-strongest earthquake - caught on CCTV: https://t.co/CwJJ8UWmRZ pic.twitter.com/FTIu1LsvSW

— BBC Asia (@BBCNewsAsia) November 17, 2017

The annual nationwide college entrance exam, sometimes referred to as "life assignment exam", has been rescheduled for next week for safety reasons for the first time ever.

The exam is of such national significance that aircrafts are barred from taking off or landing for 30 minutes to prevent their noise interfering with the exam's listening section. On Thursday the ban for aircrafts was lifted, the transport ministry said, BBC reported.

South Korea rarely experiences tremors, but seismic activity is very closely monitored because a spike is often the first sign that North Korea has carried out a nuclear test.

Last year, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit the nearby city of Geongju, but the damage from Wednesday's quake has been more severe.

More than 1,000 buildings, homes and vehicles have been destroyed or damaged.