More than three-thousand astronaut hopefuls have passed the initial physical exam for the nation’s astronaut training program.

The Ministry of Science and Technology and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute conducted a three-point-five kilometer race in six major cities including Seoul and the port city Busan on Saturday.

The list of successful applicants will be announced Tuesday after a thorough examination of the race results.

Of three-thousand-300 applicants who participated in the race, 87 percent of them were men. To pass, males had to finish the course within 23 minutes and females 28 minutes.

By mid-October, the number of candidates will drop to some three-hundred after a written exam on September 17th and a series of physical and other exams.

The final two will be selected by January 2007, but only one will board the Russian Soyuz spacecraft in April 2008 to conduct experiments on the International Space Station.