EXAMS
Korean exams, and how to get there
Which test is yours, what is on it, what each grade lets you do — and which practice here climbs to it.
Dates, fees and what to bring change every sitting. The official notice decides: topik.go.kr
Which exam is yours?
The general one. Universities, scholarships and most employers ask for a TOPIK grade. Two papers, six grades, on paper or by computer.
www.topik.go.krA separate computer test of talking, graded 1–6. Reading well says nothing about it — this is the one people leave until it is too late.
www.topik.go.krFor the Employment Permit System — work visas in manufacturing, farming, fishing, construction. Its own test with its own vocabulary; a general TOPIK grade does not replace it.
www.eps.go.krA government course plus a test, counted towards permanent residency and naturalisation. A pre-test places you, so what you need first is the right class, not a certificate.
www.socinet.go.krWhat the paper looks like
TOPIK I
out of 200Grades 1–2. Listening and reading only, one sitting of 100 minutes. No writing.
| Section | items | Time | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening | 30 | 40min | 100 |
| Reading | 40 | 60min | 100 |
TOPIK II
out of 300Grades 3–6. Two sittings — listening and writing first, then reading after a break.
| Section | items | Time | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening · sitting 1 | 50 | 60min | 100 |
| Writing · sitting 1 | 4 | 50min | 100 |
| Reading · sitting 2 | 50 | 70min | 100 |
The six grades
You do not choose a grade. You sit the paper and the total decides — these are the totals each grade starts at.
| Grade | From | Vocabulary | What that grade says you can do | Practise here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 1 · TOPIK I | 80 | about 800 words | Introduce yourself, order food, buy things, ask simple questions. Survival Korean. | Starter |
| Grade 2 · TOPIK I | 140 | about 2,000 words | Post office, bank, everyday errands — and you can tell a formal sentence from a casual one. | Beginner |
| Grade 3 · TOPIK II | 120 | about 3,000 words | Daily life without much trouble; familiar social topics. Often the minimum for university entry. | Elementary |
| Grade 4 · TOPIK II | 150 | about 4,000 words | News and newspapers in outline, and work carried out in Korean. Commonly asked for degree study and graduation. | Intermediate |
| Grade 5 · TOPIK II | 190 | about 5,000 words | Research or professional work in your own field, with some effort. | Upper |
| Grade 6 · TOPIK II | 230 | about 7,000 words | Professional work done accurately. Not native, but nothing in the way. | Advanced |
Vocabulary sizes are rough figures from common coursebooks, not official counts. The descriptions summarise the published criteria.
Writing — where the marks are
Four questions, a hundred marks — and eighty of them sit in two pieces of writing most people have never once written before the day.
| No. | What it asks | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | A practical text — notice, email. Fill the blanks in the register the text already uses. · 2 blanks | 10 |
| 52 | An explanatory text. Fill the blanks so the logic of the sentence holds. · 2 blanks | 10 |
| 53 | Describe data — a chart, a survey, a set of figures. No opinion. · 200–300 characters | 30 |
| 54 | An essay. Take a position, support it, close it. · 600–700 characters | 50 |
Only TOPIK II has writing. Watch the clock: 53 and 54 together are worth four times 51 and 52.
How the questions ask
These are not past papers. They are written here to show how each type asks — and that is the part which repeats sitting after sitting.
TOPIK I · Reading
Fill the blank저는 책을 삽니다.
( )에 갑니다.
( )에 들어갈 말로 가장 알맞은 것을 고르십시오.
TOPIK I · Listening
Choose the reply이어질 말로 가장 알맞은 것을 고르십시오.
TOPIK II · Reading
Find the topic걷기는 특별한 장비나 장소가 필요 없다.
나이가 많은 사람도 무리 없이 할 수 있고, 하루 삼십 분이면 충분하다.
그래서 전문가들은 운동을 처음 시작하는 사람에게 걷기를 먼저 권한다.
이 글의 주제로 가장 알맞은 것을 고르십시오.
TOPIK II · Writing
Write the missing lines받는 사람: 김민수 선생님
선생님, 안녕하세요. 유학생 리에입니다.
다음 주 수요일에 발표가 있는데, 그날 병원에 가야 해서 ( ㉠ ).
혹시 발표 날짜를 ( ㉡ )? 답장 기다리겠습니다.
㉠ 과 ㉡ 에 알맞은 말을 쓰십시오.
On the day
Your admission ticket and valid photo ID — passport or residence card. Without both you are not let in, and no one makes an exception.
The doors close before the exam starts, not at the start. Arriving late is the most common way people lose a sitting they paid for.
Online, in a window that opens weeks ahead and fills quickly in some cities. Fix the sitting first, then plan the study back from it.
Pens, watches and what counts as ID differ by country and by sitting. Only the notice for your own test centre settles it.
Where to start today
A grade is a total, and a total is built out of the same four things every week.