The Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK; ) is a test to measure the

Korean language Korean is the first language, native language for about 81 million people, mostly of Koreans, Korean descent. It is the national language of both South Korea and North Korea. In the south, the language is known as () and in the north, it is kn ...

proficiency of non-native speakers in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. This examination system was introduced by the

South Korean government The government of South Korea () is the national government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and ...

in 1997 and conducted by a branch of the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

of the country. The test is offered six times annually (Jan, Apr, May, Jul, Oct, Nov) within South Korea and less often to people studying Korean in other countries. The test is for individuals whose first language is not Korean and is taken by overseas ethnic Koreans, those wishing to study at a Korean university, and for those who want to be employed at Korean companies in and outside of Korea. Since 2011, TOPIK is administered by the (국립국제교육원, NIIED), a branch of the

History

The test was first administered in 1997 and taken by 2,274 people. Initially the test was held only once a year. In 2009, 180,000 people took the test. The Korean government introduced a law in 2007 that required Chinese workers of Korean descent with no relatives in Korea to attain more than 200 points (out of 400) in the Business TOPIK (B-TOPIK) so they could be entered into a lottery for

work visa A work permit or work visa is the permission to take a job within a foreign country. The foreign country where someone seeks to obtain a work permit for is also known as the "country of work", as opposed to the "country of origin" where someone h ...

. From 1997 to 1998, TOPIK was administered by

Korea Research Foundation The National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF; ) is a research institute for Korean studies. It was established in 2009 through a merger between the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF; ), Korea Research Foundation (KRF; ; establ ...

(KRF). From 1999 to 2010, TOPIK was administered by the (KICE). In 2012, more than 150,000 candidates took the TOPIK, and the total number of people who have taken the test since its date of inception surpassed 1 million.

Format

Old format

In previous years, the test was divided into four parts: vocabulary and grammar, writing, listening, and reading. Two versions of the test were offered: the Standard (S)-TOPIK and the Business (B)-TOPIK. There were three different levels of S-TOPIK: beginner (초급), intermediate (중급), and advanced (고급). Depending on the average score and minimum marks in each section it was possible to obtain grades 1-2 in beginner, 3-4 in intermediate and 5-6 in advanced S-TOPIK. In B-TOPIK the scores in each section (out of 100) were added together to give a score out of 400.

New format

A new format of the TOPIK took effect from the 35th TOPIK test, held on 20 July 2014. Instead of the original ternary (Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced) classification, there are now only two test levels – TOPIK I and TOPIK II. TOPIK I has sub-levels 1 and 2, whereas TOPIK II has four sub-levels from 3 to 6. Another important change is that now the TOPIK I has only two sections – Reading and Listening, instead of four sections in the old format. TOPIK II has three sections – Reading, Listening and Writing.

Validity

The test results are valid for two years after the announcement of examination results.

Grading

TOPIK I is the basic level test containing two obtainable grades, while TOPIK II is the combined intermediate/advanced level with four obtainable grades. The evaluation is based on the total number of points earned.

Structure of questions

The test consists of mostly multiple-choice questions; however, the TOPIK II level writing examination will require a short-answer. TOPIK I consists of multiple-choice questions for listening (40 minutes long with 30 questions) and reading (60 minutes long with 40 questions). Both examination areas are worth a score of 100 with a combining score of 200. TOPIK II has two slots. The first slot is the listening examination (60 minutes long with 50 questions) and writing (50 minutes long with 4 short-answer questions). The second slot is for the reading examination (70 minutes long with 50 questions). All three examinations of TOPIK II are worth a score of 100 with a combining score of 300.

Use of the test result

* Korean university admission for foreigners. * Obtaining work visas for local Korean companies. * Recognizing domestic practitioner license for foreigners with medical doctor qualifications. * For the application of a Korean Language Teaching Qualification test (level 2 and 3) and acquisition of certificate. * To apply for permanent residency. * To obtain marriage based immigrant visa.

Testing locations

As of February 2021, there are 314 testing centers, with 54 in South Korea and the remaining are in 87 countries. In addition to Korea, TOPIK is available in the following countries and districts: Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Portugal, Poland, Russia, Romania, Rwanda, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Turkey, UAE, Ukraine, USA, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. Examination times are divided into three time zones: China and marginal states (China, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore and Brunei; which shares the same time zone of

UTC+8 UTC+08:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +08:00. It is the most populous time zone in the world, as well as a possible candidate for ASEAN Common Time, mainly due to China's large population, with an estimated population ...

), Korea and Japan (which shares the same time zone of

UTC+9 UTC+09:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +09:00. During the Japanese occupations of British Borneo, Burma, Hong Kong, Dutch East Indies, Malaya, Philippines, Singapore, and French Indochina, it was used as a common time with ...

), and other countries (which follows local time of a specific country). In India, TOPIK test is conducted in 5 cities - New Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ranchi, and Manipur.

References

External links

Official website

NIIED homepage

TOPIK Web Practice
{{Frequency list Education in South Korea Korean language tests